{"id":77209,"date":"2026-05-21T08:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=77209"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:39:28","slug":"utc-graduate-maps-a-path-for-conservation-on-lookout-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/utc-graduate-maps-a-path-for-conservation-on-lookout-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC graduate maps a path for conservation on Lookout Mountain\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alt

Alex Garretson is a 2025 UTC graduate with double majors in environmental science and general mathematics. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Alex Garretson felt nervous walking into the Tennessee Geographic Information Council\u2019s annual conference in Franklin earlier this spring.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know anyone in the room, she said, and the networking felt overwhelming. <\/span>\u201cMy body felt like I was being hunted for sport,\u201d she recalled, \u201cbut I was really just standing in a hotel hallway.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She left the conference with an award.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Garretson, a <\/span>2025 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga<\/span> graduate, is a <\/span>geographic information system<\/span> (GIS) technician at <\/span>UTC\u2019s<\/span> Center for Applied Geospatial Data Science (CAGDS).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the TNGIC conference, Garretson took home the Best Spatial Analysis Award for her work developing a conservation decision support tool for Lula Lake Land Trust\u2014an 8,000-acre land trust around Lookout Mountain, Georgia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The project, funded by the Open Space Institute, will help the nonprofit prioritize which lands to protect as it works to expand its conservation reach across a 100-mile stretch of plateau extending into Alabama.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally from Gallatin, Tennessee, Garretson graduated from UTC with degrees in environmental science and general mathematics. She has been a GIS technician at the center since 2024 and is planning to begin a master\u2019s program in environmental science at UTC this fall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As an undergraduate student focusing on biodiversity, a required GIS course opened her eyes to how central the field is to environmental work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much every environmental position that interested me involved some component of GIS,\u201d Garretson said. \u201cThen I switched my concentration to the geographic and cartographic sciences.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A faculty member encouraged her to apply for a job with the center.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI interviewed with them and they\u2019ve just been amazing people to work for,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lula Lake project got underway in October 2025. <\/span>The ask: build a map to help the land trust determine<\/span> where to focus its conservation efforts as it looks to grow beyond the Rock Creek Watershed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That meant wading into one of conservation\u2019s oldest debates: what exactly are you trying to protect, and from whom?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>There are<\/span> two overarching ideas of preservation versus conservation,\u201d Garretson explained. Preservation means leaving land entirely untouched; conservation acknowledges that people also need to use and benefit from the land.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lula Lake\u2019s mission straddles both. They protect habitats and build trails, so Garretson\u2019s model had to account for both, too.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The map she built scores land equally on habitat value and outdoor recreation potential.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Habitat factors include the presence of endangered species, soil erodibility and slope. Recreation scores are based on proximity to trails, protected areas and Lula Lake\u2019s current property. The two scores are combined into an overall conservation effort covering Dade, Chattooga and Walker counties in northwest Georgia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the development piece, which Garretson kept separate from the main model.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not anti-development whatsoever,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to be thoughtful about how we consider it when making conservation decisions.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of including development pressure into the overall score, she built it as a standalone layer that staff can pull up alongside the main model depending on what they\u2019re trying to accomplish.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had said all of these development factors are bad for conservation, that\u2019s sort of telling my own narrative that might not necessarily be true for every situation,\u201d she said. \u201cBy keeping that development model standalone, it allows people to see exactly where my final model is coming from\u2014and then make their own call.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Alex Garretson’s map for Lula Lake Land Trust<\/p><\/div>\n

CAGDS Director Charlie Mix expressed <\/span>that this award means a lot to<\/span> Garretson and the center.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Alex\u2019s work to be recognized by TNGIC with this award is an honor that reflects both her skill and dedication as a young GIS professional,\u201d Mix said. \u201c<\/span>Alex\u2019s work with Lula Lake Land Trust is an impactful example of our effort to foster student growth by applying cutting-edge GIS tools and workflows to real-world challenges\u2014work that will help the trust identify and advance conservation projects that protect Lookout Mountain\u2019s rare ecosystems while expanding outdoor recreation opportunities for the Chattanooga community.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lula Lake\u2019s leadership, Executive Director Cody Roney and Stewardship Director Patrick Kelly, worked closely with Garretson while she developed the project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have known you were working with a student,\u201d <\/span>said<\/span> Roney, a UTC alum who earned her master\u2019s in public administration and nonprofit management in 2012. \u201cShe\u2019s made it so easy for us.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roney and Kelly both said that Garretson put <\/span>\u201cher all\u201d<\/span> into the work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, we\u2019ve slowed her down,\u201d said Kelly, who has taught trail building and management as an adjunct instructor at UTC,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that the partnership with CAGDS would have been hard to replicate elsewhere.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey know this landscape,\u201d <\/span>Kelly said. \u201c<\/span>They can explain our mission just as well as we can. If we had tried to go to a private company, there\u2019d be a lot of education we\u2019d be paying <\/span>for<\/span> just to catch them up.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Roney said the timing of the award made it even more meaningful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe project isn\u2019t even finished yet and she\u2019s already won an award,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was a great thing to get to share with our grant funder.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This fall, Garretson hopes to take over a research assistantship with the <\/span>Chattanooga Tree Project<\/span><\/b><\/a> in CAGDS as she begins her graduate coursework. She wants to develop her skills in remote sensing and drone work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten pretty well versed in spatial analysis, but remote sensing is a whole other piece,\u201d she said. \u201cThis project was working entirely with data that already exists. Actually acquiring it and processing it is a whole other side of the coin. I\u2019m excited to learn that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, she is thankful she pushed past the nerves at the TNGIC conference, even though her poster was \u201creally huge.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody else\u2019s was half the size, and then I pull out this thing,\u201d she laughed while displaying her project. \u201cBut apparently it worked.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

UTC Center for Applied Geospatial Data Science<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Garretson felt nervous walking into the Tennessee Geographic Information Council\u2019s annual conference in Franklin earlier this spring.\u00a0She left the conference with an award.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2000,"featured_media":77217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,123865,61,3,122493,122313,7712,48007,661],"tags":[127125,126117,126116,99316,127126,99317,122539,127120,127117],"class_list":{"0":"post-77209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-biology-geology-and-environmental-science","9":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","10":"category-community","11":"category-education","12":"category-experiential-learning","13":"category-faculty-and-staff","14":"category-news","15":"category-research-academics","16":"category-students","17":"tag-alex-garretson","18":"tag-cagds","19":"tag-center-for-applied-geospatial-data-science","20":"tag-charlie-mix","21":"tag-cody-roney","22":"tag-geographic-information-system","23":"tag-gis","24":"tag-lula-lake-land-trust","25":"tag-patrick-kelly","26":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nUTC 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