You probably know the Conservancy through our nature preserves like Clark, Kellys Run, and Wizard Ranch. Maybe you’ve attended our educational programs or fundraising celebrations. But less often seen is the team of motivated, passionate, and talented people who make it possible for the Conservancy to protect and restore our natural lands and provide opportunities for our community to connect with nature. That’s why we want to introduce you to some of our team members doing critical work for our natural world!
Corey Staver is Lancaster Conservancy’s GIS Technician.
1. What do you do in your role at the Conservancy?
I maintain the Conservancy’s GIS system. I use our GIS to build PDF and print maps for our staff and the public, like the trail maps at our trailhead kiosks or the hunting maps which can be downloaded on our preserve webpages. I also maintain interactive web maps which our staff use in the office as well as in the field from their mobile phones. The web maps provide real-time information about our property portfolio, the assets on our preserves, and property management information, such as locations of maintenance issues or invasive plants to be remediated.
2. What is GIS?
“GIS” stands for geographic information system. A GIS is a special type of database platform for managing geographic data.
3. How does GIS help the Conservancy in our work to protect and steward natural lands and support access to nature?
The Conservancy is responsible for over 10,000 acres of land which we either own or monitor. A lot of information is required to complete this work, and a lot of that information is spatial. GIS is the ideal tool to manage large volumes of spatial information.
Our GIS is our authoritative record source for our property boundaries and land survey information. We also use it to produce a large variety of maps which help us maintain our properties, complete infrastructure and restoration projects, and to communicate with the public. It is the core tool we utilize to perform spatial analyses when we want to take a closer look at specific environmental impacts or conservation best practices.
4. What’s a favorite project you’ve worked on at the Conservancy?
I have enjoyed setting up and implementing our GIS field data system. This project (which is still ongoing) requires a lot of coordination with our Stewardship team, where I get to learn about all our various field operations. As someone who works behind the computer screen exclusively, it’s fun to hear about the real-world, hands-on work we’re doing in the field, and finding ways to use GIS to assist in that work.
5. What led you to work at Lancaster Conservancy?
I have worked in GIS for 16 years. My previous work was for local government doing land records management and city and regional planning, which mostly focused on land development. As someone who loves the outdoors and spending time in natural places (hiking, kayaking and mountain biking), I wanted to try using my GIS skills for an organization on the other side of things, in conservation or parks and recreation. The Conservancy does both, so when I found the opportunity here it was a natural fit.
6. What do you want others to know about Lancaster Conservancy, nature, preserve access, etc.?
Our natural lands are under a lot of pressure from land development, pollution, climate change, and the like. Many of my best memories are from the life experiences I’ve had hiking, hunting, and exploring in our state and national parks, the Conservancy’s preserves, and growing up on my family’s farm in Northeast Ohio.
Now that I’m a dad of two little girls, it has become important to me to do what I can to help ensure they have access to these same great places and experiences. It’s also important to me to show respect and help care for the fragile ecological system which we depend on for our food, our health, and all the resources humanity needs. Working at the Conservancy has given me the opportunity to pursue both of these important priorities. I’m thankful that the Conservancy and many other great organizations like it are out there doing the meaningful work that they do.
