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Alaska Geographic Data Committee (AGDC) Introductions Rich McMahon, Alaska Department of Natural Resources (AKDNR), AGDC Co-Chair, welcomed the attendees and everyone introduced themselves and their respective agency/organization. Rich gave a brief summary of the annual National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) conference, which was held recently in Austin, TX. Rich is the NSGIC representative for Alaska. A.C. Brown also attended the conference representing the USGS Alaska Geographic Science Office, (AGSO). Individuals interested in the activities of NSGIC are encouraged to visit their website at http://www.nsgic.org/. Participating in the AGDC meeting via teleconference were Carrie Browne, Alaska Department of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (AKDGGS), Fairbanks; Kathryn Lizik, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (AKDOL/WD), Juneau; and Rick Campbell, Bureau of Census, Seattle, WA. McMahon introduced the featured guest speakers, Vicki Lukas, Chief, Northwest Geographic Science Team (NGST), USGS, Seattle, WA and Dave Roberts, Aerial Photography and Orthoimagery Project, USGS, Reston, VA. Featured Presentations Vicki Lukas gave a presentation on “National Map Partnerships – Lessons Learned and Future Directions.” Lukas also discussed the National Association of Counties (NACo)/NSGIC involvement with The National Map which led to the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the three entities which will define and enhance the roles of State and local partners. In addition, she gave an overview of the organizational changes that have occurred in the USGS Geography Discipline including the formation of a National Geospatial Program Office (NGPO). The National Map website is located at http://nationalmap.usgs.gov. The National Map Catalog can be accessed at http://mcmcweb.er.usgs.gov/catalog. Dave Roberts, USGS, was involved with the National Digital Ortho Program (NDOP), which led to a 10-year cooperative effort to acquire first-time 1-meter resolution digital orthoimagery (DOQ) coverage for the lower 48 as well as Hawaii. This project has been completed. At the present time, just over 3% of Alaska has been covered by digital orthoimagery (DOQ) at 1:25,000-scale. The major areas of this first-time DOQ coverage includes most of the Kenai Peninsula north to Anchorage; the Fairbanks/Fort Wainwright vicinity; and the northeast portion on the National Petroleum Reserve (NPRA) on the North Slope. An Alaska Digital Orthoimagery Initiative was originally developed in 2000 with the BLM Alaska State Office in Anchorage taking the lead. This original plan envisioned complete DOQ coverage for the entire State with 1-meter resolution products produced over urban areas and transportation corridors including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Five-meter resolution products would be produced over the more remote areas of the State. Letters of endorsement and support were obtained from many AGDC member agencies and organizations. Due to a number of factors including the estimated cost of such a venture, the effort failed. Roberts solicited opinions from the meeting attendees on how best to develop another comprehensive plan to acquire complete, first time DOQ coverage for the entire state of Alaska. The AGDC membership suggests “dusting off” this Initiative and updating its content to reflect new technologies, possible reduced costs, and garnering additional letters of recognition and support. The AGDC DOQ Subcommittee has been revitalized and will begin to hold scheduled meetings and/or teleconferences in order to work together to update and refine a revised Alaska Digital Orthoimagery Initiative. Roberts has joined the Subcommittee and any other interested AGDC members who would also like to participate should contact Lynette Nakazawa, BLM Alaska State Office at 271.3274 or lynette_nakazawa@ak.blm.gov. NSDI Framework Data Theme Updates Bathymetry LT Jennifer Dowling, Alaska Geodetic Advisor, NOAA/NOS, noted that a concerted effort is underway to move from NAD27 to NAD83. An update on current and future Alaska charting activities is expected at the next AGDC meeting. Hydrographic survey standards are located at http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/. Cadastral Rich McMahon, AKDNR, Land Records Information System (LRIS), announced that along with the State Recorder’s Office, parcel data information is being published. McMahon also noted that a series of cadastral meetings would be held in New Mexico in October. The Alaska Cadastral Project website is http://cadastral.info/. The State of Alaska Geospatial Data Clearinghouse is located at http://www.asgdc.state.ak.us. Hydrography Dennis Tol, BLM Alaska State Office, gave an update on the status of the Alaska Watershed and Stream Hydrology Enhanced Data Sets (AWSHED) Project as well as the status of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) for Alaska. Work is continuing to delineate watersheds at the 5th level and subwatersheds at the 6th level. In addition, editing and QA/QC work is continuing as completed NHD subbasin data is delivered. Currently, 118/133 of the Alaska subbasins have been completed. Ten more are expected within the next month and the remaining five subbasins should be delivered by the spring of 2005. The AWSHED website is at http://agdc.usgs.gov/hydro/. The NHD website is at http://nhd.usgs.gov. Transportation A.C. Brown gave an update on the Alaska Department of Transportation/Public Facilities (AKDOT/PF) GPS Road Centerline Project that was provided by Kerry Kirkpatrick, AKDOT/PF, Juneau. Kerry noted that 3500 miles of data were collected in 2003 and another 1000 miles were collected in 2004. Once the QA/QC is finished for these data, it will feature a complete data set that will include all of the state routes on the connected roads in the Interior. The tentative game plan is to begin collecting data for roads in Southeast in the spring of 2005. Kirkpatrick emphasized that there is a commitment to keep this effort moving forward. New Business/Announcements Christy Miller, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Division of Community Advocacy (AKDCCED) gave a short presentation on the Flood Plain Mapping Modernization Project in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This division coordinates the Federal Flood Insurance Program and is the Alaska lead in FEMA’s National Flood Map Modernization effort. Alaska’s flood map modernization goals include cutting the average age of Alaska’s flood maps in half; producing digital flood hazard maps with up-to-date flood hazard data for the 15% highest priority areas throughout the State; and develop flood hazard maps for one-half of the unmapped, flood-prone communities in Alaska. To learn more about the base mapping partnership project, visit the website at http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/nfip/pub/AKQG2003_web.pdf. In addition, a selection of completed community profile maps can be viewed at ftp://ftp.dcdb.dced.state.ak.us/profiles/profile-maps.htm. Mark Shasby, AGDC Co-Chair, recently accepted the position as Director of the USGS Fort Collins Science Center in Fort Collins, CO. Mark left for his new assignment in August. McMahon asked that nominations to fill the vacant Co-Chair seat should be sent to A.C. Brown at acbrown2@usgs.gov. Next AGDC General Membership Meeting The next general membership meeting of the AGDC is tentatively planned to coincide with the annual Alaska Surveying and Mapping Conference (ASMC), which will be held in Anchorage February 22-25, 2005. More details will follow via the AGDC mail list server as well as posted on the AGDC Clearinghouse at http://agdc.usgs.gov under “Announcements”. |
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