A Geographic Information Science (GISci) Approach to Evaluating Airboat use in the Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades are subtropical marshlands located in the southern portion of the United States state of Florida. Over the past few decades, municipal encroachment has impacted the ecosystem through numerous recreational activities. One particular activity involves ecotourism and the use of airboats to transport customers to unique locations. This study considered the impact of airboat use created by such transportation activities. Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems where used to analyze the impact of airboat use. The total length of airboat trails and total length based on width where compared with total area of vegetation. Comparisons among percent area of vegetation and the average total length of airboat trails by region, along with the difference between the percent vegetation near and far where all analyzed. A significant positive correlation was found between airboat trails ges 10 meters (m) wide and total area of cattail and between airboat trails ges 10m wide and airboat trails ges3m wide.