New Sponsor Welcome - Game Planner Maps!

[WapitiTalk1]

Please join me in welcoming our newest sponsor, Game Planner Maps! Honestly, I'm pretty excited about this new sponsor and what they offer. After digging around on their web page for a few days now, I'm thinking there may be nothing else like it! The head cook and bottle washer for Game Planner Maps (Ed) will chime in shortly and tell you a bit about his products. A big Wapiti Talk welcome to Ed and Game Planner Maps! RJ

[ElkNut1]

Welcome aboard Ed!! Is your system similar to Start My Hunts program? Just curious or are they entirely different? Thanks!

ElkNut1

[Ben Nicholson]

It looks pretty good! Reasonably priced too. I'm hunting a new GMU this year so I need some new maps anyway.

[Game Planner Maps]

http://www.gameplannermaps.com/

Hello, my name is Ed Vergin. I am the owner of Game Planner Maps. I live in Arizona and have a Masters Degree in GIS and do a little Wildlife Biology when I'm not hunting or making maps. I started this venture in 2014 with the goal of providing the ultimate map resource for DIY public land hunters. Its predicated on making hunting maps and spatial data readily available to the outdoorsmen who need it. Game Planner Maps provides a complete system of maps and map products. Game Planner provides tools for desktop scouting and in-field use. The centerpiece of the system is the Game Planner Map Viewer. The Map Viewer is a series of interactive maps that illustrates nearly all the relevant data one would use for planning and executing a season worth of hunts. Currently I have individual Map Viewers for AZ, CO, IA, ID, MT, NE, NV, NM, UT, and WY. Oregon and Washington are in the works and I have plans to expand our line-up to many of the states east of the Rockies. Whats unique about The Game Planner Map Viewer is that it's 100% FREE! Users can research hunting areas and use our comprehensive list of layers to plan their draw strategy, research OTC hunts, e-scout, and even design and print unlimited maps for FREE!

Below is a sample of the layers on each map viewer:
GMU Boundaries
Surface Water
Springs/Seeps
Roads and Trails
Surface Ownership
Fire History
Wilderness Areas
Seasonal Game Ranges for Elk and Mule Deer
USGS Topographic Base maps with Hillshade
High Resolution Aerials
Terrain Maps

Game Planner Maps also provides a Premium Map Viewer. The Premium Map Viewer gives you all of the features of the Free Map Viewer plus additional statistics illustrated on our interactive maps. This means you do not have to pour through volumes of spreadsheets looking for success rates or hunter numbers, and I'm making designs for including draw statistics for the 2017 season. The real standout feature of the Premium Map Viewer is the Geo-enabled PDFs. Every map you design and download from the Premium Map Viewer is compatible with the Free Avenza PDF Maps mobile app. The PDF Maps app is used extensively buy the USFS, BLM, and numerous state and local agencies to send agents into the field with accurate and up to date maps. This application turns your mobile device into a GPS with a custom topo or aerial base map; with no need for a cell signal, it even works on airplane mode. I've used the PDF maps app to measure distance, log way-points, record tracks, and even plot stalks. This platform effectively gives you unlimited mobile maps on demand. You choose the base map, and any of the layers in our database and in a matter of minutes you have a custom base map loaded to your phone or tablet. Memberships are very reasonably priced; One years access to all of the states I have mapped is only $39.99. If you just want one state its $9.99.

I also make premade Digital Maps for the PDF Maps app. Each one covers one game management unit and includes:

Unit Boundaries
Surface Water
Roads and Trails
Wilderness Boundaries
and a modified Surface ownership layer showing Private, Indian Reservation, National Parks, and other areas closed to hunting.
All on a 1:24,000 scale USGS topographic base map

I dialed back the surface ownership to keep the maps as clean as possible. I'm a public land hunter and I just want to know the areas I need to avoid.
Digital maps are only $9.99 and once you buy them they are yours forever. There is no membership associated with them.
They are delivered via electronic download, so as soon as you complete your transaction you have your map. If you can work with zip files and have a google drive or dropbox account your good to go!

If your a traditional map guy; I make the toughest paper maps you can find. They are custom to each individual, printed on both sides of the sheet, and resist water, tears, UV light, and the demands of years of back country hunting. I call them bomb proof, you could easily use one as a temporary shelter in a downpour and the map would be no worse for wear. Custom Maps start at $49.99 and are perfect if you love a traditional map. Each Custom Maps comes with a free phone consultation and I offer you a draft review before I print it. I want you to get the map you need. Of course you can forgo the consultation and order them directly from my website. Turn around is generally a week or two depending on how many maps I have on order.

Register with a valid email and check out the free map viewer
I've provided a free 3 day trial membership to the Premium Map Viewer. Go the the Membership tab at http://www.gameplannermaps.com and see if unlimited mobile maps are for you.

I'll post up some pics of my maps tomorrow and provide some links once I get the hang of Wapiti Talk.

Paul, to answer your question...I've looked into mapping habitat In the same manner as Start my Hunt and I have all the data to make it happen. Its just a matter of time to get it done. The analysis that goes into that kind of process requires a lot of cpu horse power when your doing it at statewide coverage. I'm not saying its impossible or not going to happen, just not right now. I would love to make that available on my website. Even better would be to post it up for free! I did some habitat modeling for coues deer down here in AZ and am fairly happy with the way it turned out. However, when your modeling habitat for a species that inhabits a diverse set of ecosystems it can be tough to make an accurate model that covers the entire range of habitat. Elk in some states inhabit equally diverse ranges of habitat.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I hope Game Planner Maps can help some of you guys tag and elk or two this year.

-Ed

[T.B.]

Welcome Ed. I will certainly be checking out your maps. Sounds like another valuable tool for those of us driving 28 hours to chase elk!!

[N&N Waterfowl]

Welcome Ed...sounds like u have a very valuable tool for diy hunters!!

[ElkNut1]

Ed, thanks for the response, I was just curious! Looks like you have a great product there to offer, I'm interested in WY, very cool sir!

ElkNut1

[Game Planner Maps]

Thank you for the positive comments! I'd like to offer a couple discounts for Wapiti Talk members. Use coupon code wapiti2016 to recieve 30% off memberships to the Game Planner Premium Map Viewer and 10% off Custom and Digital Maps.

I also forgot to mention that Game Planner Maps has a downloads section full of GMU boundaries and Surface ownership layers for Google Earth. They are free to download as long as you are registered.

As long as I'm on the topic of registration; Each user is required to validate their registration through a confirmation email. Occasionally the confirmation email gets sent to your SPAM or Junk folder. Prior to registration you can add info@gameplannermaps.com to your contacts and be good to go. Please check there if the email is not delivered to your inbox. Confirmation emails go out almost instantly so you should receive it within a few minutes of registration. If you cannot find the confirmation email just email me ed@gameplannermaps.com and I'll activate your account. I also manually activate accounts after a few hours if the user fails to do so. After I manually activate them I send out an email from my gmail account.

Game Planner Maps is continually evolving. If you don't see something you're looking for just email me or post it up here and I'll see what I can find. I'm in the process of updating Roads, Trails, and Fire History on all the Map Viewers. I also hope to add detailed vegetation layers to all the maps this summer. My wife and I had a daughter 11 days ago, its our first child, and my time is a little more limited than before. Never the less, I work hard for all my clients and their satisfaction is Game Planner Maps first priority.

I hope everyone will take advantage of the free resources and tell a friend or two about Game Planner Maps.

[Game Planner Maps]

Welcome Ed. I will certainly be checking out your maps. Sounds like another valuable tool for those of us driving 28 hours to chase elk!!

I feel for you guys that drive days to get to elk country. I hope Game Planner Maps can make planning your hunts a little easier.

[Game Planner Maps]

document-6.jpg (337.65 KiB) Viewed 15372 times

This is a map I just made on the Game Planner Premium Map Viewer. Its resized to fit the constraints of the forum.
You can view and download the actual map here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9LKaVhm76oBZjBJc09RZl9mVEU
Its size if you were to print it is 27X30" It includes all the roads, trails, and surface ownership. The unit boundaries layer is active but since the map is centered in the unit the boundaries are outside the map's data frame. Its on a 1:24,000 USGS topo re-scaled to 1:42000. Re-scaling it lets you retain all the detail and useful data of the base map, and gives you more of it. The map covers ~180 mi²

Re-scaling, titling, selecting a map template, and activating layers are all parameters that you, the user, control. Its easy to make, download, and print your own custom hunting maps.

This map is a GeoPDF and is fully functional in the Avenza PDF Maps app.
If you want to try it out, first install the free Avenza PDF Maps app from itunes or the Google Play Store.
Open the above link on your mobile device and open the map with the PDF Maps app. It will take a few moments to import and its a good idea to be on WIFI.

GDrive to PDF Maps.jpg (113.32 KiB) Viewed 15369 times

Bingo you have a GPS map on your phone.
or
Save the map to your own googledrive and open it on your mobile device from there.
You can also save it in a free dropbox.com account and link that account to your PDF Maps app.
If your an iPhnoe user save the map to your itunes and link PDF Maps to your iTunes account.

[elkhuntfever]

Just checked out the site and love what I see. Picking the area I hunt, adding details, boundries etc... love it. Easy to use for someone like me that is computer challenged.

[Indian Summer]

Where have you been all my life? We were destined to meet. I have maps piled all over the house. Even though I use CalTopo and Google Earth I still use printed maps all the time. The layers sound great. Everything needed. I was surprised to see springs and seeps as a separate layer from surface water.

I'm no computer genius so I hope it's user friendly. I'll definitely be suggesting it to my clients. We look at and talk about maps all the time and I provide them with a set of paper maps with my hunt plans.

Welcome aboard, I think you'll do well here.

[Indian Summer]

OK I looked things over a bit. Te Bing images are way better and faster than Google Earth. Is there a way to overlay topo contour lines on to sat images or vice versa. I want to look at real images with the lines! it's my dream. I know you can do it on GE but I haven't tried.

[Game Planner Maps]

Hi Joe, I'm experimenting with a contour overlay and an additional shaded relief base. In the mean time try adjusting the transparency of the base maps. Beneath each base layer are two circles that fade and unfade the topo/aerial/physical map. Try turning on the topo and give the gray circle on the left about 6 or 7 click to fade the map, then turn on the aerial. Or just turn on the aerial and Google Physical maps at the same time and fade the aerial till the Google Physical map below it is visible.

I really value this kind of feedback, there are a lot of things I want to do with this and knowing what users are looking for is a big help!

[Game Planner Maps]

WY_Elk11_Small.jpg (507.16 KiB) Viewed 15323 times

A couple of my clients were lucky enough to draw Wyoming Unit 11 this year, this is a sample of the Game Planner Custom Map I made for one of them.
Its been resized and reduced to work within the framework of Wapiti Talk

You can view and download the full size map here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9LKa ... mJOdm0wS3c

These are printed on both sides of the sheet and resist water, tears, abrasion, UV light, and the demands of backcountry hunting.
This map is built to stand up to years of abuse. Whats nice about Game Planner Maps is you can use the Map Viewer to research your map before you place your order.
All the layers on the Map Viewer are available on our Custom Maps. You know exactly what your getting.

If you want to order one give me a call or place your order at http://www.gameplannermaps.com use coupon code wapiti2016 to receive 10% off.

[Indian Summer]

Those water and tear proof maps are priceless. I had a couple from Sportsman's Warehouse when they were in my area and when I buy my Forest Service Travel Maps I always buy the waterproof. Unlike their paper ones they have not only all of the roads and trails but also the topo lines. Prceless! I also have a pile of old paper maps that are falling apart at the folds. Water practically dissolves the things too! You offer ones printed on both sides too... holy crap! I'm lovin' it.

I'm going to try what you explained above. It sounds like it should work for me. I had a waterproof map that a client left behind once that was a sat photo with topo lines. It was really nice but the contour lines were really thin and barely visible especially in the lighter areas.

[Indian Summer]

Hey that works! I guess it could use some improvement but the contour lines look better than the map I had. If you click the aerial all the way dark and then get the topo to the point where you kinda click back and forth between 2 settings you can definitely see what you need to see.

Dear Google Earth and CalTopo..... It's been nice knowing you but you will be removed from my tabs and favorites effective immediately. Nothing personal, business is business and maps are serious business.

I can hardly wait to create my custom maps now!

SnoopDog.jpg (4.05 KiB) Viewed 15301 times

[Game Planner Maps]

Hi Joe,

I'm adding three additional base map layers to all the maps for you.
1. Low Elevation Contours. These are visible inside 1:13,000 scale and are 20-40' interval depending on your scale. Includes some other features from topo. Overlay on the Imagery layer.
2. Contours. Visible inside of 1:500,000 scale intervals vary between 20-100' depending on scale, overlay on the Imagery layer.
3. ImageryTopo. Includes Contour data and its own aerial, as well as, some other features from topo maps. This is a separate aerial that does better beyond 1:13,000 Scale

I just added them the Free and Premium Wyoming Maps. I should get the rest done today or tomorrow. The new base layers can take a few moments to generate as they are presenting quite a bit of data. I wouldn't call them slow, but just keep that in mind. Unfortunately I believe the new Contour overlays will not translate to printed maps. There's just too much data with the inclusion of an aerial. I tested it and the Aerial does not come through. But it works great for visualization within the Map Viewer.

Click the link to see an example of the ImageryTopo layer at ~1:13,000 Scale; https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9LKa ... EFMOThjS2s

[Indian Summer]

That's funny. I closed the tab and re opened it to see if it saved my marked points. When I looked at the screen there were more options and I was like... where the heck did that come from???

Topo imagery is nice. I can see things using that without overpowering the aerial layer with the topo data. When I saw that I had to wonder if you can't make the contour lines a bright orange or yellow and have the ability to really crank them up on the aerial imagery.

My wife can't understand why I'm all excited. She gave me one of these... I told her it could mean more elk meat so her opinion improved. She seemed to like that even more than the free part.

[Game Planner Maps]

I don't think there's much I can do about the color of the contours, I'll explore some other options. In the mean time, they'll stand out a little better if you fade the aerial a few clicks.

[Indian Summer]

Is it my imagination or did you make more changes? Really good ones! I just logged on again and the contour lines are yellow. AND I can really crank them up bright to see them as dim or bright as I could possibly need them at any zoom range. Now I can't imagine anything else that could be improved with the program. It's unreal!

One really big benefit I can see with your program is it serves as a learning tool for people who can't look at topo maps like they are 3 dimensional and envision the hills and valleys. They can go look at an area that is familiar to them and look at it "in topo" and as they say "get the picture".

Having every useful layer possible and the ability to fade them is really something special Ed. Can I set all of the fade settings like I want them for printed custom maps?

[Game Planner Maps]

I added a couple contour services to the Map Viewers. You should be able to see contours on every base map and any scale.

[Elkonthebrain]

Sorry if this had been explained already, I only skimmed over the post. Probably a stupid question but, how do you get rid of the side bar on the free version. I was trying to look at a spot in Montana and the side bar is a huge part of my phones screen and I can't figure out how to close it to make the map the whole screen. I'm using my android S5. Is that the issue or am I missing the tab to close the catalog tab?

[Game Planner Maps]

Sorry, the Map Viewer is more of a Desktop tool. Unfortunately it does not translate well to the small screen of a phone. Larger tablets do ok. I'll see if i can find a solution to make the catalog collapsible.

[WapitiTalk1]

Yes sir, loving the site. Now I just need to figure out the order of march for replacing my old paper USGS maps with GP maps

[Ben Nicholson]

I'm trying to buy the CO membership, but it keeps taking me to WY? Also, I'm probably going to order a custom map as well, could you explain the map scouting option a bit?

Thanks,
Ben

[Deanmac]

Just signed up and played around a little

Liked the features and found the site user friendly.

Did I miss the color codes for the stats for the different areas? I saw the different colors but did not see the ranges?

Also I tried to print a standard 8.5 X 11 but the map only covered about 1/2 the page, I had the settings at landscape, am I missing something on the printing process?

Thanks for a great site.

[Game Planner Maps]

Hi Dean, if you saved the map can you email it to me? I'd like to see what happened. Try it again and see if you get a similar result.

Ben, I'm making the changed to the CO Membership. I'll pm you when its repaired.

[Ben Nicholson]

Awesome! Thanks Ed!

[Game Planner Maps]

I'm trying to buy the CO membership, but it keeps taking me to WY? Also, I'm probably going to order a custom map as well, could you explain the map scouting option a bit?

Thanks,
Ben

MAP SCOUTING
In the past I've been asked by clients who have ordered Custom maps to delineate some areas to their maps that look good or have better potential for hunting. Other times they ask for my opinion on camping spots, points of access, or want me to find them a good area to camp where they can easily hit a few spots. It takes time and I needed to quantify the process, so I called it map scouting. Its based on my opinion and the way I read maps. To be honest I usually do not push this when I consult with a client, I try to limit the process to an hour or less but it always takes longer because I just keep looking at their map like its my own and I'm doing the hunting.

[Game Planner Maps]

Hi Dean, I wanted to check to make sure the print tool is still functioning properly I just printed this map from the map viewer.

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https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9LKa ... zBXalFXck0
It includes;
unit boundary
surface ownership
roads
water bodies
springs/seeps
and USGS Topo

Let me know it the problem persists on your end and Ill see if i can remedy the situation.

I should point out to everyone that if you turn on multiple base maps the print engine tries to print them all, even the ones that are not visible. The same is true for the vector layers (roads, water, boundaries, etc..)
If you have multiple base maps active and a bunch of vector layers its possible the print tool just does not have enough memory or horsepower to store all that data as it's writing the map. I have had instances when I've overloaded the tool and it just keeps processing but nothing happens. Printing with more than one active base layer will almost always cause problems. Some, like the Contour overlays just overwrite everything, I'm working on a solution to this. I just added the contours on Saturday because Joe (Indian Summer) wanted them, I think I can do better if I build my own contour data, but it takes time. Also, the base maps are beamed into the Map Viewer from the Esri mapserver and USGS services. I have no control over them, if your internet hick-ups and the connection is broken for a second the stream that is providing the aerial or topo is interrupted. If your in the midst of printing a map this will likely cause a gap in your data. Sometimes the Esri and USGS servers just go down for a few minutes and the base map is unavailable. They have made improvements in reliability the past few years, but interruptions still occur. My system isn't perfect, and it has its limitations. I've tested it as much as one guy can and I still find a few bugs (found two today thanks to you guys) but each time I find one the site gets better. Game Planner Maps is a one man show and I'm constantly working to make my maps as useful and accessible as possible. You can always email me if you have a question. ed@gameplannermaps.com

[Swede]

Welcome to the party Ed. It is good to have you here in camp. I like the waterproof indestructible maps that will serve as a tent in an emergency idea. Now work on an app that will carry a pair of tired old legs out of a hole or pack out a quarter elk. RJ can use that new app.

[WapitiTalk1]

Welcome to the party Ed. It is good to have you here in camp. I like the waterproof indestructible maps that will serve as a tent in an emergency idea. Now work on an app that will carry a pair of tired old legs out of a hole or pack out a quarter elk. RJ can use that new app.

Ha, no trout about that buddy

[Deanmac]

Hi Dean, if you saved the map can you email it to me? I'd like to see what happened. Try it again and see if you get a similar result.

Ben, I'm making the changed to the CO Membership. I'll pm you when its repaired.

Thanks I found my issue: I was not downloading the PDF and trying to print from the View image stage.

thanks for the reply

[Mike_Parson]

welcome to the group!!

[CurlyTail]

I registered on the site and it was easy and painless.

I have just scratched the surface exploring the possibilities but so far am loving this. It is alot like the Colorado hunt atlas, except maybe better. I love the Fire burn layer so you can see areas that have burned, and the year that area burned. Very helpful and useful.

Welcome to the site and thanks!