Aerial maps show changes from 1945 to 2009
on one selected area of Jackson Hole
on one selected area of Jackson Hole
December 2, 2010
10-98
10-98
Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott is pleased to announce that aerial images of 1945 Jackson Hole that were stored in the park’s archives are now available for public access thanks to a partnership project between Teton Conservation District and Grand Teton National Park, along with assistance from the National Park Service Western Archaeological Conservation Center (WACC) in Tucson, Arizona and Greenwood Mapping, Inc. of Wilson, Wyoming. The project was funded through contributions by Teton Conservation District, Grand Teton National Park, Region 4 of the U.S. Forest Service, the National Elk Refuge, Teton County, Wyoming, and the Grand Teton Association—a cooperating association that supports both Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Robb Sgroi, conservation programs coordinator for the Teton Conservation District, and Kathy Mellander, geographic information systems (GIS) specialist at Grand Teton, collaborated with staff from WACC and Greenwood Mapping, Inc. to assemble numerous aerial photographs taken during 1945 and transfer them to a suitable format for better public access. Teton Conservation District also contracted with Aero-Graphics, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah to “geographically reference and mosaic” the original 1200 aerial prints into a single, seamless aerial map. This image can now be seen through an Internet link or from a DVD.
The composite aerial map is available at http://maps.tetonconservation.org, where users can direct a web viewer to select a section of the image and perform simple functions such as zooming and panning to study different perspectives. Browsers should note that blank sections of the map will be filled with aerials from the same time period as they become available. Accessible to private sector and government agencies, as well as to the general public, the digitized 1945 aerial map may also serve as an important land use planning reference to identify and note land use changes between the 1940s and recent years.
The composite image is also stored on DVDs in .tif or .sid formats for users who have graphics or GIS software. DVDs can be obtained by contacting Teton Conservation District at 307.733.2110.
“We believe that the newly formatted image will provide an interesting window into Jackson Hole’s cultural past and allow viewers to see the old ranches and other landmarks that defined this landscape during the 1940s,” said Superintendent Scott. “We’re grateful for the financial support by the Grand Teton Association and the other major contributors who helped make this piece of history more accessible to the public, and we appreciate the cooperation from Robb Sgroi and other staff at Teton Conservation District on this a unique and illuminating project.”
