A Mexican spotted owl asleep on the branch of an oak tree, its barred brown and white feathers lit by dappled sun

Jenness Enterprises

Understanding the landscape and the life on it, from a spatial ecological perspective — through tools, research and teaching, since 2000.

Another owl →

Who we are

Jenness Enterprises is Jeff Jenness and Lois Engelman. We have been in business since 2000, writing GIS tools and assisting in scientific research for universities and agencies around the world, from our home in Flagstaff, Arizona.

With great sadness, Jeff announces the passing of Lois Engelman in July 2026. Lois was his wife, his best friend and his partner of 36 years, and Jenness Enterprises was theirs together. The work here continues in her memory. A celebration of her life will be held in Flagstaff on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

Our goal is to promote understanding of the landscape and ecology of our world, and especially to understand it from a spatial ecological perspective: where things are, how they are arranged, and what that arrangement means for the plants and animals that live there. We work toward that goal in three ways. We write tools that let researchers ask spatial questions of their data. We conduct research, and assist in the research of others. And we teach.

Jeff Jenness and Lois Engelman, smiling, outdoors among bare winter branches; Lois wears a Society of American Foresters cap — Jeff and Lois, in their early days. Other photo →

Tools

Wildlife and Forestry Tools for ArcGIS Pro is a free add-in of over a hundred analytical, cartographic and data-management tools, the successor to more than thirty years of our ArcView and ArcMap extensions, and every tool is documented here.

Tool Reference →

Research

Spatial analysis for wildlife, forestry and landscape ecology, from home ranges and habitat models to corridors and terrain, for clients ranging from university labs to the United Nations.

Consulting →

Teaching

Jeff has taught GIS at Northern Arizona University since 2012, in courses built around forestry, forest ecology and wildlife biology, and we now offer similar courses through this website. In 2013, 2020 and 2024 he was honored as Teacher of the Year by the NAU School of Forestry Xi Sigma Pi Honor Society.

GIS Training → GIS lessons on YouTube ↗

Literature

Our publications, maps, presentations and software, going back to the beginning, with a link to Jeff's full curriculum vitae.

Literature →

Why we do this

We believe the planet is in a threatened condition. As ecosystems change and the climate warms, we cannot easily predict what will become of the places and the species we know, and the people who make decisions about them need the best understanding they can get. With our tools and our research, we try to understand ecological systems a little better, so that those decisions can be better ones. With our classes, we try to help train the next generation of scientists and researchers to be better at their work, because all of us are depending on them.

Thought for the day

Another thought →

A young Jeff Jenness in a Forest Service cap, standing against a ponderosa pine, holding a Mexican spotted owl in both hands — Jeff, in his Forest Service days, with a Mexican spotted owl (*Strix occidentalis lucida*).

A young Jeff Jenness in a plaid shirt and cap, smiling at a great horned owl perched on his hand — Jeff with a great horned owl (*Bubo virginianus*).

Jeff Jenness standing on a rock outcrop holding a hand-held radio-telemetry antenna, with red-rock cliffs and a wide valley behind — Radio telemetry in the 1990s.

Jeff Jenness in glasses and a dark shirt, smiling, in front of the Cathedral of Orvieto — Jeff in 2001, in front of the Cathedral of Orvieto, Italy, during his time working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Mexican spotted owls, Strix occidentalis lucida. Click one to put it at the top of the page.

A Mexican spotted owl asleep on a branch, framed by a red and white Navajo-style border

Contact

Jeff Jenness
Jenness Enterprises, Flagstaff, Arizona
jeffj@jennessent.com

For questions about the tools, the courses, or a research project.

Flagstaff, Arizona · in business since 2000 Esri Partner Network Bronze partner emblem