MWR Geospatial News
Spring 2009 (and early summer!)
House Committee on Natural Resources Webcast on Federal Geospatial Data Management
FAQ: Where are ArcGIS Desktop files installed?
Natural Resource Program Center makes NAIP available (PDF Link)
GIS Report for Congress (PDF Link)
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Boundary Update: Centroid and Tract layers also available
Fish & Wildlife Service National Cadastral Data and National Wildlife Refuge and Hatchery Boundaries
Five Midwest states to get new NAIP sooner: IA, IL, MI, MN, NE
Summary Info on GeoPDFs on the Park GIS Sharepoint (NPS only)
Problem with MAC address licenses on non-networked computers - work around (NPS only)
Download and apply map templates for online web maps, printed maps, and mobile maps
Ohio uses Lidar and aerial photos to survey state
ArcGIS 9.3.1 Available - instructions (NPS only)
Map of the Quarter:
Old growth within Mt. Rushmore.
GIS TIP: To create a centerline from a polygon for a road buffer (as an example), first run Feature to Line tool to change the polygon to a line feature. Then delete the end caps from the buffered roads to create open-ended lines. Lastly, run the Collapse Dual Lines to Centerline tool. You can specify maximum or minimum width between the two lines. Intersections can sometimes cause a little mess that you might have to manually clean up.
Midwest GeoFact: The five Great Lakes (and their connecting rivers) have a total of 4,960 miles of coastline in the United States. The lakes themselves comprise 4,530 miles of coastline. The Great Lakes make up almost 40% of the total coastline of the United States (12,479 miles).
Did you know... You can download US Census data from HERE.
New Projects at GSC
The Ice Age Trail in embarking on a project to create a GIS data layer of archaeological resources (Section 106) compliance. A related project will produce a layer of Trail facilities. The IATR sought input and assistance from the GSC to formulate and execute these projects. Project completion is expected in 2011.
Park GIS Conf. Calls
Each month (roughly every second Thursday), GIS-minded employees in the NPS hold a conference call that's open to anyone. You can join the call by dialing 877-989-1671 (code 894050). Topics range widely but are always engaging and you can expect to come away better informed about GIS goings on in the Service. Contact Ben Zank for more info.
Submit Your Own News
Do you have news, facts or tips you think are worth sharing? You can go here to submit your own news, where it will subsequently be added to the next newsletter.
Park GIS Documents
The PGIS Document Archive (NPS Only) was conceived as a quick-and-dirty place to drop documents and tools that other GIS folks could benefit from. Items in the sharepoint spreadsheet have a contact person and NPS unit, along with fields for Document Type (Agreement, Data Dictionary, GIS/Data Mgt Plan, Map Symbols, Overview, Performance Plan, Position Description, Presentation, Recommendation(s), Script/Tool, SOP, Template, Tip, Training, Other) and Subject (ArcGIS & Extensions, Cartography, Data Standard, Enterprise GIS, GPS Hardware, GPS Software, Metadata, Personnel, Remote Sensing, Other). It's easy to sort and filter through everything that's been posted by clicking on the field names at the top of the spreadsheet.
MWR Map Catalog on NPS Focus
NPS Focus is a fairly new digital library and research station set up, in part, as a place to house "a growing collection of thousands of images, documents, drawings and maps about the cultural and natural resources maintained by the National Park Service". The MWR now has its own map catalog up on the site, which can be accessed by clicking HERE and selecting "Midwest Region Map Catalog Collection" under the NPS Digital Lbrary Collections drop-down menu. Staff in the region can add maps to the catalog as well as browse the growing number of maps already there.
MAC licenses forArcGIS
The Single Use (aka "keyless") version of ArcGIS is being phased out in favor of another keyless solution using the MAC address of the network adapter to generate the license file. Click HERE to read instructions for "Installing and Running MAC-Addressed ArcGIS Desktop."
MWR GSC Provides GMP Support
In April and June, staff from the GSC attended general management planning meetings at Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The GSC continues to advocate a greater degree of involvement of GIS early in park planning efforts. Rumor has it that the Denver Service Center is planning to hire a GIS specialist to support park planning efforts.Isle Royale Receives GIS Training
In June, MWR GSC employee Reese Hirth conducted two short courses in GIS and GPS for staff at Isle Royale National Park. The training program at the GSC continues to evolve now with the development of modular short courses and a recognition of the need for a "GIS refresher" course.
GISC Meeting (May)
The NPS GIS Council met at Great Smokey Mtns NP the week of May 18th. The annual face-to-face gathering generally focused on the status of Enterprise GIS (EGIS) within the NPS as well as how regions and programs relate to the larger EGIS efforts based in Denver. Reports from each of the regional GIS Coordinators and representatives from each of the Program areas provided updates on the current endeavors, status and progress made by regions and programs on a variety of projects since the previous meeting.The GISC agreed that it was their job to provide direction and vision for the EGIS subcommittee. Although a vision was discussed throughout the meeting, no formal vision statement was created.
The GISC voted to select congressionally designated wilderness area boundaries and park trails as the next two service-wide data layers (along with building footprints).
Building Footprint Collection Performed at Isle Royale
After a six hour boat ride, MWR GSC employee Matt Colwin arrived at the region's most isolated unit, Isle Royale National Park, where he was tasked with collecting GPS building footprint data for all of the structures on the park's many islands. Using a Trimble Pro-XH GPS receiver, and with assistance from some of the park's seasonal staff, he was able to travel to--and collect data from--about two-thirds of the structures.
The main limiting factor in data collection at Isle Royale is simply that no travel around the islands can be done quickly, as each new building location requires a boat trip. However, the Isle Royale National Park staff has since completed the building data collection, meaning it is ready to be processed.
Upcoming EGIS Meeting (August)
The NPS Enterprise GIS Subcommittee is planning a meeting in Lakewood, CO the week of August 17th. The meeting will bring together many folks around the Service who are invested in or planning enterprise GIS solutions. A principle goal of the meeting will be to define the scope of "enterprise" in the NPS and examine strategies for hosting both service-wide data layers and individual, park-based layers.
GIS User Survey Results
Recently, a survey (NPS only) was performed in order to gauge the amount GIS is used at various Midwest Region units. The GIS points of contact at each park were asked to provide information regarding the number of employees who use GIS as well as how intensive their work with GIS is. Their answers were grouped into three categories: light, medium, and heavy use (with heavy being defined as "one who considers GIS an essential tool for their work and uses it al least every couple months").
Light GIS Use: 67 employees
Medium GIS Use: 64 employees
Heavy GIS Use: 84 employees
Additionally, these GIS points of contact were asked to provide the number of computers with GIS software installations. The following are the results of this section of the survey:
ArcGIS: 227 installations
ArcView 3.3: 34 installations
Finally, the GIS points of contact were asked to look at a list and choose which items would most improve their unit's GIS operations. Sample items were "Better/More Complete Metadata", "Ability to view data in something like Google Earth", and "Additional Imagery". Overall, the most common responses called for more training (as well as more affordable training options, as ESRI is often expensive), more park GIS staff (or a full time GIS/data manager-type position), and additional imagery captured more frequently.