GIS for Santa Ynez River Fisheries Program
Blending Biology and Technology to Improve Fish Habitat Management
The Cachuma Water Agencies are combining fish biology with new technology, and using that information to support, preserve, and enhance fish habitat along the Santa Ynez River. Our new Geographic Information System (GIS) is featured on these pages. GIS is computer software that integrates and displays complex environmental data to provide better, more efficient river management.
GIS: Visual Mapping of Data Improves Fisheries Management
The Santa Ynez River watershed is 90 miles long. It contains many streams, and some natural and man made features that impact fish. A constant flow of data-fish size, counts, locations, stream flow, rainfall, water temperature, and more-have been recorded over the last two decades. Until recently, biologists struggled to efficiently integrate and analyze the large volume of information. GIS links spatial data with other information to provide useful visual information and analytical aids to understanding complex river systems. Using GIS, biologists can collect, analyze, and merge large amounts of data to develop a better understanding of steelhead habitat. This improves our ability to develop more cost-effective programs that benefit fish and the environment.
Biologists Collect and Analyze Complex Data Using GIS
Our biologists and scientists obtain data through trapping, measuring, snorkeling, and observing fish. Many additional types of data are integrated, such as water quality, land use, roads, property boundaries, and elevations to create useful visual images like the sample GIS map above.