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Hanover, Manitoba
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Over the years, the Rural Municipality of Hanover had been very successful in developing its GIS system for use by council and staff. Responding to the challenges of an increased number of intensive livestock operations (ILOs) in the area, Hanover expanded its system to include agricultural and rural residential information. Hanover's interactive on-line mapping system builds on the municipality's existing parcel mapping system, using upgraded software and hardware, and a 2001 Ikonos high resolution satellite image. GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) provided the financial assistance needed to purchase the equipment, data, and train employees, while the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) form Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provided technical assistance. |
Hanover is considered the "grandfather" of the livestock industry in Manitoba. Since the 1800s, but particularly since the 1960s, the size and intensity of livestock operations has steadily grown. The municipality has one of the highest density populations, not only of people but of animals, says Doug Cavers, Chief Administrative Officer for the RM of Hanover. Since 1996, Hanover's population increased by almost ten percent. The provincial hog population, meanwhile, grew from 3.2 million in 1996 to 5.4 million by 2000 and more recent 2001 estimates puts that figure at 6.4 million hogs, of which Hanover retains a 13+ percent market share. To have all these people and animals living in one general region, in harmony, creates real challenges for council about the appropriate uses of land.
Hanover's GIS system, therefore, has been invaluable for making sound management decisions by the municipal council. The system allows councillors to view exact parcels of land, make livestock analyses, and determine the number of residences. Council can choose "on the fly" what they want to look at, and if the media or public is present, everyone has the same information at the same time, Mr. Cavers says. Council has a better and quicker understanding of the potential impact of any proposed development.
Nutrient management plans are an important part of any livestock operation's overall annual management plan. Nutrient management planning involves identifying what lands are receiving manure or nutrient application, the size of the lands, and the natural features, such as watercourses and buffer zones that must be protected. ILOs of a certain size must file this information with the provincial Department of Conservation, so Hanover's GIS system has made this job much easier.
Hanover has also realized the benefits of GIS when planning new subdivisions. "We can put the mapping system on screen for council and play with it to show what future development could be created in a given area," says Mr. Cavers. "We can look at all kinds of applications or how much existing livestock is there, whether there are natural gas lines, the road system, water courses or anything that might pertain to what it actually costs the municipality to potentially provide services to that site".
Getting to this point, however, has taken time and effort. PFRA assisted the municipality in compiling data, analysis, and working through SCI to develop the Internet mapping site, which is hosted on Agriculture Canada's Web site as a demonstration project.
Of the more than two thousand agricultural property owners initially surveyed by PFRA to obtain baseline data, 97 % participated. The survey information determined the number and location of livestock and the location of manure applications. "It is to the farmers' credit that they had to trust that the information they were providing would be used in a proper manner, and that we could show how to sustain the industry in the region," explains Jarrett Powers, Assistant District Soil Conservationist with PFRA. "They don't want to see too many people moving in too close to them because it prevents them from expanding."
Hanover's system won't stop at the council chambers, however. They have offered GIS training sessions to other government and financial institution personnel, lawyers, and realtors. And, after only three weeks of the site going live, subdivision applications were already being received from the Province of Manitoba's Department of Intergovernmental Affairs. "They've obviously been to the web site, taken information directly from the Ikonos imagery and land parcel data, and have done measurements that show the proposed locations of residential development," says Mr. Cavers. "They've never had the ability to do this before."
Without the assistance of SCI, Mr. Powers believes that Hanover would have continued with their GIS, but without the funding, we know for a fact that we wouldn't have been able to access high quality data such as Ikonos imagery, which is really starting to prove its worth.
Mr. Cavers concurs. "If it hadn't been for PFRA, a lot of this wouldn't have happened." They pointed us to the SCI program, which we probably would not have applied to on our own. "We really have to acknowledge the support of the federal government because without it, we wouldn't have half the program that we've got."