GeoBase in Action
GeoBase Data and Web Mapping Services empower Cree Communities
Creetourism.ca is an internet portal from Cree communities in northern Quebec using GeoBase data to manage tourism and land use harmoniously. Jointly administered by the Cree Outfitting and Tourism Association (COTA) and the Cree Trapper's Association (CTA), the portal provides web mapping services that allow users to access a wide variety of maps and geo-information.
Both COTA and CTA were identified as treaty obligations under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement signed in 1975. Both were incorporated as non-profit organizations, the CTA in March 1978 and the COTA in December 2000.
COTA works with nine Cree communities in Eeyou Istchee - the traditional Cree territory in northern Quebec. COTA's mission is to implement a collective vision for a world-class, sustainable tourism industry in harmony with Cree culture and values, and involving partnerships among Cree communities, institutions and businesses.
Snapshot of the COTA Tourism Map. This public map provides most up to date information about Cree outfitters as well as other information useful to the Cree and tourists for planning a northern adventure (1:250,000 CDED and NRN provide the map background).
Numbers of visitors to Eeyou Istchee are on the rise, as are competing land uses, such as forestry, mining and hydro-electric development. These pressures have led to complaints from communities about the use of their land. For example, "There were many individuals concerned about snowmobiles trails crossing trap lines," explains Robin McGinley, Executive Director of COTA.
In response to the land use issues, COTA partnered with the CTA and started a project to organize information and make it available online. GeoConnections, a national partnership program led by Natural Resources Canada, provided funding to support the development of a geospatial portal.
In the past, data for the Eeyou Istchee was collected using traditional means - pencil and paper - and then it was transferred to various databases managed by Cree and non-Cree organizations."Although there was a significant amount of research that was done, it was very difficult for the actual users to access the information," recalls Ms. McGinley. "A community member would have to approach each individual organization to try and piece together the complete land-use picture for their community or trapline."
The community was, therefore, excited about the prospect of using a web portal to capture previously collected data, input new data, and make information readily available to everyone.
Detailed view of the COTA Tourism Map (Landsat 7 orthoimagery and the NRN provide the map background).
Today, the fully functioning and user-friendly creetourism.ca portal delivers geospatial information to Cree communities thereby enhancing research, planning, discussion, and decision-making activities related to resource management and tourism development. "The portal is a secure location for all land use information to be stored, managed, mapped and used," explains Ms. McGinley.
Through the portal, users can combine different pieces of information with pre-existing map layers and topographic data accessed through GeoBase to produce dynamic views of areas of interest.
On a practical level, the web mapping services built into creetourism.ca allow a range of community needs to be met. For example, a tourism planner can determine the locations of cabins and/or details of outfitting permits, a local fur officer can find the locations of trap lines, and note where snowmobile trails impact the trap lines. Any registered member of the Cree communities can access this same information, and more.