MAPS - 2011 - UPDATE!

Through coordination between Montana State University GPS professor Diana Cooksey, Gallatin Conservation District, and Gallatin County GIS Department, the AGAI Water Conveyance Facilities (canals and ditches) continues to map the canals and ditches of Gallatin County.

For Fall 2010, Diana Cooksey's class is working on mapping the Mammoth Ditch. At the end of September, Dave Jones provided the team with a tour of ditch features and supplied a wealth of information about both the history of the Mammoth ditch and of water rights in the Gallatin Valley.

This year we are very pleased to announce that The Gallatin Conservation District granted AGAI $3,000 to hire our first intern! A big thank you goes to Marcie Murnion and the GCD board members who saw the possibilities and approved the funds. AGAI gave the grant to Christine Miller, one of the MSU students that mapped the West Gallatin Canal in 2009. Allen Armstrong's GIS department at the county was able to put Christine into their payroll system so that insurance and liability issues were covered. Following please find Christine Miller's report of progress dated October 29, 2010.

Going forward we are looking for more canal and ditches to map with future MSU classes. Any AGAI members who would like to be put on the list and/or hear more about what it entails from their end should contact AGAI board member Jennifer Mohler. The AGAI/MSU/Gallatin County Water Conveyance Facilities mapping project is a wonderful member benefit, so please don't hesitate to give Jennifer a call to get on the list.

Christine Miller - I was hired as a part time (10-15 hours per week) paid intern and began working in July 2010. I have finished mapping the canals that the Montana State GPS class started, as well as cleaning up the data that they had collected. I have mapped the Farmer's Canal to where it goes underground on College Ave., picked it back up where it comes out above ground next to Smith's grocery store, and followed it to where it confluences with the East Gallatin River. I also continued mapping the West Gallatin Canal and the laterals that it drains into, through Bozeman and north to where it confluences with the East Gallatin River, near the airport. Additionally, I have continued on the Low Line Canal, and am nearing its confluence with the East Gallatin River, northwest of Manhattan. Following the work out in the field mapping these canals, digital cleanup is necessary, to ensure that the canals and the features overlay the aerial image properly.Ê