Exercise 2 Answers

2.1. How easy did you find I-MAP NJDEP?
I found it quite easily, and quickly made a link to it on this blog, so that I can search again.

2.2. What kinds of data are available?
There are dozens of categories, everything from congressional, legislative, county and municipal boundaries to contamination sites to open space to water bodies to streams to various demarcations of wildlife data.

2.3. What kinds of data are not available that you would like to see?
Given the rise of bear and coyote sightings in NJ, it might be useful to map their territories. And, of course, given my affection for the issue of cemeteries and land use, I would like to see cemeteries marked, including the various types (public, historic, religious, etc.)

2.4. What level of user do you think would use this service (novice, educated adult, expert, etc)? Explain.
I think an educated adult or expert would be able to use this easily. Someone without any knowledge of mapping or geography might be limited.

2.5. What were the 3 most significant limitations that you encountered using I-MAP?
1- Not easy to step back in time, a-la move back several steps (more than one step), or at least I could not figure out how to do it. When I got stuck, I just started over.
2 - Like to see more variation, besides 1930 and 2002 views.
3 - Information is dated. To the best of my memory, I tore down our pool prior to 2002, but that image is still there.
4 - Perhaps I just couldn't spot it, but this does not seem to indicate zoning delineations

2.6. What are the benefits that you see for internet mapping technologies such as I-MAP?
I can work on a map without loading in mammoth software programs. And I can work on any computer, whether it is on the Rowan campus, hooked into the Rowan network or not.

2.7. How has the land in your neighborhood change since 1930?
It remains mostly rural, but there are a handful of more homes in my area, plus what appears to be relatively new-growth woods. About a half-mile from my home now is a very large lake, created from an old sand-mining site (and recently taken over by the NJ Fish and Wildlife folks). It is hard to tell whether it is there in 1930 or whether the 1930 image is just of the sand pit.
And, of course, there were no protected Pinelands in 1930. My property in on the fringe of the Pinelands.