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Cartography, simply stated, is the art and science of making maps. Maps that portray the surface of the earth as well as the oceans and heavens are as necessary today as they have been for centuries. The first wildlife refuge maps were drawn by hand, and reflected little more than a dashed boundary line surrounding the land and water being protected. While the days of using ink pens to create maps are mostly a thing of the past, accurate and detailed maps of our wildlife refuges are needed more than ever.

The Cartographers working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today create a variety of maps for a multitude of purposes. Using computers and special software, they produce maps that show the boundaries of the refuge, the land ownerships inside those boundaries, the wildlife habitats, and refuge management plans. Employing geographic information system (GIS) technology, the maps can be made 'intelligent' by linking to a variety of databases that provide information about the lands the FWS currently manages and those lands proposed as future refuges.

For more information about Cartography & GIS within the various Regions of the Fish and Wildlife Service, contact:

Region 1 (California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington): David Drescher, GIS & Mapping Branch Chief, (503) 231-6196 or e-mail David_Drescher@fws.gov

Region 2 (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas): Billy W. Rasberry, Regional Land Surveyor 505-248-741 or e-mail Billy_Rasberry@fws.gov

Region 3 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin): Sean Killen, Regional Cartographer (612) 713-5481 or e-mail Sean_Killen@fws.gov

Region 4 (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico): Kimberly Eldridge, Regional Cartographer 404-679-7207 or e-mail Kimberly_Eldridge@fws.gov

Region 5 (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia): Linda Shaffer, Cartography and Spatial Data Services Branch Chief, (413) 253-8292 or e-mail Linda_Shaffer@fws.gov

Region 6 (Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming ): Mark Ely, Regional Cartographer, (303) 236-8145 ext. 642 or e-mail Mark_Ely@fws.gov

Region 7 (Alaska): John Brewer, Mapping Sciences Branch Chief, (907) 786-3462 or e-mail John_G_Brewer@fws.gov

Region 9 (Headquarters - Washington, D.C.): Doug Vandegraft, Chief Cartographer, (703) 358-2404 or e-mail Doug_Vandegraft@fws.gov

Cartography Resources
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