The CMNH GIS Lab has released a web app 
highlighting recent forest ecology research initiatives at Powdermill Nature Reserve following a unique research opportunity, a large wind storm in June 2012. The project aims to test the long-term effects of salvage logging and deer exclusion on forest regeneration and wildlife following a major disturbance. The application combines maps, photos, and some background text to acquaint users with the project.
Recent Posts
UAV Imagery Added to Powdermill Nature Reserve Map
In collaboration with Civic Mapper, the Powdermill GIS Lab has captured fine-scale aerial imagery across various part of Powdermill Nature Reserve using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Imagery from two locations, the nature center and the avian research center, have been added as an optional layer to the Powdermill Nature Reserve web map. (Note: for best results turn off the Powdermill Nature Reserve boundary layer). The imagery was captured on October 29th and 31st using a Go Pro camera on a DJI Phantom 2 flying at 40 meters. If you would like either of the full mosaic images (with or without georeferencing), please contact the GIS Lab.
GIS Lab Releases New Pennsylvania Unconventional Wells Map Viewer
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History GIS Lab has produced a new web map viewer that adds 
additional functionality. Users can now graph unconventional gas production, violations, or data errors either state-wide or over a user-defined area by clicking the “Chart” button. The new “Draw” button allows the user to add graphics and text in order to produce their own maps. Like the previous web map, users can click on any well to view information in permits, drilling, inspections, violations, and other information. Users can still also can click on any producing well to see a graph of gas production since mid-2009 for that specific well. Stay tuned for an additional forthcoming update that will give users the ability to access a table of information on wells by stage, which can be filtered by map extent and exported as a CSV.
Click here to view the new web map.
Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells 2014 Q3 Update
The latest version of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells data set is now available. The update includes records through September 30, 2014. As with previous versions of the data set, you can now Download the data without registering. For information about updates, see the Version Information page. For more information, please see the Metadata and User License Agreement.
Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells 2014 Q2 Update
The latest version of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells data set is now available. The update includes records through June 30, 2014. As with the previous version of the data set, you can now Download the data without registering. For information about updates, see the Version Information page. For more information, please see the Metadata and User License Agreement.
New Historic Aerial Imagery Web Map
The CMNH GIS Lab has produced a new web map to allow users to explore 
changes in the Powdermill landscape from 1939 to present using historic and current aerial imagery. The new map includes a list of bookmarks highlighting some of the sections of the reserve which have undergone substantial change. Photos for this map were obtained from Penn State’s Penn Pilot Program. While the map utilizes 1939 imagery, the GIS Lab has georeferenced and mosaiced all available imagery from the Penn Pilot for the Ligonier Valley. These rasters are available upon request by contacting the GIS Lab.
Powdermill Nature Reserve Vegetation Atlas and Dataset
In collaboration with students in the Indiana University of P
ennsylvania’s Department of Geography and Urban Planning, the CMNH GIS Lab has produced a vegetation atlas of the 20 most abundant tree species at Powdermill Nature Reserve. These maps are based on the extensive vegetation survey conducted at Powdermill from 2006-2008. The complete vegetation dataset is now available here as an ArcGIS personal geodatabase that can also be accessed using Microsoft Access.
New Pennsylvania Unconventional Wells Web Map
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History GIS Lab has produced a new web map to help researchers and the public to better understand the life of unconventional gas wells throughout Pennsylvania. The map uses the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells geodatabase to view information on permits, drilling, production over time, inspections, violations, and other information. View the map.
Macroinvertebrate Water Monitoring Map Wins Best App at PA GIS Conference
We are excited to announce that the Macroinvertebrate Water Monitoring Map won the Best App Award at the 22nd Annual Pennsylvania GIS Conference, held in State College, PA. The official announcement can be viewed here. We like to thank all those who voted for the app and the Planning Committee for all the work they do to provide this conference to the GIS community of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells 2014 Q1 Update
The latest version of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pennsylvania Unconventional Natural Gas Wells data set is now available. The update includes records through March 31, 2014. You can now Download the data without registering. For information about updates, see the Version Information page. For more information, please see the Metadata and User License Agreement.