Cool Stuff

Fallout from tree mortality recently caused by insect pests

May 27, 2020 Presented By Tom Worthley, Extension Professor and Forester, UConn Dept. of Extension Recently, insect pests affecting trees, particularly emerald ash borer and gypsy moth, have caused the deaths of trees in varying degrees of severity, from individual trees to entire stands. And with so many folks taking physically-distant recreational time outdoors – […]

CLEAR Bunch #SocialDistancing

Today we held our regular Tuesday CLEAR staff meeting. For the first time in a while the meeting wasn’t cancelled due to looming deadlines, stress, panic, conflicting meetings or anything else.  Even in these social distancing times, everyone “made” it despite being all over the state, juggling households with small children, “distance learning” efforts, dogs […]

CT Trail Census: New Data Viz

The Connecticut Trail Census just launched a new data visualization, analyzing use on many of the state’s most popular multi-use trails. In 2019, the most heavily used trails were the Naugatuck River Greenway in Derby, Riverfront Recapture Trail in Hartford, and the Hop River Trail in Vernon. Hop River Trail data also indicated that a […]

NEW CT 3D Lidar Viewer on CT ECO

The new Connecticut 3D Lidar Viewer marks the first time that 3D elevation points from remotely-sensed Lidar are available in an interactive format over the web.  Lidar is a remote sensing technique to map elevation using a laser sensor on an airplane. The result is millions and millions of points that each have a measured […]

Spring- time for…a soil test?

There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut grass in the springtime…after a long winter we all seem to be longing for something green. Our lawns provide a place for recreation, but if not managed properly, they can cause problems for our local waters, and ultimately the Long Island Sound. Perhaps you fertilize your lawn, […]

CLEARscapes, Just the Facts

The latest edition of CLEAR’s newsletter, CLEARscapes, is now online for your viewing pleasure (embedded below, or link to the pdf here). Our CLEAR newsletter is one way we connect with Connecticut towns and communities, by highlighting all the cool things happening here at the Center. Once or twice a year we publish a newsletter […]

Projections Matter, Especially on Election Night

The first thing I teach someone about maps is that they are more than just lines and direction on a page, screen, or device. Maps convey information. Maps tell a story. But maps can also be deceiving. Consider for a minute, election maps. If you’re reading this blog post then you survived, if just barely, […]

Landsat & Sentinel-2: Satellite Based Sensors for CT’s Landscape

April 24, 2018 Presented By James Hurd Research Associate, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Program Coordinator ConnecticutView and Chandi Witharana, Visiting Research Professor, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Director ConnecticutView There is no shortage of available imagery to view the landscape of Connecticut, or any place in the world for that matter. Imagery comes in all types […]

Spring NEARC at UConn May 8

The Northeast Arc Users Group (NEARC) is a regional group of people from many disciplines who are interested in geospatial technology in some form or other. You join by showing up or joining the email list– all are welcome! NEARC is a non-profit organization that hosts a 3-day conference every fall at venues around New […]

Invest in map layers, make them accessible and work together – a cost saving combination

Mapping layers acquired by CLEAR through the MS4 project + making them available on the CT ECO website = big benefits for users including a surprise savings of at least a half million dollars for the state.  Whoa. Read the full story written by Tyler Kleykamp, Chief Data Officer at the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management where he explains the series […]

Ocean Data for Connecticut

I recently learned about two impressive resources for ocean-based geographic information. One is the Northeast Ocean Data Portal and the other is the New York Geographic Information Gateway. Both are well-developed websites that include a comprehensive data viewer, ancillary information and stories about how ocean information has been used with multiple benefits. The Northeast Ocean […]

Can You Hear Me Now? Smartphone Maps (that work!) Off the Beaten Path

It’s summer. Family vacation time. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for this all year. We had planned to take the family west for two weeks in the mountains. Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Off the beaten path. Round up the kids, pack up the camping […]

That Sound You Hear is the Hatching of Conservation Projects!

Last week saw the successful launch of the Conservation Training Partnership program, the goal of which is to develop and carry out local conservation projects around the state powered by teams of high school students and community volunteers.   The CTP is an outgrowth of the Natural Resources Conservation Academy, the week-long program for high school […]

What is a CFS anyway?

Certified Forestry Surveyor? Calculated Fournier Series? A recent conversation (most likely over a beer, but that doesn’t really factor in here…) with my neighbor provided fodder for this post. We were mapping out our route for opening day of fishing season, and I commented that the Fenton was running over 150 cfs, so it might […]