VAMLIS Mission The Virginia Association for Mapping and Land Information Systems is a professional association in Virginia designed to provide educational and networking opportunities for professionals who have an interest in the mapping sciences in Virginia.
Friends of Dragon Run (FODR) is dedicated to preserving land in the Dragon Run watershed, located in Virginia’s Upper Peninsula. The Dragon Run itself flows into the Piankatank River and is widely considered a pristine and untouched swampland in Virginia. Its watershed covers four countries: Gloucester, Middlesex, Essex, and King and Queen. FODR already owns and manages 650 acres along the shoreline of Dragon Run and uses them for conservation and educational purposes. We worked with FODR to help them determine which parcels in the Dragon Run watershed they should consider purchasing to preserve more land within this area. To accomplish this, we mapped the parcels within the watershed, and we decided on seven characteristics that we could use to evaluate how valuable they would be to FODR. These seven characteristics included Proximity to Dragon Run, Land cover type, Presence of conservation easements, Priority Conservation Zones, Bridge proximity, Price per acre, and Water nutrient load. Our finished suitability model would be used to help FODR make much more informed decisions.
