(Phase I) GIS-Based Sediment Quality Database for the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) - Help Section for ArcView 3.x Users

In October 2000, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) obtained a grant from the USEPA's Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) to develop a GIS-based sediment quality database for the St. LouisRiver AOC. MacDonald Environmental Sciences Ltd. (MESL) was retained in April 2001 to assist the MPCA with this effort. A Quality Assurance Project Plan was completed and approved by GLNPO in July 2001 (Crane 2001) so that work could commence on the project. In October 2001, MESL and MPCA staff met with over 60 stakeholders in Duluth and St. Paul to obtain input on the development of this GIS-based database. Stakeholders were asked to identify priority sediment quality indicators, sources of candidate data sets, and key types of GIS data for the St. Louis River watershed (MacDonald et al. 2001). Their input was very useful in producing what should be considered as Phase I of the GIS-based sediment quality database. Additional funding is in the process of being secured to further expand the Microsoft™ (MS) Access 2000 database and ArcView 3.2 projects with additional sediment quality and GIS watershed data. This database, and associated GIS-mapping component, will support the assessment, preservation, and restoration of the lower St. Louis River AOC and adjoining Lake Superior ecosystems. The purpose of this Help Section for ArcView 3.x Users is to provide an overview of the GIS component of this project, as well as general instructions for displaying the GIS data compiled in ArcView 3.2 projects. The Help Section is organized into four chapters and is indexed in such a way as to provide a quick reference guide for users. For more detailed information regarding the content and organization of the GIS-based sediment quality database, users should refer to the accompanying Technical Documentation (Smorong et al. 2003). The Technical Documentation is available upon request by contacting Judy Crane (MPCA) at 651-297-4068 (voice), 651-297-7709 (fax), or judy.crane@pca.state.mn.us (email).