A seagrass restoration model for the Lake Worth Lagoon took home top honors at a recent exposition designed to educate attendees about emerging technologies in the Geographic Information System (GIS) field. For those not familiar with GIS, Wikipedia describes it as “a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth.”

At South Florida’s GIS Expo, www.sfgisexpo.com , Rod Braun, an environmental analyst for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management, won first place honors in the Best Analytical Poster category for his entry titled “Modeling a Seagrass Restoration Target for Lake Worth Lagoon.”

Braun’s poster outlined the data needed to set seagrass restoration “targets.” Targets refer to optimal depth and substrate characteristics for growing seagrass. His poster also demonstrated how this data can be used as a management tool to determine where restoration and protection efforts should be focused. Braun figures the central portion of Lake Worth Lagoon has the greatest potential for growing seagrass. This model can also be used to manage other valued ecosystem components such as oyster beds.

Supporters of the Lake Worth Lagoon should be aware a “listening meeting” is scheduled for the second draft of the 2007 Lake Worth Lagoon Management Plan on January 23 at 3.00 p.m. at the Vista Center in West Palm Beach.