🌎 Bobwhite–Manatee Transmission Line GIS Project

 

🌎 Bobwhite–Manatee Transmission Line GIS Project

Overview

This project focused on analyzing the environmental and community impacts of the Florida Power & Light (FPL) Bobwhite–Manatee Transmission Line. Using GIS tools, I evaluated conservation lands, wetlands, uplands, and parcel data within the study corridor to understand potential environmental sensitivities. The project built on skills from earlier modules and combined spatial analysis with cartographic design to communicate complex spatial relationships through clear visual maps.

📂 Project Files:
ARCGIS map 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ge_rg2Bsvc27qIdms6xDdW2dLJwcog-b/view?usp=drive_link

MP4 of Presentation 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t3-IEiTKalGSNogWwbT_DbV5nQsTRkUi/view?usp=drive_link

Power Point Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nIGaeSvLzEY3msQOoG9ZRcaCaHvxSgIs/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=108553125521979567446&rtpof=true&sd=true

Transcript of Presentation

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LRxATZ8prRuI3z6uNln9ynvn2c4Rdt8w/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=108553125521979567446&rtpof=true&sd=true

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🔧 Tools and Techniques

Throughout this project, I used several ArcGIS Pro tools and workflows:

• Clip, Select by Location, and Intersect to define environmental impacts.

• Calculate Geometry and Summary Tables to quantify affected lands.

• Layout View for creating final maps with unified color schemes, legends, and scale bars.

• Attribute queries and labeling to differentiate between wetlands and uplands.

I also incorporated data from multiple authoritative sources, including:

• Florida Department of Education (School Locations)

• U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles (Parcels, Roads, Boundaries)

• FGDL Conservation Lands Dataset

• NWI Wetland and Upland Polygons

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💡 Learnings

This project reinforced the importance of data organization, projection management, and clear cartographic communication. I learned how essential it is to track coordinate systems and attribute structures before beginning analysis. Working through multiple data layers helped strengthen my understanding of overlay analysis and how different GIS operations can produce unique insights depending on the sequence of tools applied.

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😣 Frustrations and Fixes

Not everything went smoothly! Some of the main challenges included:

• Difficulty adding neatlines to maps—this option was unexpectedly unavailable in the Insert menu.

• Trouble summarizing multiple environmental datasets together in one statistical table.

• Confusion over source citations, since not all datasets included clear attribution metadata.

Despite these obstacles, persistence and experimentation paid off. By testing alternate symbology, refining selections, and verifying projection settings, I was able to complete a cohesive analysis and presentation.

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🎤 Reflection

This project demonstrated how GIS supports environmental planning and infrastructure assessment, particularly when balancing community needs with ecological sensitivity. The ability to visualize overlaps between human development and conservation priorities makes GIS a powerful decision-making tool in both academic and professional contexts.