2025 Washington GIS Conference Recap
Did you know? 349 people attended the WAGISA Washington GIS Conference June 16-18 in Tacoma. That is a record! The event was packed with over 90 sessions, 90 presenters, 50 volunteers, and 20 sponsors. We’re already working on the 2026 conference - stay tuned for a save-the-date announcement soon!
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About the DTA
The Richard “Dick” Thomas Award (DTA) was created to honor the life and work of Richard “Dick” Thomas, a pioneering figure and beloved mentor in Washington’s GIS community who passed away in 2006. This award celebrates his legacy by continuing to support and inspire students to be passionate in their studies and take confident steps toward careers in GIS. Held each year at the Washington GIS Conference, the competition invites students to share their original work in GIS or related fields, giving them the opportunity to present to and connect with a professional audience.
Note from the DTA Coordinators, Micah Gelber and Dan Miller:
It was an absolute honor to host another outstanding DTA competition this year. Our 2025 competitors rose to the challenge, delivering projects that showcased not only technical expertise, but also remarkable hard work and genuine passion. Beyond their impressive presentations, they were flexible, engaged, and a joy to work with throughout the planning process. The range of topics and creative approaches sparked lively conversations and left the audience feeling inspired. Several attendees approached me afterward to share how impressed they were with this year’s cohort. I have no doubt the 2025 DTA competitors have bright futures ahead, and I’m excited to see where their journeys will lead.
We would also like to give a special thanks to:
This year’s wonderful judges:
- Keisha Chinn, Washington State Department of Transportation
- Rhonda Parrish, South Sound 9-1-1
- Peter Keum, King County Wastewater Treatment
- Anna Yost, City of SeaTac
Our amazing timekeeper, Tim Jameson, DOWL!
And the incredible Lee Celano, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, for another year of professional photography!
Thank you to all who made this event possible. It was a true pleasure to work with each and every one of you!
The 2025 DTA Results:
First Place: Zoe Ortega, The Evergreen State College - Masters of Environmental Studies, with a project titled, Geographic Information Systems vs. Manual Surveys: A Comparative Analysis Of Tracking Fertilization Treatments Of The Evergreen State College's Organic Farm
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First place prizes include a check for $500, prize certificate, free one year WAGISA membership, free entry to the 2026 WAGISA GIS Conference, one year ArcGIS personal license, and Summit Scoop blog post.
Second Place: Waymon Lei, Ash Fischer, Morgan Viger, University of Washington Seattle, with a project titled, Necanicum Basin Restoration and Watershed Changes
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Second Place prizes include a check for $250, prize certificate, free one year WAGISA membership, one year ArcGIS personal license, and Summit Scoop blog post.
Third Place: McKenna Webber, University of Washington Seattle, with a project titled, Lights in the Wild: A 13-Year Geospatial Assessment of ALAN Across Washington's Wildlife Corridors
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Third Place prizes include a check for $125, prize certificate, free one year WAGISA membership, one year ArcGIS personal license, and Summit Scoop blog post.
Honorable Mention: Neal Hicks, University of Washington Bothell, with a project titled, English Holly Predicted Spatial Distribution in Saint Edward State Park
2025 DTA competitors at the announcement of winners during the conference closing session
Keep reading to learn more about the competitors’ experiences with their projects and to view project abstracts and associated visuals!
First Place
Presenter: Zoe Ortega
Project Title: Geographic Information Systems Vs. Manual Surveys: A Comparative Analysis Of Tracking Fertilization Treatments Of The Evergreen State College's Organic Farm
View Presentation Visuals
Project Abstract:
The Evergreen Organic Farm, located in Olympia, Washington, spans approximately five acres and has been student-operated since 1997. Each year, the farm undergoes USDA organic certification, requiring detailed records of compost application, crop placements, and management zones. This project applies GIS and drone technologies to streamline and automate certification, improve recordkeeping, and build a replicable workflow for farm management.
The project implements a field-to-office ArcGIS workflow that integrates data collection, processing, analysis, and information dissemination. High-resolution drone imagery forms the spatial foundation and is processed in ArcGIS Pro to digitize plot boundaries and infrastructure. Field Maps captures permanent features such as posts, irrigation components, and fences, while Survey123 supports in-field collection of fertilizer application data. Compost records from spreadsheets integrate with mapped plots using geoprocessing tools such as “Excel to Table,” “Append,” “Relate,” and “Summary Statistics.” Feature layers are attributed with application type, rate, method, and date. Field calculator expressions and additional geoprocessing tools automate calculations and streamline data population. Dashboards and reporting templates visualize fertilizer applications by field and date, while web maps and other information products enable timely dissemination to end users.
The resulting workflow allows the farm managers to track and document fertilizer application by date and volume for each plot. This reduces redundancy, automates processes, improves accuracy, and creates a scalable model for organic certification tracking. While developed for Evergreen, this workflow is adaptable to other small farms seeking cost-effective, GIS-based solutions to meet organic compliance and planning needs. Beyond certification, this workflow offers a flexible framework for automating and simplifying data collection, enhancing data management, and generating more accessible, public-use-friendly reporting materials. This project demonstrates how GIS can support and automate workflows in a variety of fields, such as sustainable agriculture, through data transparency and streamlined workflows.
Project Reflection/ Experience:
Winning the Dick Thomas Award was a deeply meaningful milestone in my journey as a geospatial student. The project I submitted – developed as part of my master’s thesis at The Evergreen State College – was rooted in the Evergreen Organic Farm, a place that embodies learning, stewardship, and community. I applied skills I learned from Mike Ruth, whose GIS and drone courses shaped both my technical foundation and my passion for spatial storytelling. His influence (and help!) – and the broader Evergreen learning environment – played a central role in this work.
I chose this project because I felt a deep sense of purpose in supporting the Evergreen Organic Farm and the people who make it thrive. It was truly encapsulating to work on something that could make a tangible difference – helping a place I care about continue its mission with greater ease. That feeling of contributing to something meaningful, and uplifting fantastic people doing important work, was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. And getting to visit the farm cat, Butch, during fieldwork? That was a major plus!
Beyond the award itself, sharing my work at the conference was unforgettable. I genuinely enjoyed presenting and connecting with peers, mentors, and professionals who were curious, supportive, and engaged. There was a real sense of community – a shared excitement about ideas, technology, and the impact we can make when we bring intention and collaboration to our work.
It’s been an incredible experience as a student, and it’s bittersweet to be wrapping up my time at Evergreen. I’m excited to take the next step – bringing this work into the professional world and continuing to grow within the vibrant GIS and drone community.
I’m deeply grateful to the organizers, judges, and everyone who made the conference possible, as well as to those who cheered me on. This experience has only deepened my commitment to thoughtful, relationship-centered geospatial work. A heartfelt thanks to Evergreen folks and my family who supported me and believed in me throughout this project.
Second Place
Presenters: Waymon Lei, Ash Fischer, Morgan Viger
Project Title: Necanicum Basin Restoration and Watershed Changes
View Presentation Visuals
Project Abstract:
This project aims to showcase the restoration work being done by the Necanicum Watershed Council in Seaside, Oregon, and to aid the Chinook Indian Nation in their fight for federal recognition. We will create maps depicting restoration projects and changes in the local habitat of the Necanicum watershed, as well as a narrative StoryMap outlining the work the watershed council is doing in collaboration with the Chinook Indian Nation.
The restoration map will depict past, present, and future projects within the watershed. Local habitat changes will be presented with land use, tree canopy, stream temperature, fish presence, and stream flow data. The data presented in these maps will inform decision-making for future restoration projects. Finally, a narrative StoryMap will emphasize the involvement of the Chinook Indian Nation in the restoration projects and highlight the tribe’s ongoing fight for federal recognition. Illustrations depicting future land changes resulting from this collaboration will be highlighted within the StoryMap to show the postulated changes to selected restoration sites.
Because the restoration projects are located on the Chinook Nation’s land, a vital component of this narrative is to recognize the current and historical presence of the Chinook Nation. A memorandum of agreement was signed by the Necanicum Watershed Council and the Chinook Nation to lay the foundation for indigenous-informed and led restoration of the local habitat. By mapping restoration projects and performing spatial analysis of local ecosystems, this project establishes tools for education and watershed management, increases environmental and social awareness, and improves accessibility of habitat data.
Project Reflection/ Experience:
We are working professionals who enrolled in the UW Certificate Program in Geographic Information Systems. We were drawn to the Necanicum Basin mapping project because of its goal of depicting changes in the watershed over time, the opportunity to communicate a narrative about watershed management, and learning what a memorandum of agreement between a watershed council and an indigenous nation looks like in practice. As the project evolved, we encountered unexpected challenges and opportunities. For example, while we fully intended to create every deliverable listed in the abstract, we were unable to complete the stream temperature component of our project due to difficulties in obtaining the data promptly.
While we have experience working in multi-disciplinary teams, we are new to GIS and, in particular, managing a full-scale, multi-faceted GIS project for multiple stakeholders with unique vested interests. The certificate program brings in a lot of people from various educational and professional backgrounds, and that was true of our team, as Waymon has a background in biology and restoration, Ash in paleoclimate research and crowd-sourced mapping projects, and Morgan in archaeological illustration and reconstructive illustration. This amalgamation of diverse academic backgrounds led to critical conversations on the shape the project took, as we learned to balance our project sponsor's wishes against the practical goals of the project in relation to how the public would engage with the project.
We were invited on a 2-day site visit to Seaside, Oregon, to meet our project sponsors and visit the restoration sites we mapped. This experience enriched our understanding of the project's impact and enabled us to write a more personal narrative. Just as the memorandum of agreement is a constantly changing and evolving conversation between two groups, so is our project. The deliverable we submitted to our sponsor was designed to be a project that they can have their own conversation with and make changes over time.
Third Place:
Presenter: McKenna Webber
Project Title: Lights in the Wild: A 13-Year Geospatial Assessment of ALAN Across Washington's Wildlife Corridors
View Presentation Visuals
Project Abstract:
Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) is often overlooked but is an increasingly critical factor influencing wildlife movement across ranges and disrupting habitat connectivity. This project analyzes the spatial intersection between high-radiance zones and ecologically significant habitat pathways to infer potential disturbances to the movement of light-sensitive species. I utilized NASA’s VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) monthly composite imagery to extract radiance values (measured in nanowatts per square centimeter per steradian). This data is BRDF-adjusted and corrected for noise, clouds, auroras, and lunar effects, making it well-suited for the goals of my project. For habitat connectivity, I used publicly available data from the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group.
VIIRS data is stored in HDF5 format and distributed in multiple swaths, making manual geoprocessing tedious. To address this, I developed a Python-based script using JupyterLab and Anaconda to automate workflows. Additionally, to maintain clarity and seasonal migration relevance, I chose to focus on two months, March and October (peak migration periods) for each year from 2012 to 2024. This approach streamlines the workflow and ensures repeatability, enabling the creation of a readily updatable dataset that can efficiently incorporate both future and historical data.
The project’s outputs include time-series statistics, maps, and visualizations that illustrate how light exposure in wildlife corridors has changed over time across Washington. By identifying which corridors are most exposed to ALAN, I can highlight priority areas for mitigation actions such as light shielding, improved land-use planning, or habitat restoration, with the overarching goal of supporting long-term wildlife conservation across the state of Washington.
Honorable Mention
Presenter: Neal Hicks
Project Title: English Holly Predicted Spatial Distribution in Saint Edward State Park
View Presentation Visuals
Project Abstract:
Introduction: English Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is an invasive plant in Washington State that is enduring and obtrusive, exterminating native plants and reducing habitat functionality. This study intends to determine the environmental conditions this plant tends to grow in and took place in Saint Edward State Park, a park in Kenmore, Washington. The park is a 350-acre, mostly forested landscape centered in an urban environment with a hotel, recreation facilities, and trails. The study took place at the eastern edge extending from NE 145th ST along the Plateau Trail to the Water Tower Trail, from the Water Tower Trail to the South Ridge Trail, and then for an additional 1,000 ft along the South Ridge Trail.
This project was chosen to predict locations that Holly could be found in the park, which would be beneficial to the land managers for species control. By creating predictive maps, the managers could understand the impacts Holly is having throughout the park, save time finding Holly, and improve plant diversity and habitat.
Methods
The team manually searched for Holly along the trails, limiting our search when obstructed by dense vegetation, or dangerous landscapes. First, the researchers hung HOBO sensors, some near Holly’s and in areas void of Holly, gathering continuous light and temperature data. Second, researchers plotted the location of Holly’s using ARROW GPS units and field maps, recording the attributes of diameter at breast height, height for each bush. And nearby vegetation types. Finally, soil pits were dug in areas near and void of Holly and tested for nutrients in the lab. ArcGIS Pro was used for spatial analysis.
Results
Preliminary results indicate Holly tends to grow first near die back, then Conifers, then Deciduous, at lower elevations, near to trails edge and forest edge, in shady conditions, but with warm temperatures.
Project Reflection/Experience:
I had recently started an introductory class for something I had never heard of before, GIS. I didn't know what GIS was, or what to expect, but it was a class highly recommended by my advisors and other students. I found the class fascinating, the tools obviously useful, although it was a steep learning curve. A few weeks into the class I wanted to work with GIS more than just on the projects from class so I sked my professior if he needed any help with researhc projects. It turns out he just started the one in Saint Edwards and needed students to help collect data. Being that my degree is in Earth System Science, a project integrating GIS with ecological conservation was a perfect fit.
This was the beiginning of my GIS journey so everting I did was a new lesson. I learned to use field maps, GPS untis, RTK networks, and more. Perhaps more importantly I learned to work with a team of people that are themselves busy with othr projects, as well as following through with long projects. Sometimes ardouus, I found the conpletion of the project deeply satisfying and well workth the effort.
I recommend that everyone spends more time in natural parks and forests. I spent many hours in the park collecting data and I saw so many fascinating things. I saw where the Junco's nest was beneath ferns and a lot of ground nesting bees and wasps (before I stepped on them). The coolest thing I saw was an eagle flying about 10 feet off the ground, weaving through the trees at full speed. It was so cool and something I didn't know eagles did. I learned a lot not just about GIS but about nature, just by spending so much time in it!!
Stay Connected/ Learn More/ Get Involved:
The Dick Thomas Award is brought to you by the WAGISA Community Engagement Committee (CEC). Check out some other CEC offerings below:
WAGISA Young Professionals Special Interest Group (YPI):https://wagisa.org/Young-Professionals
- Join a network of young GIS professionals (< 5 years exp.) in Washington
- Get access to mailing lists, social/ learning events, and a job bulletin
- Fill out the YPI Interest Sign-Up Form to get in the loop!
DTA web page: https://wagisa.org/DTA
One last sincere thank you to this year’s competitors, judges, volunteers and everyone else who made this event possible.
Finally, I’d like to recognize Dan Miller, DTA Co-Coordinator. Dan, it continues to be an honor to co-lead this event with you!
See you in 2026 at the next DTA and Washington GIS Conference!
Sincerely,
Micah Gelber
WAGISA Community Engagement Committee Chair
