Map for Grasslands

Screenshot of the banner of the grasslands site with an image of a northern bobwhite in tall grasses. A map of the U.S. showing how grasslands have disappeared in certain regions over time, namely in the southeast, the west, and the midwest. Two maps side by side showing the difference in grasslands abundance between 1992 and 2021. An image of a map showing where the Northern Bobwhite bird species hhas declined in abundance over time. This bird has seen huge declines in the southern U.S. in the area around Texas due to loss of grasslands habitat. A screenshot of an interactive map which allows users to add layers of grasslands data alongside species lost data to see the correlation of each.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Design, full-stack dev + visualization


ABOUT

Created in collaboration with the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, the Map for Grasslands website was created as an advocacy tool to raise awareness about the dramatic loss of grasslands happening across the United States. The site was built in support of upcoming proposed legislation at the federal level to protect national grasslands, in a similar fashion to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

Over the past century, over 60% of America's grasslands have vanished due to human influences. This has led to devastating species loss: for example, the Northern Bobwhite has declined by 81% over the past two decades.

The website first walks the user through a high-level story about grasslands loss, and then allows the user to select specific wildlife species to see different trends. On the site you can:



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