id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	component	version	severity	resolution	keywords	cc	stage	has_patch	needs_docs	needs_tests	needs_better_patch	easy	ui_ux
5433	Make GDAL an optional requirement	Robert Coup	jbronn	"The GDAL library is magnitudes more complicated to install than GEOS and is not required for the basic GIS functionality (WKT, geometry operations, querying). And GDAL won't work on windows anytime soon.

The attached patch to `mixin.py` checks for gdal and throws exceptions in the `get_GEOM_ogr()` and `get_GEOM_srs()` methods. `models.py` already has a similar check.

"		closed	GIS	gis		fixed	sprint		Unreviewed	1	0	0	0	0	0