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Natural Borders
Imagine yourself above the West Coast of the United States looking down on the land that spans the border of
Northern California and Southern Oregon. This is where the Siskiyou, Cascade and Klamath mountain ranges
converge to create an area of outstanding biological diversity. An amazing variety of plants and animals thrive in the forests, alpine
meadows and steep canyons of these mountains.
 Human
Geographic Map of the State of Jefferson |
Fertile valleys are home to buffalo ranches, acres upon acres of fruit and nut orchards as
well as miles of rolling vineyards. Towns, large and small are nestled
in the foothills.
The deep canyons, forests, valleys and watersheds along with the cultural traditions and social structures of the people
who live here define the NATURAL BORDERS of this region. In political terms, this is the border between California and Oregon.
In HUMAN GEOGRAPHIC terms,
it is known as the great State of Jefferson.
We did not discover the State of Jefferson. In fact it has a rich history dating
back to the 1880s.
But we are the first to map the cultural and social boundaries along with
the natural geographic attributes of the area. |
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This
alternative mapping system that treats the land and people as one unit
is called HUMAN GEOGRAPHIC MAPPING.
Why Human Geographic Mapping?
Traditional geopolitical maps create arbitrary lines across the landscape. They do not reflect the natural
borders created by the social, cultural, economic and ecological systems (bio-social
ecosystems) of a region.
Yet for effective policy and project development, the land and the people who live on it must be seen, mapped
and understood as one unit.
Human Geographic Maps depict specific bio-social ecosystems and
portray the attachment people develop to each other and to the land where
they live and work. Social, cultural and economic routines along with
the geographic features of an area distinguish one population or cultural
area from another.
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 Mount
Shasta, California as seen from Mount Ashland, Oregon. The cultural and
social traditions tied to this land transcend the geopolitical boundaries
(the border between CA and OR) of traditional mapping. |
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importance of these maps is to see that people have habitat boundaries
that do not correspond to the arbitrary boundaries that govern our
formal systems. Policies and projects developed using political maps
alone are not sensitive to people's attachment to the land and result
in fragmented governance. Human Geographic Maps depict the people and
land as one inseparable unit and are therefore highly enhanced tools
for day-to-day management, long-range planning, NEPA (National Environmental
Policy Act) documentation and culture-based marketing. |
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Copyright © 2006 James Kent Associates (JKA). All rights reserved.
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