GIS mapping topic of SWOAM session

SOUTH PARIS — GIS mapping will be the topic of a three-hour workshop on Saturday, February 19, sponsored by the western Maine chapter of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine.

Region 11 Technical School forestry instructor Al Schaeffer will demonstrate Geographic Information Systems mapping and how it can be used for woodlots. Features include boundaries, brooks and streams, timber types, roads and trails, deer yards, potential or actual harvest areas, etc.

This is the second of a two-part mapping program sponsored by the chapter. The January meeting focused on free mapping software such as Google Earth and Google Maps. This meeting will explore different GIS mapping programs in some detail, showing how to download information from GPS and use it to map specific features onto digital maps. Attendance at the first meeting is not a requirement for the February 19 meeting

The Saturday workshop, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. Signs will be posted at each entrance and coffee and doughnuts will be available.

For more information, contact chapter President Bill Haynes at 583-2963 (forest@maine.com) or Merle Ring at 441-3276.