Portraits of Acadia: Karen Anderson

Karen Anderson, GIS Specialist, stands in front of a historic bridge on the carriage roads while using a mapping device.

NPS photo by Brady Richards

My official title is “Geographer” and I act as the GIS Specialist for Acadia. I’ve held this position since 1998. GIS stands for “geographic information system”, a computer-based tool that stores, analyzes, and visualizes geographic data. Virtually every component of Acadia is place-based—it has both a location and miscellaneous other data associated with it, and GIS can bring these things together.

My husband and I moved to Bar Harbor for his job, and Acadia was the best local fit for a job that matched my college degree. I worked as a seasonal & term biological technician from 1990 to 1998, although I did some GIS work as a biological technician, too. Working at the park has allowed me to live where I needed to live and have a rewarding job, with great benefits and co-workers.

Working for the NPS also aligns well with my personal values of working for the common good and conserving wonderful, functioning natural systems. This was an important job requirement.

Karen mapping a small footbridge with a GNSS device which receives the satellite signals and sends them to the tablet via bluetooth connection. A mapping application then records the footbridge location along with other database information entered by the user.

NPS photo by Brady Richards

I was drawn to GIS work because it supports such an interdisciplinary range of park functions and because I like helping people make informed decisions and get their jobs done.

I serve the entire park staff as the subject-matter-expert for all things geographic. I curate GIS data for use by Acadia NP staff, partners, and researchers to use, keeping it available, updated, and well described. For staff who do not know how to use GIS software, I create maps based on their needs and requirements—this could be maps for working in the field, for project and planning meetings, for public display or an education program; I also help staff troubleshoot and learn to use GIS for their own work. I perform queries and geographic analyses, providing statistics and graphics for publications or reports. I’m responsible for a variety of GNSS (formerly GPS) devices, which are used to capture locations for things at a variety of accuracy levels—I use this equipment myself and make it available to other park staff who need it.

Karen using a tablet with field mapping software displaying a map during GNSS data collection.

Photo courtesy of Brady Richards, used with permission.

I stay connected with the NPS national geospatial program, helping to keep park staff up to date with changes in policy and practices. I’ve assisted with topographic surveys for long-term monitoring of erosion at Saint Croix Island IHS, have supported emergency response (space shuttle crash, wildfire, hurricane recovery, SAR) with GIS mapping, and participated in NPS Regional mapping projects at a couple of other parks. Through it all, I must keep learning, because the software and best practices in GIS, like any technology, are always changing.

I've had many memorable experiences working for the NPS, but most involve working with teams to accomplish a work goal, such as mapping the hiking trail system in the mid-90s or park planning projects where I’ve contributed to decision-making with maps, data, and/or analyses. I’ve also had good (if exhausting) experiences, mostly away from Acadia, using my GIS skills in emergency response, such as wildfires or hurricane incidents.

I’ve now lived here longer than I have in any other place, so to me, Acadia feels like home. I value the natural places, recreational opportunities, and the year-round community that supports so many visitors every year.

– Karen Anderson, GIS Specialist

Karen holding and examining a recently printed map that she made in a park office.

NPS photo by Brady Richards

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