Many areas of public land have multiple uses, for example the same land could be used for both logging and recreation activities, which results in the potential for conflicts between stakeholder groups. The map below shows all public lands in Washington State.
This page was designed to collect volunteered geographic information (VGI) from participants regarding their preferred land use types on public lands. The map and text below are an example of a method by which VGI could be collected through a web application to analyze land use preferences and potential areas of conflict.
The map to the left shows a specific area of Washington state, with public lands shaded in blue. These lands are owned by federal, state, county, or city or municipal governments, and might contain natural resources which could be used for recreation, agriculture, and forestry purposes.
Click on either the line or polygon icons and draw shapes on the map to identify places where you prefer certain land use types. Once you draw a feature, click either the recreation, agriculture, or forestry button above the map to indicate which type of land use the polygon or line represents.
Participants would draw polygons over certain areas and associate the polygons with different land use types. A spatial analysis of the VGI would identify areas with a high possibility of conflict based on incompatible land use types. The markers could also be expanded to include participant values as they pertain to different areas of land. The results of this study could promote a better understanding of public land use conflict, and the values behind the conflict, which could have implications for the ways in which natural resources in Washington State are managed.