Bioregional Features Menu

“We need to provide for all life systems to continue and multiply, working with rather than against nature, looking at people and systems in all their functions, allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolution.” —Bill Mollison, “Permaculture Ethics,” A Designer’s Manual, 1990)

Differing from a parcel level map, bioregional maps should include an equal amount of information on both cultural and biophysical features. The types of data that can be mapped are virtually limitless. To assist you in deciding what to map, the following list is offered as a menu. Pick and choose—and feel free to make new categories which are important for guiding the future of your home or region.

Headings in the following list correspond to types of map information which may be included in a Bioregional Map Atlas.

1. Atlas cover sheet

Name of atlas/logo
Why the atlas was created
Who helped to make the atlas
Contents
Who helped to pay for the atlas project
Where comments should be sent

2. Location keys

Map area in relation to larger identifiable land areas (region, province, western Canada, western North America, hemisphere, etc.)

3. Base map

Atlas title block
North arrow & scale indicator
Production credits
Planimetric outline of coastline, major waterways, several highest mountain peaks
Border of area being mapped (neighbourhood, island, watershed, bioregion)

4. Topography

Copy of topographic sheet used to create the base map
Notations on sheet showing width and breadth of map area, population, number of settlements or other basic descriptive information.

5. Generalized geology

Surficial geology
Bedrock geology
Glacial history
Cross sections
Mineral deposit locations and exploitation histories
Fault line location, earthquakes (dates, epicentres, intensities)
Location of caves, hot springs, other special features
Sketches/photos of special geologic features

6. Soils

Agriculturally productive soils
Canada Land Inventory soil rating
Soil series profiles
Areas of high erosion potential
Unstable soil and landslide zones
Logging roads that need to be “put to bed” to reduce erosion
Roads, culverts, or development which block natural drainage
Areas where soils are tainted by waste

7. Physiographic regions

Land form regions and their names
Highest and lowest point in each land form region

8. Elevation contours

Summarized into categories such as “less than 500 feet,” “500-2500 feet,” “above 2500 feet”
Elevation of highest and lowest points in study area

9. Climate

Climate station locations and summary records
Dates of and location of most intense storms, snowfalls, floods, heat waves, etc.
Location of warmest and coldest temperature readings
Area of highest rainfall, snowfall, temperature, etc.
Wind velocity, direction, patterns
Relative humidity, precipitation
Temperature, solar income
Growing seasons
Fog and frost frequencies
Present and potential future impacts of climate change

10. Hydrology

Aquifer locations, depth, flow, capacity, chemical composition
Drainage basins and discharge profiles
Flood plains, historic flood levels
Well locations, date drilled, flow profile, chemical composition
Fresh water and marine habitat characteristics
Water quality test results (turbidity, BOD, chemical composition)
Water table
Location of buried streams

11. Flora

Lists of current, threatened & extinct species
List of indicator species
Comparison of historic and present area of species habitats
Location of biggest, oldest, or highest concentration of indicator species

12. Fauna

Lists of current, threatened and extinct species
List of indicator species
Comparison of historic and present area of species habitats
Food web
Mating, denning, nesting locations
Record of sightings (date, species, number)
Migration routes within and through study area

13. Ecosystems

Ecosystem communities by domain, region, biogeoclimatic zone, subzone, etc.
Dominant characteristics of ecosystem communities
Major ecosystem disturbances

14. First Nations/Original occupying groups

Historic tribal and clan territories
Present land claim
Linguistic areas
Population trends
Permanent & seasonal settlement locations
Traditional land use locations (berry picking, fishing, etc.)
Sacred places (general locations only)
Traditional place names & meanings
Resource uses
Demographic profile and comparison with larger regional society

15. European colonization

Dates and routes of emigration if known
Colonization routes and dates
Location and brief description of historic events (location of battles, forts, natural disasters, colonization routes, etc.)
First occupancy areas; methods of survival
Housing, food, resource uses
Cultural practices

16. Political administration

Administrative regions current in study area
Federal/provincial/regional electoral areas
Human resource management regions
Natural resource management regions

17. Demographic trends

Population (age/sex ratios)
Ethnic composition, immigration and emigration rates
Individual, household, and family income levels
Labour force distribution
Education levels
Accident and mortality rates by type

18. Culture

Location and condition of cultural amenities (schools, churches, libraries, sports fields, hospitals, day care centres, senior centres, community centres & halls, theatres, etc.)
List of cultural amenities not currently available in community
Location of prisons, police stations, security agencies
Literary history (author’s homes, story locations)
Architectural styles and distribution; location of buildings which best represent a particular architectural style
Distinctive dialects and other cultural characteristics
Pictures, biographical profiles, location of residence of ten most famous past and current community leaders, authors, artists, etc.
Locations where crime is concentrated
Distribution of services dedicated to use by specific age, gender, ethnic group
Location of places deemed important to preservation of community identity
Areas of social dysfunction

19. Land use

History of land ownership and value (uses, zoning etc.)
History of land improvements (structures, fences, gardens, wells, etc.)
Historic subdivision patterns
Settlement pattern history (change in density of development structures and/or communities)
Roadways which are dangerous for pedestrians or bicycles
Barriers to access by children and the physically challenged
Locate heritage buildings, mark their age and condition, list current owners
Delineate neighbourhood village boundaries within larger urban centres
Land clearing time series (e.g. cleared vs forested land 1950 and 1990 as traced from air photos)
Settlements time series (how urban places have grown over time, either by cover of land, or expansion of boundaries)
Identify vacant publicly owned land
Areas impervious to rainwater infiltration
Land uses defined by age and gender group most using them (elders, children, teens, etc.)
Identify holdings of largest landowners
Chart age and condition of major infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, street trees, etc.

20. Food

Wild food species and habitats locations
Areas of high agricultural production and/or capability
Food sources & distribution patterns
Location of locally owned food processors and sellers
Estimate of ability of region to be self reliant in different types of food
Names of plant and animal varieties historically grown in area
Growing seasons for different food varieties

21. Water

Sources and delivery infrastructure of potable water
Irrigation and non-potable water sources
Trend in costs of public water supply
Threats to water quality
Water quality testing records
Volume of water used by category (home, garden, industry, commercial, etc.)

22. Energy

Source, delivery infrastructure and volume of energy supply by type (hydro, nuclear, gas, coal, wood, wind, solar, etc.)
Present and historic supply mix
Location of energy efficient structures or manufacturing operations
Percentage of total energy demand from outside sources

23. Transportation

Road networks, ferry networks, ports, airports
Present and historic traffic counts, passenger counts, and freight throughput
Accident records; accident black spots
Graph of historic tariff and fuel cost increases
Locations of bus stops, taxi stands, ferry terminals, large parking lots, stop lights, etc.
Acreage covered for transportation purposes

24. Solid waste

Location of dumps, septic tank disposal, incinerators, public garbage receptacles
Recycling and composting facilities
Location of industrial agriculture operations (feed lots, poultry farms, etc.)
Estimated vol. and make-up of waste stream
Location and output of largest waste makers by volume, weight, toxicity

25. Economy

Present and historic distribution of employment types
Present and historic economic performance indicators
Economic sector profiles (tourism, retail, wholesale, industrial, service, institutional, military)
Extraction records for primary and natural resource based industries (fisheries, mining, forestry, agriculture)
Location and date of company ownership transfers, closure, expansions
Major employers by type and number of employees
Largest locally owned businesses
Local and regional government tax burden and debt trend analysis
Property sale price trend analysis

26. Environmental degradation

Known major sources of water, air and soil pollution
Location and results of water, soil and air quality sampling
Areas of conflict between wildlife and human communities
Pollution plume patterns (untreated sewage discharge, incinerator smoke, etc.)
Degraded forest lands (date of clear-cut, location of roads, landslides, etc.)
Environmental threat issues identified (farmland destruction, nutrient loading by waste streams) etc.

27. Protected areas

Present parks, wilderness areas, reserves with sizes, date of protection, and visitation rates
Additional areas that should be protected to maintain biodiversity
Percentage of each habitat type which remains undeveloped, and in protected areas
Percentage of alpine vs lowlands protected
Proposal for how existing protected areas could be joined together to al low long-term protection of biodiversity

28. Problems

Make notations of the most critical social and environmental challenges which exist within the map area. If site specific, draw lines from the notations to the places where challenges exist.

29. Solutions

Make notations of actions required to begin solving social and environmental challenges which exist within the map area. If site specific, draw lines from the notations to the place where the restoration or actions should take place.

30. Summary of findings (end sheet, no map)

What has been learned in the mapping process
The most critical problems which must be addressed
The most important current attributes to be protected
Priority of actions revealed in the atlas
A means of achieving sustainability and social justice
A spatial frame of reference
A social and ecological planning unit
A potential political unit
A cultural entity

About “Envisioning Cascadia, A Bioregional Atlas”

This atlas was prepared by The UBC School of Community and Regional Planning, Cascadia Planning Team, comprised of students in a Regional Planning Workshop.

The maps are based on the boundaries of the Cascadian bioregion as established by David McCloskey in 1988.

The boundaries of Cascadia are physical not political. Its eastern edge is formed largely by the mountain tops of the continental divide. When you look at the maps in this orientation, you can imagine you are standing on the heights above the headwaters of all the rivers that flow into the Northeast Pacific. To your right is the Alaska panhandle and the direction from which all the original Turtle Island settlers are thought to have come.

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