Corridors for Wolf Reintroduction to Maine

Maine has been identified as holding potential for the reintroduction of wolves. Due to the long ranges of wolves, it is beneficial to map potential corridors of movement. This project analyzes the best routes for movement from suitable habitats in New York to suitable habitats in Maine. It shows the paths likely to be taken by wolves, based on their affinity for mixed and coniferous forest and their avoidance of areas of high road density. These corridors are identified using least cost path analysis and take into account topography as well as forest and road densities.

Developing a Model for Pedestrian Route Selection at Colby

Millions of unconscious calculations are made daily by pedestrians walking through the Colby College campus. I used ArcGIS to make a predictive spatial model that chose paths similar to those that are actually used by people on a regular basis. To make a viable model of how most travelers choose their way, I considered both the distance required and the type of traveling surface. I used an iterative process to develop a scheme for weighting travel costs which resulted in accurate least-cost paths to be predicted by ArcMap. The accuracy was confirmed when the calculated routes were compared to satellite photography and were found to overlap well-worn “shortcuts” taken between the paved paths throughout campus.