Mapping

Bioregional mapping is a community-driven process that combines ecological, physical, social, and cultural information about a specific place, as defined by the people living there. Unlike conventional maps based on political or economic boundaries, bioregional maps focus on natural features like watersheds, animal and plant communities, and cultural elements that make places unique and special. This approach has roots in Indigenous mapping traditions and has emerged as a response to the erasure of local cultures amid current ecological, economic, and social crises.

The purpose of bioregional mapping is to help communities reconnect with their environments, democratize information sharing, and reimagine their relationship to place. By creating maps that highlight "cherished spaces," untold histories, local ecology, and community values, people can develop more sustainable ways of living within the carrying capacity of their regions. Bioregional mapping empowers "barefoot cartographers" to become experts about their own backyards, challenging established boundaries and creating pathways for positive change and reinhabitation.

It is important to acknowledge that bioregional boundaries are not “hard” boundaries. Indeed, as Alfred Korzybski observed, "the map is not the territory." That is, our models or representations of reality (the "map") are not the same as reality itself (the "territory"). As such, bioregional maps are offered in service of recontextualizing our relationship to place, and supporting the important work of human coordination in service of life. The fuzzy boundaries of bioregional maps are emergent and dynamic, more of a collaborative process undertaken by then communities and cultures within, rather than a hard line between two points.

There is also a “fractal” dimension to bioregional mapping that reflects the multiple, related dimensions of scale that must be considered in bioregional coordination and governance. The residents of a watershed have purview and vested interest in decisions within their watershed, while residents over the ridge have a similar purview in the next watershed over. However, both watersheds are impacts by decisions further up the hydrological chain in the drainage basin that encompasses both watersheds. The same nested set of relationships repeats itself up and down the hydrological chain, at whatever your level of focus.

The following mapping projects are part of an exploration to support bioregional learning across the Bay Delta bioregion.