From the tidewater glaciers of Alaska to the "River of Grass" in Florida, a powerful mapping tool is shaping the future of our national parks. An evolving tool in modern technology, geographic information systems (GIS) capture, store, analyze, manipulate, update, and display all forms of geographically referenced information. Far from just another coffee-table book, Mapping the Future of America's National Parks is a unique resource for national park visitors and GIS novices and more advanced students. Filled with colorful maps, charts, and photographs, the book documents the spread of GIS into every corner of the National Park Service to repair trails and roads, locate artifacts, restore American battlefields, guide development, manage wildfires, and protect fragile lands. In Nevada, GIS helps researchers decide if endangered bighorn sheep have enough room to raise their young. In California, GIS helps biologists study California condors as the rare creatures venture into the wild. In Virginia, GIS guides archaeologists as they plot the course of colonial life in Jamestown.

The book is a must for the national park visitor who has ever wondered, how does it all work? Why did they put the road there? How did they know the fire would burn that way? Why did they reforest the Civil War battlefield? The stories inside provide dozens of examples of the invaluable role of GIS in national parks, from fire safety and hiking brochures to wildlife protection and park ecosystems. As a whole, the book tells the remarkable story of dedicated GIS specialists, scientists, and researchers in the National Park Service, working behind the scenes or trudging fields with hand-held computers, as they endeavor to map and preserve America's most special places for future generations.

"Mapping the Future of America's National Parks displays the impressive work of the National Park Service and its use of GIS software to preserve parks and all their varied resources for our benefit, and for all time. It is a privilege to work with such dedicated stewards as they apply geographic technology to meet the challenges of park management in the twenty-first century, ultimately for the betterment of our world."
Jack Dangermond, President, ESRI