GIS Resources for Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries 430: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Natural Resources: GIS Events

Participants will enjoy exploring various Tennessee maps­, not only where they can be found­–books, in print, and online–but what information they can offer for genealogical and historical research. Emphasis will be placed on maps housed in the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, as well as other Tennessee repositories.

Join us for an interactive webinar introducing the GeoAI Python package (https://opengeoai.org), an open-source toolkit designed to accelerate geospatial artificial intelligence research and applications. Whether you are a researcher, practitioner, or student, this session will show you how GeoAI simplifies the integration of geospatial data and machine learning workflows.

In this webinar, you will:

- Discover the core capabilities of the GeoAI package, including data preprocessing, feature extraction, and geospatial deep learning workflows.
- See live demonstrations on applying state-of-the-art AI models to satellite and aerial imagery.
- Explore real-world use cases in building footprint extraction and surface water mapping.

Students will learn the basics of using the Excel interface to accomplish the following tasks: create and edit worksheets, enter data and formulas, format text and values, use sort and filter tools, insert pictures, and manage a workbook.

Dr. Kelley’s talk will offer an overview of his new book, Marking Native Borders: Indigenous Geography and American Empire in the Early Tennessee Country, published in 2025 by the University of Oklahoma Press. The book demonstrates how Chickasaws and Cherokees successfully held on to their lands for decades by combining their existing understandings of land and property with new notions of landownership brought by European inhabitants of early Tennessee. Moreover, Dr. Kelley also will explore how Native Americans’ resistance to American expansion led the region’s white residents to create a series of local governments to pressure Great Britain and then the United States to acquire territory from the Cherokee Nation and the Chickasaw Nation.

In this hands-on workshop you will learn to use the Python programming language to create list, dictionary, tuples, and strings; how to manage your files and workspace; how to control Python functions; how to read comma-separated data files; how to select variables and observations; how to create plots.

This workshop will introduce you to the basics of geographic information system (GIS) mapping using ESRI’s ArcGIS Online platform. In this session, you will learn how to use the ArcGIS online system, to create a series of maps. After creating the maps, you can then export your maps to ESRI’s Story Maps, which will allow you to create stable link to a mixed media mapping project that you can use for research, teaching, and job portfolio purposes.

This workshop will demonstrate how to integrate ArcGIS Pro and R for advanced spatial analysis and visualization. Participants will learn how to build a reproducible spatial workflow that combines the mapping power of ArcGIS with the statistical capabilities of R—including Bayesian spatial temporal modeling using the R package CARBayes and custom visualization using ggplot2.

ArcGIS Hub, an extension to ArcGIS Online, is a community engagement and collaboration platform that allows organizations along with communities of practice to share trusted content and collaborate effectively. The latest release of ArcGIS Hub introduces workspaces to streamline Hub management, as well as enhanced events and configurable catalogs.

Learn how The Henry Ford is using Esri technology and ArcGIS Indoors to become a smart campus. See how geospatial tools like lidar, 3D BIM, and drone mapping are transforming facility management and visitor engagement. You’ll gain insights for modernizing your own campus or institution with GIS.

Reference librarian Julie Stoner and geospatial data visualization librarian Abraham Parrish will present an introduction to nautical charts in the Geography and Map Division collections at the Library of Congress. The first half of this orientation session will give an introduction to nautical charts, their history, and their uses. The second part of the orientation will highlight the various nautical chart holdings found within the division and how to search for and view these maps. After the presentation, staff look forward to answering additional questions from attendees.

The 2025 Nebenzahl Lectures continue to promote new thinking in map history by asking how orienting our stories from Mexico, looking out toward the rest of the world, challenges common narratives and popular assumptions in the history of mapmaking. Despite the prominent role mapping in Mexico has played, cartographic histories are often told from a European perspective. But how do the stories we tell, methodological assumptions we make, and categories we define about maps and map history change when we treat sites of production and reception in Mexico—from Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Puebla to the borderlands—with the same specificity map history has given to European centers?

We are thrilled to welcome Raquel Urroz Kanán, professor of Geography and Anthropology at UNAM, for the keynote address. Over three days we will also hear from a variety of speakers including art historian Daniela Bleichmar, historian Guadalupe Pinzón Ríos, art historian Emmanuel Ortega, historian Alex Hidalgo, art historian Mónica A. Ramírez Bernal, and Layla Bermeo, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. To end the weekend, the speakers will participate in a roundtable discussion, hosted by art historian Barbara Mundy.

Once, only cartographers made maps. Today, anyone can. Still, cartographers can teach people to make better maps, just as chefs can show people how to prepare better meals. With coaching from accomplished cartographers and practical, hands-on exercises, you'll become a smarter mapmaker, ready to go beyond the defaults and produce engaging maps that communicate with impact.

Spatial data science allows analysts to extract deeper insight from data using a comprehensive set of analytical methods and spatial algorithms, including machine learning and deep learning techniques. This course explores the application of spatial data science to uncover hidden patterns and improve predictive modeling. You'll work with powerful analytical tools in Esri's ArcGIS software and learn how to integrate popular open data science packages into your analyses.

Take a voyage of discovery through modern workflows used by organizations worldwide to seamlessly combine imagery, remote sensing, and geospatial data with cutting-edge GIS tools. You'll get a grounding in fundamentals, sample diverse use cases, and build skills to deliver deeper insights and create richer information products that support informed decision-making. Gain practical experience with ArcGIS capabilities to acquire, manage, and exploit imagery in powerful 2D and 3D visualizations and AI-enhanced analytical workflows.

Join fellow GIS users, industry experts, and Esri staff at the Esri Southeast User Conference. Contribute to the growth and development of your local geospatial community while learning about new technology and paths to success.

The TN Geographic Information Council's Annual Conference is a great opportunity for networking, GIS data workflows, learning, and sharing the work that you do. Explore below, and join the TN GIS community!

For first timers, we have training on the first day and the following two days include keynotes and member presentations. We have fantastic business partners who are there to provide solutions and help you solve problems. The community is welcoming and there are opportunities to find members to assist, share data with you, connect about a job opportunity or just chat about GIS.

Geography lovers and enthusiasts, gather around and let’s celebrate the amazing technology of Geographic Information Systems on GIS Day, on November 16 this year. This is an annual holiday celebrated on the third Wednesday of November, or the Wednesday within Geography Awareness Week. GIS is said to be the technology that answers the question of “where?” It is a scientific framework for capturing, analyzing, and visualizing location data to help make better decisions. For example, GIS can predict areas of flooding. Whether you’re a geography newbie or master cartographer, you can celebrate the brilliant technology of GIS, its contributions to the real world, and your own GIS accomplishments on GIS Day every year. Help others learn more about geography and discover GIS.