South Florida GIS Expo
On August 20-21, Yesmarie De La Flor of the Coral Protection and Restoration Program (CPR) and Stephanie Stinson of the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), attended the 2026 South Florida GIS Expo. The wide array of sessions ranged from insights into emerging GIS technologies, to environmental applications, and professional development opportunities. The sessions highlighted how GIS continues to support data-driven decision-making across Florida. One particularly relevant presentation focused on a GIS-based tool for predicting nutrient loading to Florida waterbodies. The project used a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach and expert input to rank physical properties and identify areas where septic systems may contribute to nutrient loading.
The resulting LANLoad model showed strong agreement with both expert professional judgment and established modeling approaches, demonstrating the value of GIS as a decision-support tool. Another session examined the spread of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea in Biscayne Bay. Researchers combined drone imagery, ground-truthing, photogrammetry and ArcGIS Pro to monitor changes over time. The study documented a 32.5% increase in net areal coverage and demonstrated how high-resolution UAV imagery can help bridge scaling remote-sensing data gaps. A StoryMaps competition showcased creative ways GIS professionals use interactive maps, multimedia and narrative to communicate complex information and engage audiences.
The competition highlighted the versatility of GIS beyond traditional mapping and demonstrated how effective storytelling can make geospatial information more accessible and impactful. Take a peek at the StoryMaps! This was an entirely free event with tons of great information sharing and networking opportunities in South Florida. We’re looking forward to attending next year. Throughout the Expo we were provided with practical ideas for the CPR program to implement data visualization in support of research and restoration planning. Particularly communicating results through interactive StoryMaps could be useful in both engaging the public in the Kristin Jacobs Coral Aquatic Preserve Management Plan created by CRCP, as well as Tier 2 of the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative, overseen by CPR. StoryMaps have the potential to be a useful tool in helping translate complex coral restoration data into clear, actionable information for project planning and decision making.