Indiana GIS News http://igic.org/news/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://igic.org/news//nucleus/nucleus2.gif Indiana GIS News http://igic.org/news/ Indiana Spatial Data Portal (ISDP) Changes http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=364 Story by: Anna Radue, Research Technologies GIS Support, UITS
ibm ts1130
University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University (IU) recently upgraded IU’s Massive Data Storage System (MDSS) which supports the ISDP imagery archival/distribution services. Staff replaced the nearly 10 year old STK Powderhorn tape library with a new IBM TS3500 tape library located in IU’s new Bloomington Data Center. The two robots in the new library improve the tape mounting performance and are configured in a high availability design allowing one robot to assume all duties should the other robot fail. The new library now has a total of 5,394 tape slots, supports a mixture of 3592 and LTO tape media, and allows future expansion to over 10,000 tape slots.

UITS staff also installed twenty new IBM TS1130 tape drives in the new tape library. Each tape drive is capable of a sustained, uncompressed read or write rate of 160 megabytes per second. Each tape cartridge can hold up to 1,000GB's of data. MDSS now offers in total over 5,400 TB's of archival storage and currently stores over 18.7 TB’s of Indiana spatial data.

For more information about MDSS, please visit the Knowledge Base article: http://kb.iu.edu/data/aiyi.html

For more information about ISDP, please visit http://gis.iu.edu]]> IndianaMap Framework Data http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=364 Sat, 6 Mar 2010 03:18:51 -0500 Summary of 2011 Program Changes for National Geospatial Program http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=363 Greenbook, pages I-29 & I-30.

Decreases proposed:
Include all unrequested Congressional increases in the 2010 Enacted Appropriations, which total $11,124,000:
o reduced funding for the National Map Partnership - $3,500,000
o general cost cutting proposals - $3,267,000
o reducing funding for Information Technology (IT) efficiency gains - $4,000,000
o reducing travel funding - $2,331,000
o reducing IT funding $2,479,000
o reducing acquisition funding - $3,571,000
o redistribution of DOI Working Capital Fund - $73,000

Justification of 2011 Program Changes
The 2011 budget request for the National Geospatial Program (NGP) Subactivity is $65,887,000 and 323 FTE, a program change of -$3,500,000 and -4 FTE from the 2010 Enacted level.

The National Map Partnerships -$3,500,000 / -4 FTE
For 2011, the USGS proposes to reduce the funding for the Partnership Implementation component by $3.5 million. The proposed reduction eliminates all funds used to leverage with Federal, State and local agencies to acquire new data. Through this leverage, the USGS typically benefits from a ratio ranging from 15:1 for imagery to 4:1 for hydrography data. The amount of the proposed reduction actually results in the loss of as much as $20 million worth of geospatial data to the Federal Government, the USGS, and the public annually. This reduces the USGS’ ability to maintain the currentness and improve the quality of The National Map.

The proposed decrease would eliminate liaison positions responsible for partnerships in 13 States. These personnel organize the agreements through which the USGS leverages its resources with those of State and local cooperators. They routinely provide important services of coordination among Federal geospatial resources and those of State and local governments. Such services are invaluable during emergencies.

Beyond these immediate outcomes, the reduction would result in less work for America’s geospatial industry, which benefits by fulfilling contracts for projects that result from agreements the NGP makes with its cooperators. The reduction also undermines a fundamental strategy to maintain the Nation’s geospatial framework that has been recommended by the Office of Management and Budget, the FGDC, and the National Academy and other advisory groups.]]> National http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=363 Fri, 5 Mar 2010 14:35:45 -0500 USGS's Geospatial Liaison and Partnership Program are Invaluable assets for all Indiana Citizens! http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=362 Contributed by Phil Worrall, IGIC Executive Director

Communities and organizations across Indiana [including IGIC] directly benefit from a strong relationship and financial support from the USGS through their National Map Partnership program. The most visible and valuable components of this program to Indiana are the USGS Geospatial Liaison and Partnership Programs.

The Reason I'm writing this article now is that in the PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED 2011 BUDGET WE ARE AT RISK OF LOOSING THIS VALUABLE SUPPORT. A proposed $3.5 million dollar cut in USGS's FY2011 $1.1 Billion dollar budget will bring one of USGS's MOST SUCCESSFUL OUTREACH PROGRAMS EVER TO A STOP!

In the past, Indiana shared a USGS liaison with Ohio and Michigan, but in 2007 the USGS recognized the value and importance of this partnership program and appointed David Nail as USGS's full-time Geospatial Liaison for Indiana. Since then, David has worked closely with IGIC, State and local governments, and higher education in Indiana to help bring in nearly $850,000 in grants dollars to directly support the development of geospatial data and programs across Indiana.

In each case these contributions either helped us do something we could not have otherwise done, or helped us leverage other funds to make projects happen. And specifically for IGIC, without any permanent base-level funding, these grants have KEPT IGIC IN BUSINESS! Below is a detailed summary:

Since 2007, David has helped bring $847,700 in USGS/FGDC/NGA funds to Indiana:

Fiscal Year 2010 Highlights (as of 3/3/2010) Total Funds - $85,000
o Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Cap #7 grant support for the Indiana Geographic Information Council - Framework Data Exchange through Automated Geo-Synchronization – $50,000 [just awarded last week]
o USGS Partnership funds to Purdue University for Floodplain boundaries created from NRCS SSURGO soils data - $25,000
o USGS Partnership funds to Vanderburgh County/City of Evansville, IN for orthoimagery acquisition - $10,000

Fiscal Year 2009 Highlights Total Funds - $191,500
o Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Cap #7 grant support for the Indiana Geographic Information Council - Grant support for Road centerlines, boundaries, addresses and documentation of BP for Indiana's implementation of a statewide data sharing initiative - $75,000

o Partnership funds to the Indiana Geographic Information Council $25,000 - Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) corrections on 24K National Hydrographic Dataset (NHD) streams and lakes

o Partnership funds to the Indiana Geographic Information Council $62,500 - HAZUS, Essential Facilities Structures - Essential Facilities for 89 counties, maintenance, interface and documentation

o Partnership funds to the Indiana Geographic Information Council $29,000 - Local-Resolution NHD - Agreement to complete Local-Res for 1 Catalog Unit (CU) in 2010. Eight additional CU’s will be completed in 2010/2011 and delivered to USGS

Fiscal Year 2008 Highlights Total Funds - $123,200
o Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Cap #2 grant support for the Indiana Geographic Information Council - Best Practices in Geospatial Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) - $100,000

o Partnership funds to the City of Fort Wayne – USGS/NGA $23,200 for 6inch orthoimagery for Allen County/City of Fort Wayne

Fiscal Year 2007 Highlights Total Funds – $448,000
o Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Cap #3 grant Fifty States Initiative - $50,000

o Partnership funds to IMAGIS (Indianapolis Mapping and Geographic Infrastructure System) - USGS/NGA $85,000 for 6inch and 1ft orthoimagery for the Indianapolis urban area

o Partnership funds to the Indiana Geographic Information Council - $25,000 for National Hydrography Data (NHD) stewardship investigation and NHD training

o Partnership funds to the Indiana Geographic Information Council - $288,000 for Address Integration Pilot

Since 2007, David has actively supported GIS development and education across Indiana:

Memberships & Committees
o Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) Board Member -- Federal Representative
o IGIC Education Committee - Member
o IGIC IndianaMap Steering Committee and Chair of GIS inventory subcommittee - Member
o IGIC GIS Response Corps Committee - Member
o IGIC Waters Workgroup - Member
o Great Lakes Regional Height Modernization Consortium – Member
o Indiana Silver Jackets – Member
o Indiana Geological Survey’s Geologic Mapping and Advisory Committee - Member

USGS Science Support
o Flood Inundation Mapping Meeting with Indiana Water Science Center
o Data discovery and support to the Indiana Water Science Center for elevation and imagery data

Workshop Support
o NHDGeoEdit and Conflation tools workshop 6 state attendees participated in the use of NHD editing and conflation tools 9/2009 - Indianapolis, IN

Major Presentations
o USGS Collaboration with Purdue University presented Geospatial activities, FGDC, and TNM, 3/2009
o Indiana NHD Stewardship Activities Update NHD Conference, 4/2009
o FEMA Region V - Region Interagency Steering Committee Meeting presented USGS Emergency Operations and the International Charter Program, 6/2009
o History of the National Map and the U.S. Topo at Indiana Geographic Information Council Board meeting, 12/2009

SO HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Immediately write a email or letter to Congressman Pete Visclosky, U.S. House of Representatives for Indiana's First Congressional District (Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton and Benton Counties). Congressman Visclosky is the 6th ranking democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee. This group will be the first to review the President's 2011 budget and they can correct this mistake!

Representative Visclosky can only respond to messages from residents of Indiana's First Congressional District, but there is no reason people outside his district should not write him about this important issues affection all of Indiana (and every other state in the union).

To send an email to a house representative go to:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Select Indiana under the state, enter your home address, but you must enter a zip code in District 1 [46307] to send the message to Congressman Visclosky. Also, please send another email to you own [home] representative and ask them to talk to Representative Visclosky about removing this budget reduction from the FY2011 budget.
]]> National http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=362 Thu, 4 Mar 2010 09:49:43 -0500 IEDC Launches New GIS-powered Economic Development Web Site http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=361 The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) announced that it has launched a new site and building database, powered by a geographic information system (GIS), to provide companies, site selection consultants and economic development professionals access to real estate and demographic information needed to make expansion or relocation decisions.

To read the full press release click here, or to go directly to the new GIS-powered site click here.

IEDC
]]> General http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=361 Mon, 1 Mar 2010 17:12:59 -0500 2010 David C. Ford Special Achievement Award Winners http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=360 The David C. Ford Special Achievement Award is the ultimate expression of appreciation from our statewide GIS community to an individual or organization for exemplary service and dedication above and beyond duties for accomplishments in coordinating GIS in Indiana. This award is not annual or project-based, but is a special award to recognize historic accomplishments and/or lifetime achievement in support of the Indiana Geographic Information Council and the greater GIS community of Indiana.

This year at our annual state GIS conference, the David C. Ford Special Achievement Award was presented to three individuals; two Indiana Department of Environmental Management employees, Lorraine Wright and Irv Goldblatt, and from the Indiana Geological Survey, Paul Irwin.
2010 David C. Ford Award Winners

It was noted in the presentation that the statewide GIS community is indebted to each of these individuals for their hard work and dedication. Each has been active for many years in advancing the quality and use of GIS in our state, in raising awareness of the technology, and in coordinating activities and efforts that have had a positive impact on all of us.

Congratulations to all!
]]> Award Winners http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=360 Mon, 1 Mar 2010 13:53:25 -0500 IGIC's new Web Feature Service (WFS) Summarizer Tool Now Available http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=358 As part of our 2009 FGDC CAP Grant for ongoing support of the Data Sharing Initiative, Image Matters LLC has developed a new Web Feature Service (WFS) Summarizer tool for IGIC. The URL to access the application is: http://www.igic.org/wfs
wfs summarizer

Enter the URL for a Web Feature Service (WFS) in the search bar. Then click 'Summarize' to see information about that WFS including the operations the service supports, a list of all available features offered and their attributes. To view the summary in a separate window, click 'Summarize in New Window'.

You can use this tool with any valid OGC WFS URL. Depending on the WFS Service software used by the provider and what options they support, report results may vary. Here are a few URL examples to test. Just copy/paste them into the search bar, and click on the desired Summarize option.

http://geodata.epa.gov/wfsconnector/com.esri.wfs.Esrimap/AFS_FS?
http://geodata.epa.gov/wfsconnector/com.esri.wfs.Esrimap/TRI_FS?

]]> Data http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=358 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:16:39 -0500 2010 Indiana GIS Conference Special Event Highlights http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=357 Our annual GIS conference is just 1 week away!
logo

This year our conference is February 23-24, 2010, at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center. Our 2-day conference offers in-depth hands-on and classroom workshops, plus over 40 presentations from both Indiana and National experts. We currently have 290 people registered, 28 Exhibitors, 4 Gold Sponsors & 1 Silver Sponsor. We also have a number of new events scheduled for this year, and I encourage everyone to actively participate in as many of these events as you can! Special events this year include:

Monday (2/22/2010) Pre-Conference Events

We will kick-off our conference with a number of IGIC Board of Director events starting on Monday afternoon. Thanks to Anna Radue we will be meeting at IU's new Innovation Center for all of these meetings. Here is the Schedule for these afternoon/evening events:

3:00pm - 4:00pm - UITS Data Center Tour*
4:15pm to 7:15pm - IGIC Board Meeting*
7:30pm to 8:30pm - IGIC Board of Directors meet with Conference Sponsors & Vendors (Informal Presentations & Reception)**
8:45pm to 10:00pm - 2010 Board Member & Officer Orientation***

*All IGIC members, guests, and all others are invited to attend the Data Center Tour and the Board Meeting.
**This meeting is for IGIC Board Members and invited Conference Sponsors & Conference Vendors only.
***Board Member & Officer Orientation for IGIC Board Members only.


Tuesday (2/23/2010) Day-1 Special Events

7:30am to 8:30am - Conference registration and Continental Breakfast in the Great Room
8:30am to 12:00pm - Off-site Workshops (optional - advance registration required)
12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch, President's Address, and Excellence in GIS Awards in the Great Room
5:15pm to 7:00pm - Sponsor Reception and Indiana Trivia Event in the Great Room


Tuesday evening Post-Conference Events

6:30pm to ??pm - Geocaching event with the IU Geocaching Club
7:00pm to ??pm - Social Orienteering Event


Wednesday (2/24/2010) Day-2 Special Events

7:00am to 8:30am Birds-of-a-Feather Breakfast (Full Breakfast). We have planned 3 concurrent Birds-of-a-Feather Breakfast Sessions:

County Government Sector (Olcott Room)
(moderators: Bill Holder, Kosciusko Co.; Shaun Scholer, Wayne County; & Val Swift, Hamilton County)

City & Town Government Sector (Ralph Rogers Room)
(moderators: Laura Haley, Bloomington; Becky McKinkey, Hammond; & Deb Kuehn, South Bend)

Higher Education Sector (Duke Energy East Room)
(moderators: Kevin Mickey, Anna Radue, Cele Morris)


To insure that everyone can speak freely and openly, only people working in each sector can attend that breakfast meeting. All other conference attendees will eat breakfast in the Great Hall. These informal Birds-of-a-Feather sessions will provide the opportunity to listen and interact with your peers from across the state. Any topic can be discussed, but I expect today's challenges of doing more with less, and strategies for maintaining, sharing and funding GIS data will be included. The IGIC moderators are there to help lead the discussion, but they will also compile a list of key issues discussed to present to the full conference at our Wednesday afternoon "Closing Town Hall Session".

Local Government Elected Officials Invited
We have also invited local elected officials to attend the two local government Birds-of-a-Feather Breakfast Sessions for FREE. This opportunity will expose those local elected officials to the hard work and progress that IGIC members are making by giving them the chance to listen to their constituents working in local government, and interact with their GIS community.


8:45am to 10:00am - General Session in the Great Room - Indiana's Geographic Information Officer, Jim Sparks and IGIC's Executive Director, and Phil Worrall will discuss the "State of GIS in Indiana"

11:45pm to 1:00pm - Lunch, Keynote Presentation by NSGIC's President William J. Craig, Ph.D., and presentation of IGIC's David C. Ford Award in the Great Room

3:15pm to 4:00pm - Closing Town-Hall Session will include Birds-of-a-Feather Reports from each session, an Open Mic Session for audience topics, Vendor Prize drawings, and closing remarks.

It's not too late to register CLICK HERE for more information!


]]> Classes & Seminars http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=357 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:54:26 -0500 William J. Craig, Ph.D. - IGIC Keynote Speaker http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=350 click here.

William J. Craig, Ph.D., 2009-2010 President of the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), is the Keynote presenter for the 2010 Indiana GIS Conference.
Will Craig

Dr. Craig (Will) is the associate director of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), University of Minnesota. CURA is a leader in developing and supporting innovative community-based GIS. Their mission is to better connect the University with the state of Minnesota using GIS as a vital conduit.
Will is widely regarded to be one of the pioneers of urban and regional information systems and GIS. He started his carreer in GIS as project director of one of the world’s first statewide GIS - the Minnesota Land Management Information System. Since then he has become internationally known for his nearly 40 years of work with CURA, and for his dedication in promoting major national and global initiatives associated with data sharing, multipurpose cadastres, census data, spatial data infrastructures, and public participation GIS. Will's early work and guidance in the development of ethics standards for the GIS professional community can be seen in the GIS Certification Institute’s Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct.

Professionally, Will earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota and is a certified GIS Professional. He has been extremely active in the promotion of geographic information and he has held numerous key appointments including: President of URISA (1986-87); President of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (1997); Chair of the inaugural national GIS/LIS Conference (1988); member of the Mapping Science Committee of the National Research Council (2000-2005); and member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Land Parcel Databases (2006-07).

In the fall of 2009, Will became one of only ten people to date to be inducted into the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) GIS Hall of Fame, which recognizes and honors the most esteemed leaders of the geospatial community]]> IGIC Conference http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=350 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:30:00 -0500 Northwest Indiana GIS Forum Meeting http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=353 Contributed by Cele Morris, Research Analyst, Northwest Indiana Center for Data & Analysis, Indiana University Northwest

When: Thursday, February 18, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Where: Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC)
6100 Southport Road, Portage, IN
Directions: To NIRPC http://www.nirpc.org/home/contact.htm

Please join us for the next meeting of the Northwest Indiana GIS Forum. Keep the region up-to-date on your recent GIS accomplishments. We will have a special presentation by Dan Niksch, GIS Coordinator for the City of Crown Point, outlining implementation of their "Street View" Project. The project uses imagery from the street level to survey, inspect and analyze infrastructure within the city.]]> Classes & Seminars http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=353 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:53:42 -0500 Great Lakes Regional Height Modernization Consortium Meeting & Workshop http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=349 The Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors (ISPLS) and the Indiana Geographic Information Council (IGIC) are hosting a meeting of the Great Lakes Region Height Modernization Consortium (GLRHMC) on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. In conjunction with the meeting is a one-day workshop on the future and benefits of the new control network on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

This event is an excellent opportunity to hear from experts in the field from Indiana and the National Geodetic Survey!

The event is being held at the University Plaza Hotel is West Lafayette, IN.

You can register to attend just one day, or you can register to attend both.

Registration for each day is limited to the first 50 people, so REGISTER NOW!

March 23: GLRHMC Meeting
Doing More with Less: Funding Today’s Survey Activities
There is no charge for GLRHMC members or Elected Officials to attend the meeting. The non-member price is $30 which will be collected on-site.

March 24: Height Modernization Workshop
What Will the Future Control Network Look Like?
Cost for the workshop is $100.
ISPLS offers 6 CEU credits for this workshop

Click here for more information and to register on-line: http://www.igic.org/events/glrhmc/ To download a conference .pdf flyer Click Here.
]]> Classes & Seminars http://igic.org/news/index.php?itemid=349 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:50:00 -0500