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See how the IndianaMap is benefiting Hoosiers in this video segment produced by WFYI's Aric Hartvig for the show Across Indiana.
The Indiana Geographic Information Council invites local government GIS coordinators to attend the first Local Government GIS Coordinators' Forum.
Interact with your peers Talk to other coordinators from around the state about everything from best practices to regional user groups
Coordinate regionally Network with other coordinators from your area of the state, discuss common issues and form a basis for ongoing collaboration
Learn about statewide initiatives Get information about statewide initiatives that impact local government, like the recently passed IndianaMap legislation, and how local communities can both support and benefit from what lies ahead
Who Should Attend? This event is for ALL local government GIS coordinators. It offers a means for the newest members of the Indiana GIS community to become involved, and the more experienced to improve and expand regional coordination efforts.
This will be an open discussion where professional can ask questions and provide feedback on topics like GIS policy, and learn about resources available to local government. Only local government (city, town, county, regional) will be invited to attend.
There is no fee for participants, though registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
This event is supported by our Corporate Members:
For more information on the 2010 Census and what you need to be doing NOW, visit http://www.census.indiana.edu/luca/index.html.LUCA Technical Training
From: The US Census Bureau
To: All local government officials working with address data
The Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program is your one and only opportunity to review and update the Census Bureau’s address list that will be used to conduct the 2010 Census for your jurisdiction. Your participation in LUCA directly impacts the accuracy of the 2010 census for your community.
Your government was recently invited to participate in the LUCA program. Your jurisdiction already has received everything necessary to register for LUCA, including the registration form, product format choice, and a CD-ROM with a computer-based version of the technical training workshop. This computer-based training CD-ROM includes the same information that will be covered in the classroom technical workshops. However, if you would like further instruction or clarification on participating in LUCA, we invite you attend one of the classroom technical workshops. These classroom workshops will:
- Include a detailed review of all major program components
- Provide necessary knowledge to make an informed decision on your city/town’s level of participation
- Include specific examples and exercises to provide the skills necessary to review and update the census address list for your city/town
- Allow for questions and answers with Census Bureau staff
The classroom workshop is approximately five hours in length.
The current schedule of workshops in your state is included with this letter. If you or someone from your jurisdiction would like to attend a technical workshop, please complete the enclosed LUCA Workshop registration form. To ensure that we have adequate space and materials available, we are requesting that workshop participants register in advance. You may also check our website at http://www.census.gov/rochi/www/resource.html or click on the link below for the LUCA workshop schedule and the registration form.
Should you have any questions regarding LUCA, please do not hesitate to contact our Geography staff at our toll-free LUCA number (866) 511-LUCA (5822) or (630) 288-9245. We look forward to working with you as we approach Census 2010.
Sincerely,
Stanley D. Moore
Regional Director
Registration Form
The Director then outlined strategic objectives for the Survey noting the recent publication of the USGS circular: Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges – U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017. He pointed out six major science thrusts (1) Understanding ecosystems, (2) Climate variability and change, (3) Energy and minerals for America’s future, (4) A national hazards, risk, and resilience assessment, (5) Role of environment and wildlife in human health, and (6) A water census of the U.S. Myers noted that we are looking at these issues holistically at a national level. “Underpinning that, what data do we need, what data systems do we need, and how do we integrate that data?”
The Indiana Geographic Information Council has entered into a USGS partnership agreement to identify the process for state and local stewardship and maintenance of the Indiana high resolution NHD. The IGIC IndianaMap Committee/Waters Workgroup will be active in the pilot project. If you'd like to join the IGIC Waters Workgroup, please let us know.
Look for a new and revised set of NHD documentation in draft form available for your review and comments. The documents: (1) Standards for National Hydrography Dataset – High Resolution, (2) Best Practices for the Revision of the National Hydrography Dataset, (3) The National Hydrography Dataset Concepts and Contents, (4) Introducing the NHDinGeo, and (5) Stewardship of The National Hydrography Dataset can be found at ftp://nhdftp.usgs.gov/Docs.
Map Adventures Help Young People Find Their Way
Lesson plans developed by USGS scientists introduce the concept of maps and map symbols, and help students develop skills to understand absolute location — where things are on the Earth's surface. These exercises allows students to experience the view from the ground and a view from much higher, which lets them think about how objects change in appearance depending on the perspective from which they are viewed. For more information,
see "Map Adventures, Teacher Information" or "What Do Maps Show?
In June 2006, Honda officially announced Decatur County would be the home of a new plant, scheduled to open in 2008. The plant will cover 1 million square feet; sit on a 1,700 acre tract; and employ 2,000 people. Combined with an accelerated construction schedule (existing homes on the site were being moved less than 3 months after the official announcement), the County faced the immense challenge of responding to numerous information requests in a short period of time. There were parcel research requests for utility easements, widening of roads, property surveys, zoning, etc. On many days, County offices had people in line from open to close.
Decatur County had integrated much of their data into a geographic information system (GIS). By Spring 2006, many departments were on board: the Auditor's Office, Assessor's Office, Highway Department, Area Planning, e911, Clerk's Office and Recorder's Office. Each was using the GIS data as part of their normal daily functions.
In addition to fielding requests through the coordinated onsite system, the County's GIS website was released to the public. It proved to be a solid way of transferring information to constituents, as it allowed the public to obtain information from the GIS without any formal training.
Results
The County's investment in GIS paid off in massive time savings. Mary Dickman, County Auditor's Office, says "...property information requests that used to take a couple of weeks are now answered in a matter of minutes."
In addition to facilitating information retrieval, the County's GIS provided a morale boost. Tim Ortman, Decatur County GIS Coordinator, noted that "…unlike any other project, the GIS pulled the County together as a unit." Departments that used to operate as individual islands now integrate their information and share data, which creates a general respect between the offices, and allows the County to supply information to the public faster and more accurately than ever before.
Several important enhancements of the GIS Atlas for Indiana were implemented on August 27, including:
New layers
A layer named “CARE FACILITIES - LONG TERM (ISDH)” shows the locations of 86 residential care facilities, 525 long-term care facilities (nursing homes), and 81 hospices included in various directories that appear on Web pages of the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). Locations were plotted by personnel of the Indiana Geological Survey using the "Geocoding" tool in ESRI ArcMap 9.2 and street information licensed from Tele Atlas, Dynamap 2000 v. 17.0. The layer can be found in the folder named “INFRASTRUCTURE” and the subfolder named “Other Infrastructure.”
A layer named “SCHOOLS - HIGHER EDUCATION (ICHE)” shows the locations of 76 colleges and universities (including 2- and 4-year public institutions and independent institutions) listed on a directory obtained from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE). Personnel of the Indiana University Architect's Office used geocoding to create a point shapefile. Personnel of the Indiana Geological Survey used ESRI ArcMap 9.2 to edit the locations of thirteen (13) records. The layer can be found in the folder named “INFRASTRUCTURE” and the subfolder named “Other Infrastructure.”
Updated layers
Two layers were updated: HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT AREAS and PATOKA RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. If you are a user of these data, you may wish to re-download them.
Corrected tools
A problem was recently detected with the “Hyperlinks” and “Bookmarks” tools. If you use the “Bookmarks” tool, you will need to recreate your bookmarks.
Thanks to the Indiana Geological Survey and the Indiana Department of Transportation for their support of this important resource!
In a Sept. 4, 2007 Press Release, Governor Daniels announced that a new map highlighting activities, announcements and grants in every Indiana county is one of two of the most popular features on the recently redesigned IN.gov - the state's official Web site. "What's Happening in My County" is an easy-to-use map providing citizens with information about economic development projects, Major Moves announcements and grant awards in their county. The map's link is found on the Web site's home page (IN.gov).The new site uses Microsoft's Virtual Earth application. Behind the scenes, Microsoft's mapping application is "powered by" data from Indiana's 2005 Orhtophotography Project. As more and more applications are enabled by the likes of Microsoft's Virtual Earth, Google Earth, and Google Maps (these sites all use IndianaMap data) we can clearly see the value of "Build Once, Use Many Times" for GIS framework data.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) is aware of the value aerial photography brings to emergency response efforts. The Department wanted to provide county emergency managers and first responders customized and direct access to Indiana's statewide photography. The challenge was delivering it to agencies in a useful format, considering most did not have mapping software or the computer hardware necessary to support it.
The solution was the Indiana First Response Map (INFRM), a custom viewing application tailored for each of Indiana's 92 counties. The application was built to run on top of existing free map-viewing software, allowing unlimited access with no-cost licensing. Homeland Security also supplied each county Emergency Management Agency with ten laptop computers ready to load and run the First Response Map application.
INFRM was designed to be completely flexible. Counties can customize it to their own police, fire, or emergency management needs. Additional local data can be added using traditional mapping software. For expert mapping professionals, data was packaged as shapefiles, and can be used with any compatible mapping software. The flexibility also extends to more advanced programming. The source code for INFRM is freeware, and a copy of the source code can be obtained and further customized for specific uses.
Results
Thanks to this Homeland Security initiative, 920 Indiana first responders now have state-of-the-art mapping tools in hand to support their emergency management activities. The highly-accurate and detailed aerial photography provides a common map across each county and throughout the state of Indiana. The ability to integrate this data with other local data layers provides the best available digital map data to the first responders and emergency management community throughout Indiana.
Cajun life, philanthropy, African American song, prayer, environmental stewardship, history-these are just a few of the topics to explore during the 2007 Spirit & Place Festival, November 2-18. Visit www.spiritandplace.org now to browse through 71 events that celebrate the 2007 theme, Living Generously. Enjoy plays, workshops, poetry readings, performances, worship services, exhibits, and more, presented by over 150 arts, civic, and faith-based institutions.
EPA just announced another upcoming application opportunity for the availability of grant funds for eligible entities (City or township governments, County governments, State governments) and non-profit organizations to provide technical assistance to communities facing brownfield cleanup and redevelopment challenges.
Eligible uses of grant funds include direct costs necessary to provide technical assistance, including costs for personnel, technical experts, materials, supplies, room rentals, travel, and transportation expenses.
EPA anticipates making one award in each of the four geographical zones to ensure technical assistance is available to communities nationwide. The deadline for EPA Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities is October 2, 2007.
Request for Applications (RFA) - Initial Announcement http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=15233&mode=VIEW
Making More Visually Pleasing Maps: Applied Cartography and Visualization Thursday, September 13th, 1:30-2:30 WEBINAR IGIC Members: FREE Non-members: $10
All maps are created with a specific purpose in mind; that purpose can be more clearly understood by the viewer if you use the principals of thematic cartography and geographic visualization. Jeremy Webber from the IUPUI Geography Department will share his techniques for making more visually pleasing maps. Portions of this online presentation will be demonstrated in the ArcMap Environment, though the techniques can be applied in most GIS environments.
Concepts to be covered at this online event:
- Symbolizing data
- Displaying data upon aerial photography and hill shaded elevation relief
- How to use color to your benefit
- Cartographic design and output
Registrants will receive an email with login information and phone number one week prior to the event. Note: This is not a toll-free phone call, long distance charges may apply.
GIS for Engineering Friday, October 19th, 1:00-3:30pm Indiana State Library 140 N. Senate Ave, History Reference Room Indianapolis, IN 46204 IGIC Members: FREE Nonmembers: $20
GIS can be a powerful tool for engineering projects. Learn how to negotiate between GIS and CAD, integration tips, pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples of projects using these techniques. Bill Kimbrell of Woolpert, and Scott Barbour and Larry Robbins of the Terre Haute Engineering Department share these and other insights into how you can make the most of GIS.
Exploring Statewide GIS Resources Tuesday, November 13th, 1:00-3:30pm Indiana State Library 140 N. Senate Ave, History Reference Room Indianapolis, IN 46204 FREEThis seminar will include a review and exploration of the considerable resources that are available to Indiana GIS users through the Indiana Geographic Information Council. These resources include opportunities for networking, education for both new and experienced GIS users, guidelines that can help users more effectively develop projects within their communities, and much more. The seminar will also provide an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts and ideas regarding how IGIC can best support the needs of GIS across Indiana. The presenter for this seminar will be Jill Saligoe-Simmel, PhD.
Trimble Products, Training and Support
In a new offer to IGIC members, Seiler Instrument offers a 5% discount on Trimble mapping-grade hardware, software, and extended warranties. Also, Seiler will offer to IGIC members a 10% discount on training and technical support agreements.
Contact Britt Gill: bgill@seilerinst.com or 317.545.7090 x35
For this and other IGIC Member Discounts, visit http://www.in.gov/igic/member/discount.html.
The new USGS online "contour-out" capability is available for use by everyone, right now. No strings, no limitations, no kidding. Give it a try!
The URL for the Contour-Out service is:
http://igskmncnwb010.cr.usgs.gov/XMLWebServices/USGS_Contour_Service.asmx?op=getContours
To use the service, go to the URL to get the input screen, populate the fields, and hit the "invoke" button. The service will generate the specified output, and designate a "clickable" location for you to go get the output file. Be careful not to get carried away with the specified contour intervals -- remember that contours that met NMAS at 10-feet, will NOT meet any kind of accuracy standard at 4 feet.
In the "Elevation_Source" field you always input the value "BEST_AVAILABLE".
For registration, please contact Denise Dearth at ddearth@iupui.edu or 317.274.2455. For questions about course content please contact Kevin Mickey at the following.
Kevin Mickey, GISP
Director, Professional Education and Outreach
The Polis Center
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
1200 Waterway Boulevard
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
(317) 278-2582 PH
(317) 278-1830 FAX
kmickey@iupui.edu
Thanks to the efforts of Darryl Smallwood, IndianaView's SURF program student for the summer, 82 scenes of ASTER data have been added to the IndianaView GloVis portal (http://www.indianaview.org/glovis/) for January through July of 2007.