Multi-Purpose Decision Support Systems for Source Water Protection Strategies

Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Time: 12:00 to 1:00 PM (eastern)

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The purpose of this webinar is to demonstrate the use of decision support tools and multi-purpose landscape analysis systems that can strengthen the ability of water suppliers to develop land protection strategies that address threats to drinking water sources. Land conservation emphasizes the permanent preservation of land around both groundwater and surface water sources. GIS analysis is an effective and accessible way to identify and rank source lands and can be used throughout the source protection process, providing an invaluable resource for inventories, prioritization and management. This webinar will demonstrate various GIS-based tools developed by The Trust for Public Land, their data layers, and describe specific applications of this information.

Audience: State, interstate, tribal, and federal water programs, municipalities, water utilities, land use advocates, technical assistance providers, and anyone else who would like to participate.

Linda Hwang leads The Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) strategic program development for its twenty offices in the U.S. She is responsible for the development, planning and evaluation of programs delivered by TPL’s State/Area offices, facilitating management processes and providing consulting expertise for strategic initiatives that are aligned with TPL’s mission and the needs and priorities of local communities. Prior to this, Linda was a partner at a start-up that developed customized decision-support tools that quantify ecosystem services for clients such as The Nature Conservancy, The Dow Chemical Company, and Environmental Defense Fund. She was also at Business for Social Responsibility, where she built and led advisory services program offerings on corporate water strategy and ecosystem services strategies for Fortune 500 companies. Linda has a BA in environmental economics, an MPhil in Development Studies & Social Transformation from the University of Cape Town, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Fred Gifford is the GIS Director for The Trust for Public Land (TPL), managing and leading teams using cutting-edge GIS methodologies, tools, and frameworks for trail planning, land conservation, and green infrastructure projects across the U.S. He is also the Technical Lead for the TPL GIS Team and leads application development, web development, and system design and implementation efforts. Fred is an environmental management and GIS professional with over 25 years’ experience. He has worked in a wide array of environmental management and GIS service areas including: business development, client management, staffing, project management, and technical oversight. Fred specializes in managing data intensive, multi-disciplinary studies and computer application development projects that utilize GIS technology. His primary application expertise relates to environmental and natural resource studies (20 years) but also includes local government, transportation, and utilities applications. His expertise includes project management, requirements analysis, system design, programming, and system implementation. Fred has designed and implemented multi-agency, multi-application GIS projects; large GIS data conversion projects; and focused single-application systems.