Pre-conference workshop will be held at the University of North Carolina,
Asheville on June 12, 2006. See below for details.

Pre-Conference Workshop

Monday, June 12, 2006, University of North Carolina, Asheville
Creating and Editing Stands in ArcMap
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (lunch, materials, and refreshment breaks are included in the registration fee; 5.0 Continuing Forestry Education hours — Category 1)

This one-day session will offer a hands-on tour for creating and editing polygons in order to maintain stand boundaries and their attributes. ArcMap tools from the Editor toolbar, Advanced Editing toolbar, and the Topology toolbar of ArcGIS 9 will be examined for maintaining stand and tract boundaries. Equally important will be a discussion of the unique functionalities of the Geodatabase to manage coordinate coincidence within layers, as well as across other management layers, and to identify errors or other inconsistencies in land management data. Some familiarity with ArcMap would be very helpful before attending this class, but even ArcView 3.x users should be able to learn quickly how the current release will benefit their work.

Instructor: Dale Loberger, ESRI

Instructor

Dale Loberger works as a regional technology consultant with business partners and developers for ESRI, an industry leader in providing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Although his formal undergraduate and graduate education is in natural resource management, Dale has 20 years of GIS implementation experience in many diverse application areas. During his 15 years at ESRI, he has taught software courses, provided consultation services for GIS integration projects, helped develop a business partner program, managed strategic accounts, and provided technical marketing support directly to clients. Prior to working at ESRI, Dale worked as part of a team that developed a competitive GIS software package for a data-conversion vendor and later founded a GIS department for a forest management consultant. Most of his time now is spent experimenting with the new releases of ArcGIS software and consulting with clients about how to take the best advantage of this technology in their own organizations.

SOFOR GIS 2006

If you have interests or responsibilities in forest management, urban and community forestry, habitat evaluation, or timber harvesting, most likely Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology has touched your work. This technology, old in concept but new in technique, is fast becoming a necessity in the natural resources arena. GIS applications are used in decision-making, planning, conflict resolution, forecasting, analyzing, and many other critical areas. As our society becomes more attuned to the value and use of GIS, it will become imperative that natural resource professionals be current on new applications and technologies.

The "5th Southern Forestry and Natural Resources GIS Conference" is designed to assist you with this undertaking. The general-session presentations, along with the interactive question-and-answer periods, should give you ample opportunities to sharpen your skills.

This conference will be valuable to forest industry professionals, consultants, extension specialists, forestland owners, investors, researchers, educators, students, public land managers, natural resource conservation group members, and anyone else with an interest in the application of GIS and GIS techniques.

Tentative Agenda

Concurrent Sessions
(schedule subject to change)

Tuesday, June 13, 10:30 a.m.-Noon
Session 1: Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

• Accuracy of Various GPS Antennas under Forested Conditions — D. Yawn and B. Holley
• Assessing GPS Accuracies in a Southern Hardwood Forest — S.D. Danskin, P. Bettinger, and T.R. Jordan
• Increased Precision in Forest Inventory Parameters Based on Canopy Sampling — K. Livengood

Session 2: Spatial Analysis

• Spatial Analysis of Potential Impacts of Local Forestry Ordinances — D. Daversa, S. Prisley, and M. Mortimer
• A Spatial Analysis of 20th-Century East Texas Sawmills: From Trams to Electrons — D.L. McDonald and D.L. Kulhavy
• Time Series Spatial Analysis of the Change in Land Cover and Human Well-Being in the Black-Belt Counties of Alabama — B. Gyawali, Rori Fraser, and J. Schelhas

Tuesday, June 13, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Session 1: Remote Sensing

• Estimation of Southern Pine and Hardwood Forest Canopy Structure Using Small Footprint Lidar — C. Listopad, J. Drake, R. Masters, and J. Noble
• Using Geospatial Methods for Derivation of Fine-Resolution Forest Inventory in Georgia from Ground Inventory Data and Landsat Imagery — Q. Meng, C.J. Cieszewski, and R. Lowe
• Above-Ground Biomass Estimation in Forested Land Using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus Image with Supervised Regression Analysis — R. Hayashi and P. Bettinger

Session 2: Aquatics

Geospatial Modeling of Forest Road Networks and Their Impacts on Stream Macroinvertebrate Communities — A.M. Bernard, S.P. Prisley, C.D. Heatwole, and W.M. Aust
• The Personal Geodatabase as a BMP for Stormwater Management — C.T. Smith
• Adding Value to Historical Research: Developing a GIS Database of Aquatic Species — L. Teeter, M. Polyakov, and S. Glover

Tuesday, June 13, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Session 1: GIS/Inventory

• Temporal Analysis of Landsat Satellite Imagery for Land Cover Change Tracking in Southeastern Georgia — R. Lowe and C. Cieszewski
• A GIS Sampling Assistant Program for Forest Inventory Point/Plot Schemes — D.J. Lipscomb, D.J. Nowak, J.T. Walton, and C. Post
• Analysis Of Fiber Supply Sustainability in Different Procurement Areas in Georgia — C.J. Cieszewski, R. Lowe, and S. Liu

Session 2: Federal GIS Systems

• Status of GIS Databases and Analyses for the National Forests of Florida — J. Drake
• Status of GIS Databases and Analyses for the Chattahoochee National Forest — E. Mavity
• Fire-Related GIS Initiatives in the National Park Service — D. Gettinger

5:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
Professional Ethics in Forestry (optional)

Wednesday, June 14, 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Session 1: Natural Disturbance Modeling

• Managing Hurricane Impacts on Wild Fire Fuel Loads in Southern U.S. Forests — J. Moore Myers, S. McNulty, and S. Strickland
• Mapping Forest Hurricane Damage Using Automated Feature Extraction — J. Shedd, H. Devine, and D. Hulbert
• Evaluation of Ikonos Satellite Imagery for Detecting and Mapping Ice-Storm Damage to Oak Forests in Eastern Kentucky — W.H. McNab, T. Roof, J.F. Lewis, and D.L. Loftis

Session 2: Wildlife Habitat Modeling

• GIS Tool for Evaluating the Impact of Proposed Cuts on Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Habitat — D.J. Lipscomb and T.M. Williams
• Evaluating Population-Habitat Relationships of Forest Breeding Birds at Multiple Scales Using Forest Inventory and Analysis Data — T.M. Fearer, S.P. Prisley, D.F. Stauffer, and P.D. Keyser
• Applications of GIS for Management at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge — F. Adrian and C. Ehrhardt

Wednesday, June 14, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Session 1: Broad Scale Analyses

• Comparison of Spatial Distributions of Pollen and Vegetation in North America Using Geographic Information Systems — P.P. Siska, I-K. Hung, and M.V. Bryant
• An Overview of Methodologies for Mapping Ecological Systems Vegetation Classes for the Piedmont Region of the Southeastern US — J. Lee, K. Samples, and L. Kramer

Session 2: Geospatial Service System

• The Columbia Regional Geospatial Service Center System: A Model for Rural Geospatial Support for the Nation — J.C. Kroll, D. McDonald, and P.R. Blackwell
• LANDFIRE: What Is it? Where Is it? Is it Different? How Might It Be Used? — J. Smith

For More Information, Contact

Holly Blanchard, Conference Coordinator
Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel
The University of Georgia
706-542-3395
Holly.Blanchard@georgiacenter.uga.edu

Or, go to the SOFOR GIS 2006 Web site at www.soforgis.net.

Registration Fees

Conference

Pre-Conference Workshop

The fee for the pre-conference workshop will be $495 and include instructional materials, lunch, and refreshment breaks. There is a $30 discount if the registration fee is paid by check or credit card and postmarked by May 22, 2006. Register early to reserve your space. Limited seating is available.

Continuing Education Credits

This conference will provide 9 hours of Category 1 Continuing Forestry Education (CFE) credit and 5 hours Category 1 CFE credit for the pre-conference workshop.

Professional Ethics in Forestry

Posters
Listed below are some of the posters that will be available at the conference:

• Historic Visualization: Sabine River Crossings of Texas
  — Jeffrey M. Williams, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
• Spectral Signature Variability between EO-1 ALI Multispectral and Hyperion Hyperspectral Data as Compared to Traditional Landsat ETM+, Spot and QuickBird Multispectral Sensors
  — Daniel R. Unger, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
  — Gregg Fuselier, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX

We are still accepting poster submissions. Please submit your abstract to the email address below. We accept only electronic submission. Thank you.

Program Chair: I-Kuai Hung
Stephen F. Austin State University
936-468-2464
hungi@sfasu.edu

• Please put "SOFOR Submission — Your Last Name" in the subject of your email, and include all the required information in the body of the email (not as an attached document).
• Include the following information in your submission: (1) the type of presentation — Poster; (2) the title of the presentation; (3) the author(s), affiliation(s); (4) the corresponding author's mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and email address; (5) the abstract in 250 words or fewer; and (6) up to three keywords.

Exhibits

One of the highlights of the "5th Southern Forestry and Natural Resources GIS Conference" is the diversity and quality of the exhibits. Don't miss out on this year's conference! For exhibitor information, contact Holly Blanchard at 706-542-3395 or Holly.Blanchard@georgiacenter.uga.edu.

Sponsors

This conference provides an outstanding opportunity to highlight your company to GIS users throughout the South. For details, contact Ben Jackson at 706-542-9051 or Ben.Jackson@georgiacenter.uga.edu.

General Information

This conference is sponsored by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, which is located on the beautiful, historic campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. As a unit of UGA's Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, the Georgia Center brings the University's teaching, research, and service expertise to the people of Georgia and beyond! For more information, visit www.georgiacenter.uga.edu.

Special Needs:
If you require special services, facilities, or dietary considera-tions (vegetarian or otherwise), contact Nette Penn, at 706-542-6658 or Nette.Penn@georgiacenter.uga.edu, by June 5, 2006.

Lodging:
A block of rooms is being held for your conference until 5:00 p.m. ET, May 13, 2006.

Hotel:
PLEASE CALL THE HOTEL TO RESERVE YOUR ROOM.

Crowne Plaza Resort
One Holiday Inn Drive
Asheville, NC 28806
828-254-3211
800-733-3211
Room Rate: $81 per night

Directions will be included in your confirmation letter and can also be found at www.ashevillecp.com.

Program Cancellation Policies:
(1) Full refunds are available for cancellations made by 5:00 p.m. ET, June 1, 2006. No refunds will be issued thereafter. Substitutions will be allowed. (2) If a program is cancelled for any reason, the Georgia Center will not be responsible for any charges related to travel. (3) If for unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances an instructor is unable to attend, the Georgia Center reserves the right to substitute a comparable instructor.

Registration