Estimating Areas Suitable for Livestock Grazing in Wyoming

Learning Unit Description:

The Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training Project (iGETT) presents a series of Learning Units (LU) designed to incorporate federal land remote sensing data into Geographic Information System (GIS) instruction. The Estimating Areas Suitable for Livestock Grazing in Wyoming, by Jeff Sun at Casper uses GIS, GPS, and satellite imagery to classify land into suitable areas of grazing on a ranch west of Casper, Wyoming. Students use NDVI imaging and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS) data to estimate foraging. 

The iGETT Learning Units amount to about two weeks of instruction and are designed for use both as “skills-based case studies and building blocks for new courses.” All LUs are intended for students with a basic understanding of GIS. Each LU includes three core documents, an instructor’s guide, a student guide, and a curriculum support document, as well as the remote sensing data needed to complete the unit. This particular LU takes about four weeks of class time to complete. 

Upon completion of the lesson, students should have developed the ability to download and examine relevant GIS data, identify the characteristics of suitable grading areas, and delineate those areas in cartographically correct formats. 

For orientation purposes, viewers should begin with Sun_Thumbnail.pdf, which offers a description of the LU as well as an overview of topics covered, required software, and the intended audience.

Lesson Contents:

The attached files associated with this LU exist in a variety of formats and a variety of geospatial data file types.

Below is a list of the files contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each file is included in parenthesis.

LU_JSun.zip

• Documents
  • Lesson Overview (Sun_Thumbnail.pdf, 119KB)
  • Instructor Guide (Sun_IG_Final.pdf, 160KB)
  • Student Handout (Sun_SH_Final.pdf, 2.3MB)
  • Curriculum Support Document (Grazing_Sun_J_CG_july2008.pdf, 16KB)
• Data
  • JsunData1 (JsunData1.rar, 143.4MB)
    • USGS_NED
      • ​​(usgs_nad83.aux, 5KB)
      • usgs_nad83 (7 data files, 2MB)
      • usgs_gcs 
        • (METADATA.SHX, 148 bytes)
        • (METADATA.SHP, 980 bytes)
        • (METADATA.PRJ, 167 bytes)
        • (METADATA.DBF, 5KB)
        • (METADA~1.HTM, 20KB)
        • INFO (1 data file, 760 bytes)
      • info (5 data files, 4KB)
    • Topos
      • ​​Stinkingwater (Stinkingwater.zip, 4 data files, 3.1MB)
      • gaylord (gaylord.zip, 4 data files, 2.6MB)
      • broadmesa (broadmesa.zip, 4 data files, 2.9MB)
      • 8mile (8mile.zip, 4 data files, 2.7MB)
    • Soils (7 data files, 477KB)
    • slope
      • (slope.aux, 6KB)
      • slope (8 data files, 1.9MB)
      • (reclass_slope.aux, 6KB)
      • reclass_slope (9 data files, 110KB)
      • info (12 data files, 11KB)
    • Remote_Sensed_Imagery1 (8 data files, 31.1MB)
    • ranch_outline (21 data files, 18KB)
    • Arial_Photos
      • Stinking_Water (3 data files, 24.8MB)
      • Gaylord (3 data files, 24.7MB)
      • EightMile (3 data files, 24.7MB)
      • Broad_Mesa (3 data files, 24.7MB)
  • JsunData2 (JsunData2.rar, 146.7MB)
    • Remote_Sensed_Imagery2
      • (rectifycombined.img, 240.4MB)