This e-book provides interactive lessons and hands-on exercises for anyone interested in applying GIS and related tools to conservation and environmental applications. The lessons in this book assume users have a basic proficiency in GIS. Through these lessons and exercises, you will explore and use applications of GIS particularly related to landscape assessment, suitability modeling, and design of alternative strategies. By engaging with the activities in this book, you will:

1. Know how to collect and work with spatial data from the field and public domain;
2. Learn to frame and practice solving spatial environmental questions;
3. Proficiently apply spatial thinking and analytical tools toward conservation and adaptation solutions
4. Confidently apply spatial analyst and spatial statistics tools to compare and evaluate landscape change
5.  Model and synthesize potential environmental scenarios
6.  Design and plan strategies for adaptation to landscape change

Prior knowledge and experience:  To jump into this book, it is best if you have had an introductory course or experience with basic GIS concepts and techniques as well as foundational knowledge of ecology.

For those with little recent GIS experience, I recommend completing the Esri Virtual Campus course: Learning ArcGIS Desktop (for ArcGIS 10) prior to starting this e-book. This virtual campus course has 8 modules and takes about 24 hours to complete. Contact your organizational Esri license manager for a course code and sign up here:  http://www.esri.com/training/main/my-training

The Conservation GIS e-book and course is comprised of three sequential volumes, each building on the previous and described in the schedule of topics.  Depending on your previous GIS experience and learning goals, you may also wish to supplement the course with review readings and other online lessons as suggested throughout.

Book Format

The book presents each chapter topic through an interactive online lesson. Material is drawn from case studies and sample data from supplemental sources. Lessons may be followed by an e-discussion forum where instructors provide follow-up responses to common muddiest points from the online lesson, more specific examples, and demos or tips for the hands-on exercise.

Supplemental Workbook

With the supplemental workbook you can access hands-on lab exercises that accompany each lesson, and a cumulative challenge project at the end of each module.

Lab exercises provide practice on the given topic through a hands-on activity. There is also a lab thread in the Discussion Forum to post and respond to questions for each lab exercise. Answer keys are available for you to check your answers after completing the exercise.

Challenges are longer, independent problem-solving exercises intended to bring together key concepts and tools from each of the modules. All instructions and any data included with the Challenge provided at the end of each module in the book, along with an answer key to review your completed challenge.