Final Report Assessing biodiversity concerns of urban sprawl

Final Report Assessing biodiversity concerns of urban sprawl and projecting smart growth in Hays County, Texas Prepared by: Project Manager Stephanie Rosson-Singleton Assistant Manager Ryan Schmidt Web Master Noah Hopkins GIS Analysts Cherrie-Lee Phillip Mark Adair 07 December 2005

Purpose l Identify where sprawl is occurring in Hays County l Identify habitat requirements for concerned species in Hays County l Map out distribution of suitable habitats l Project an area of smart growth l Least adverse impact on these habitats

Scope l Location: Hays County, Texas l Population = 114, 193 l Total areas = 693. 5 square miles l Bordered by Edwards Plateau and Southern Black Prairie Region l Over a 5 year period

Background l l l Juniper-Oak forests 35 -100% Canopy Cover Soils - rock outcrop, Loamy clay 164 Feet away from Roads 164 Feet nearby rivers and streams Endangered Status

Literature Review

Literature Review l Ewing, R. , J. et al. “Endangered by Sprawl: How Runaway Development Threatens America’s Wildlife”. l Shaw, D. “Applications of GIS and remote sensing for the characterization of habitat for threatened and endangered species”.

Data and Sources Base Line Data Sources County Roads l County Boundary l Digital Elevation Models - DEM l l Capital Area Council of Governments Capco. org l Texas Natural Resource Information System - TNRIS

Data and Sources Environmental Data l l l Hydrology Soils Species Vegetation Building Permits Sources l l l Capitol Area Council of Governments TX Parks and Wildlife Hays County Appraisal District City of Austin Webpage Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization CAMPO

Permit Data l 2001 1 2200 HARMON HILLS RD. DRIPPING SPRINGS TX 78620 - 1/3/2001 3 206 CIRCLE DR. BUDA TX 78610 - 1/3/2001 4 2025 CRESTMONT LN. KYLE TX 78640 - 1/4/2001 5 2080 RIDGEMONT LN. KYLE TX 78640 - 1/4/2001 6 670 TOM SAWYER RD. DRIPPING SPRINGS TX 78620 - 1/4/2001 7 2065 RIDGEMONTLN. KYLE TX 78640 - 1/4/2001 8 145 POLLY'S POINT DRIPPING SPRINGS TX 78620 - 1/4/2001 9 204 BLANCO DR. WIMBERLEY TX 78676 - 1/5/2001 10 596 HILLS EDGE WIMBERLEY TX 78676 - 1/8/2001 Excerpt of Permit Data

Permit Data

Methods Creation of personal Geodatabase Geocoded Building permit data Areas of growth shown on maps Reference information on species habitats Created optimal species habitat Maps of selected species overlayed on growth l Projection of smart growth l l l

Methods

Methods Continued l Vector analysis l Buffering l Raster analysis l Raster reclassification l Slope definition

Flowchart

Results l The final results were obtained by using a raster calculator expression to obtain areas of Hays County that offered optimal wildlife habitat. l The layers involved in the analysis included: -slopes > 5 -vegetation that included juniper and oaks -a general soils map that would accommodate the necessary vegetation -a kernel density analysis of geo-referenced building permits for the county from 2002 -2005

Results Prior to creating the calculator expression we reclassified the slope of the land to show sloped areas > 5 * Maroon = > 5

Results

Results l To the reclassified slope layer we added the optimal habitat density for Hays County. l The resulting map is one that indicates optimal habitat and slopes.

Results Optimal habitat density of Hays in map follows from a low density green to high in yellow

Results The final map • Is a result of raster calculator analysis. • This map indicates optimal habitat density The expression used in the calculation involved: • • the reclassified slope analysis optimal habitat for Hays County • The Final map shows areas where development will be detrimental to these particular species, • That sprawl is already encroaching on these sensitive areas • Areas in blue on the eastern side of the county represent land that is best suitable for development or smart growth. • There is still time to curb the growth that is starting to spread in the sensitive areas

Results Areas of optimal habitat density are in green layered with areas of growth/ urban sprawl indicated by the use of geo-referenced building permits for the past 6 years

Discussion l Building Permits as Indicators n l Balance of Interests n l First Analysis of this Type in Hays County Landowners & the Environment Nature of Analysis & The Ground Truth

Conclusion l Urban sprawl is a topic of concern in Hays County l Our study is identifies where sprawl is occurring l Identifies habitat requirements for species of concern l Exhibits an area for smart growth – i. e. , an area with least adverse impact from sprawl on species habitat.

Questions?