This project will design and deploy a public-facing and internal dashboard that maps and summarizes all forest management activities on state parks and forestry-owned lands, including silviculture prescriptions, acreage treated, locations, approvals and permits, status, and completion dates, incorporating historical records as far back as available. We will publish 100% of known projects to date, post all new projects within 30 days of approval, improve completeness and accuracy, reduce manual data reconciliation, and meet accessibility measures. The approach leverages existing DEP GIS platforms with a standardized data model, a phased rollout from prototype to dashboard, and cross-bureau collaboration. A working prototype/draft will be up by the end of March, with historical backfill.

Alternative A: Status quo (spreadsheets/PDFs on request)
o Advantages: No new cost; no change management.
o Disadvantages: Low transparency; high OPRA burden; inconsistent records; no maps/analytics; misaligned with strategic goals.
• Alternative B: ArcGIS Enterprise/Online + ArcGIS Hub dashboard (recommended if DEP already licenses Esri)
o Advantages: Rapid delivery; aligns with DEP GIS standards/security; low-code; built-in web maps, analytics, metadata; easy publishing to DEP Open Data.
o Disadvantages: Vendor lock-in; license dependencies;
• Alternative C: Open-source stack (PostgreSQL/PostGIS + GeoServer + Leaflet + CKAN/Socrata)
o Advantages: Licensing flexibility; high configurability; cloud-portable.
o Disadvantages: Higher dev/ops workload; longer schedule; security/patching burden.
• Alternative D: Commercial SaaS for forestry management
o Advantages: Turnkey features; support SLAs.
o Disadvantages: Higher recurring cost; data residency/integration limits; procurement lead time.
• Recommendation: Alternative B (ArcGIS Enterprise/Online + ArcGIS Hub) for a 12-month MVP-to-production path, using existing DEP capabilities, with APIs to the Open Data Portal.