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Alaska Geographic Data Committee (AGDC) Introduction Paul Brooks welcomed the meeting attendees and introduced Kerry Kirkpatrick, State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Juneau, who was participating via teleconference. Everyone present identified themselves and the agency, department, or organization they represent. Subcommittee Reports Clearinghouse Subcommittee Mark Shasby, USGS, presented a brief history on the development of the AGDC's Alaska Geospatial Data Clearinghouse node. The AGDC node is part of a larger process involving the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and its goal of establishing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The NSDI is a distributed network linking the geospatial data holdings of all Federal, State, and local government entities. The Alaska node is designed to provide the capacity to be both a central data repository for key framework data layers as well as to be used to identify other agency data holdings through hypertext links. Information was presented on the current data available through the clearinghouse and the importance of defining user needs and requirements for the future. Land Cover Subcommittee The AGDC Land Cover Subcommittee is focusing on two groups within the FGDC which provide guidance and develop standards related to vegetation and land cover mapping. The FGDC Vegetation Subcommittee recently released a set of proposed FGDC Vegetation Classification Standards. Jerry Minick, USFWS, and John Payne, BLM, are collecting input from other members of the AGDC to present a subcommittee evaluation of the proposed system to insure the relevance of the standards to the Alaska environment. The FGDC also recently established an Earth Cover working group which is developing a set of recommendations for a National Land Use and Land Cover program. The AGDC Vegetation Subcommittee intends to provide input to this FGDC Working Group on Alaska issues and requirements related to this topic. Hydrography Subcommittee Dennis Tol, BLM, reported that the committee anticipates exploring the hydrographic data layer for the State, especially with the increased revised hydrography work being produced during the next few years through the DOI Digital Base Data Program. Many agencies are working with hydrography data including the BLM and the Forest Service. He stated that standards need to be developed for the hydrography layer for integration purposes. This includes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) River Reach codes. Tol has written a letter to agency heads through the auspices of the AGDC to solicit support for this work. Action Item: Individuals interested in working with Dennis and the Hydrography Subcommittee should contact him at (907) 271-3348. Appointment if New AGDC Chair Brooks talked about the past role that USGS has played in the creation and development of the AGDC and its relationship with the FGDC. He has acted as Chair for the AGDC since its inception. The AGDC is one of 12 state committees that are formally recognized by the FGDC. He is retiring in October and recommended that the USGS continue acting as Chair for the immediate future. He nominated Mark Shasby for the position he is vacating. Rich McMahon, State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, seconded the nomination of Shasby and recommended that the AGDC charter should be reviewed in a year. The AGDC approved Shasby's nomination and the motion to review the charter and rules for organization over the next year in light of the growing size and complexity of the Committee. National Geodetic Survey - 1997 Field Season Plans for NW Alaska Bob Pawlowski, NOAA/NOS/OCS, noted that there is a survey of Alaska airports underway and that it may be possible to expand the geomagnetic network across northwest Alaska. He introduced Robert Fisher, Manager, FAA Programs, NGS, Steve Frakes and George Leigh, NGS, Silver Spring, MD. Frakes presented an overview of NGS's position in the Department of Commerce. He discussed the Area Navigation Approach Program and said that locating sighting facilities has been difficult in the past but that GPS technology has greatly improved this task. Status of Competitive Cooperative Applications Program (CCAP) Rich McMahon, AKDNR, provided an update on the grant that DNR received for their "Public Access to the PLSS" proposal submitted through the CCAP. He explained that the FGDC supplies seed money for proposals such as DNR's. Their program intends to bring everyone to the same "common area" working level with regards to the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS) in Alaska. This grant will enable DNR to take the current C++ software and integrate it into a generic platform that will serve as a flexible tool to provide the opportunity to produce a variety of output files that a variety of users can manipulate. He envisions holding user workshops in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Status of USFS 1996 Aerial Photography Acquisitions in SE Alaska Ron Skillings, USFS, Juneau, briefed the attendees on the aerial photography that was acquired through NASA over the Tongass National Forest and adjacent areas this past summer. There are still 8 flight lines and several holiday areas that were not flown due to inclement weather, however, work will begin to produce black-and-white quarter quad digital orthophotoquads as soon as the Aerial Photography Field Office (AFPO) in Salt Lake City, UT receives and accepts the film from NASA. The Forest Service has formed a partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) to produce the same products for Glacier Bay National Park. Status of NRCS 1996 Aerial Photography Acquisition in Alaska Joe White, National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), gave an update of the aerial photography that was acquired over the Fairbanks/Delta Junction and the Anchorage/Kenai Peninsula areas this past summer. The aerial photography was completed over the Anchorage/Kenai area and is approximately 50% completed over the Fairbanks/Delta Junction area. This photography will be used to develop soil surveys once it has been inspected and accepted. The black-and-white photography was flown at 1:40,000-scale by GPS Aerial Services, Inc., Ormond Beach, FL. The NRCS is looking for partners to cost share the production of digital orthophotoquads (DOQ) which could then be used in support of a number of other mapping activities in these regions. Rocky Mountain Mapping Center Presentation and Discussion Tom DiNardo, Chief, Program Management, and Lee Aggers, Coordination and Requirements, RMMC, Denver, CO gave an overview and update on mapping activities in Alaska. Aggers discussed the cooperative partnerships that have been developed including the USGS/BLM/USFWS/NPS Revised Hydrography project and the ongoing partnership with the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to produce digital transportation, boundary, hydrography, and cultural data. He discussed the success that the AGDC has achieved to secure funding for digital acquisitions in the State through the Department of the Interior's Digital Base Data Program. Aggers used overhead graphics to illustrate projects areas that are proposed, in-work, and also showing which data is currently available. He talked about innovative partnerships that can be developed including the recent discussions held with British Petroleum to exchange data. This initiative should be finalized within a month. DiNardo gave more insight into the NSDI and its efforts to produce feature-based Framework data nationwide. The USGS has approved funding for the National Mapping Division to take the lead on a 1997 Initiative on Framework Data that will provide funding to support the development and management of standardized National Framework Data Layers. The initial focus will involve working with EPA on the standardization of the hydrographic layer, and with the Bureau of Census on the transportation layer. He pointed to the hydrography layer as probably the best developed and defined data layer at present, due in part to the River Reach codes developed by the EPA. These codes are an example of permanent feature identifiers that can be agreed to by all users. DiNardo mentioned that work is continuing with the Bureau of Census on defining and utilizing common spatial accuracy standards. These procedures should be in place for the 2010 census. He also emphasized the need for the AGDC to develop a strategic data management plan that will incorporate partnerships with interested parties in order to leverage the optimum use of limited funds. Other Business Shari George, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute (UAFGI), gave an update on the activities of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) facility. She said that the facility is currently collecting data from 3 orbiting satellites. There is increasing interest in the use of interferometry and southeast Alaska may be a potential pilot project area due to the recent aerial photographic acquisitions and tight control grid that has been established. She stated that the UAFGI is expanding to become an Arctic research center and that a second 30-meter antenna has been installed. There are additional satellite launches planned and that they would continue to receive Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. Next Meeting The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, 1996, with the meeting location to be determined at a later date. The main focus of this AGDC meeting will be the creation of new subcommittees and working groups. |
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