our Work
site suitability modeling for land prioritiziation
We completed Site Suitability Modeling for a Land Trust to help them focus their efforts on lands that meet their mission and values. With over 15,000 square miles in their service area, land prioritization will be an important part of focusing their resources on the most important areas. Criteria were developed based on the Land Trust mission and values, and each criterion was scaled and weighted based on multiple factors. The final model was integrated into a workflow management dashboard to help the Land Trust streamline their work and have instant access to the key information. Additional functionality was added to enable them to quickly create figures for their easement baseline documentation.
The dashboard has multiple tabs and uses a combination of ESRI’s Experience Builder and Operations Dashboards.
Assessor’s Parcel map and Summary Report
The application uses a combination of ESRI’s Web AppBuilder Developer’s edition and VertiGIS’s Geocortex Reporting widget.
We completed a GIS needs assessment for a County Assessor’s department, which consisted of interviews with Assessor Department staff and the community. The result was an Assessor’s Map and Parcel Summary viewer which receives almost 90,000 views per year. The application includes an interactive map, showing important reference information such as Parcel Boundaries, Subdivisions, and Impact Areas. It also provides full resolution Subdivision and Assessor plats for download, and an in-depth PDF summary report for each property. This report is generated on-the-fly and includes ownership information, links to associated Subdivision and Assessor’s plats, sketches, valuation and sales history, improvement information, images, and more.
story map & dashboard created for fundraising
We configured multiple products to help a newly formed nonprofit fundraise the money required to purchase a 44-acre riverfront property. A StoryMap was used as the primary presentation material when speaking with potential donors and the community. This allowed the Board to tell a unified story, build connections, and have continuity of key information in one place. An online survey form was created to allow pledges from the community and a dashboard was included to show real-time progress of fundraising efforts. This provided an important level of transparency and contributed to the successful acquisition of a 44-acre riverfront property that can now be enjoyed by the public.
The StoryMap included an embedded Dashboard that tracked fundraising efforts in real-time, which received information from Survey123 forms submitted by the community.
map cartography highlights
The Grizzly Bear recovery areas map was created to be inserted into a page of a pamphlet, so much of the border and title designs were configured in by the pamphlet designer. The Yellowstone Bison map was a passion project, created in my down time as an example of how inspirational data visualization in maps can be.
What our clients Are Saying:
GeoSpatial Training Systems
“I recommend Kara Utter as a highly capable GIS consultant. Kara has worked with Geospatial Training Services for several years in a variety of independent consulting capacities including Story Maps application development, course content development, teaching, and marketing and sales. She has excellent GIS knowledge and skills using Esri products including Web App Builder, Story Maps, Experience Builder, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Desktop. Kara is highly self-motivated and works well independently with little supervision. She is highly flexible and exhibits excellent communication skills.”
2020 – Eric Pimpler, Owner, Geospatial Training Services
United States Forest Service
“Kara Utter developed a geo-referenced map for the Payette Interagency Dispatch Center’s Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD). The product that she produced was simply outstanding. The entire Dispatch Staff really enjoys using the map and appreciate the attention to detail she put in it. Kara was super easy to work with while making adjustments to the project. She was very timely on meeting deadlines and was always open to feedback. Her understanding of the Dispatch Office and how the Wildland Fire Organization functions was greatly beneficial for her in the development of the map. It was a pleasure working with Kara and we really appreciated her professionalism.”
2020 – Gary Murphy, Payette Dispatch Center Manager (retired)
United States Forest Service – Intermountain Region
Valley County, Idaho
“Kara is incredibly diligent and professional in her work, possessing an excellent mind that provided both research and analysis to both internal and external stakeholders. Every conversation internally or externally with customers reaffirmed the opinions I held and continue to hold. She was able to extend GIS tools and mindset to areas outside what I would have thought were traditional GIS products. Some of these tools I personally used daily allowed me to be more effective in my decision making.”
2021 – David Crawford, former Valley County IT Coordinator
