NACIS 2026

A Cartographic Analysis of Renewable Energy Maps
Sarah Haedrich, University of Oregon
How is the development of renewable energy imagined? Where are renewable energy facilities actually located, and how are those decisions made? What role do maps play in these development processes? In this presentation, I will explore these questions through a case study of utility-scale solar and wind development in Oregon. I will present findings from a content analysis of maps depicting solar and wind development, followed by preliminary findings from interviews with renewable energy development stakeholders.

FERNS Pesticide Notification Web Map Development
Joanna Merson, University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab
Erik Steiner, University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab
Mason Leavitt, Beyond Toxics
Michal Klopotowski, University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab
Oregon has one of the nation's most comprehensive public notification systems for planned pesticide applications on forestlands. However, notifications are available as individual PDFs, making access and geographic exploration difficult. In collaboration with Beyond Toxics, an environmental justice nonprofit based in OR, we developed an interactive map that makes pesticide notifications (2014-2024) easier to explore. The presentation focuses on design choices that improve access through interactive mapping, filters, and original source links while communicating data limitations. Public response has been mixed: supporters praise the map for increasing transparency and public access to environmental information,

Hidden Hybrids in the Huayhuash: Public/Private Property Mapping in Perú
Timothy Norris, University of Miami
In 2002 the Cordilleras Huayhuash and Raura of the central Peruvian Andes were designated as the Zona Reservada Cordillera Huayhuash (ZRCH). Shortly after this state led initiative, local communities leveraged novel private conservation frameworks to have their lands recognized as private conservation areas (PCAs). This hybrid public/private conservation strategy is remarkably successful to date. I tell a cartographic story of these efforts and argue that the benefits of the PCAs are hidden from the state and that the benefits of the ZRCH are hidden from the communities. These hidden benefits present an opportunity in which maps can reveal these emergent hybrid conceptions of property and the impact they have on the socionatural landscape.

Mapping the Natlas: Cartography for Conservation in Vermont
Bernadette Osborn, Middlebury College
As a geospatial intern with The Nature Conservancy in Vermont, I designed 16 hiking maps for the "Natlas," a collection of Natural Area maps built to serve hikers, hunters, stewardship staff, and TNC as a whole. Using Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS, QGIS, and Adobe Illustrator, I created maps that layer natural communities, topography, and hydrology into clear, field-ready references. This talk walks through my workflow, from data processing to final design, and the choices made to balance public accessibility with the technical needs of land stewards. I'll share lessons learned building multi-use conservation maps for a diverse, non-cartographer audience.

Natural areas cartography: If you like it, should you put a ring on it?
Jovian Sackett, Southern Environmental Law Center
While natural areas, like wetlands, rarely possess crisp boundaries, legal determinations often require them. Wetlands are complex and dynamic systems, regulated to varying degrees, making them specifically challenging to represent. Cartography is a valuable communications tool for environmental advocacy and educational applications, but a critical one for informing decision makers like judges, legislators and environmental agency leaders on jurisdictional matters about wetlands areas. Cartographers must author maps that respect data limitations, without leaving readers confused or misled. The balance lies somewhere between the unmistakable starkness of a bold, singular line and the indecipherable haze of a gradient, where clarity and complexity meet.