Vision
FER Home : Geographic Information Science : Vision
In the years ahead, FER intends to continue seeking breakthroughs in the multidisciplinary GIS skills critical to the management of forests and natural resources — including cartography, engineering and land surveying, environmental sciences, geodetic science, geography, landscape architecture and remote sensing and photogrammetry.
It also intends to foster this same multidisciplinary approach when it comes to research and education, and to promote the informed and responsible use of GIS and geographic analysis for the benefit of society in general.
GIS’s overall goals within FER are to:
- Advance GIS theory and methods as they pertain to natural resource management.
- Assess the current and potential contributions of GIS to public policy issues affecting the environment.
- Strengthen GIS education at all academic levels.
- Encourage collaborative, interdisciplinary GIS research.
- Promote the ethical use of geographic information in support of America’s need to better manage its natural resources.
GIS’s specific goals for FER over the next five years are to:
- Establish an undergraduate minor in GIS.
- Pursue development of a Natural Resources PhD program in Geographic Information Science.
- Promote the use of GIS techology and applications across all disciplines, academic programs and University jobs.
