Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Welcome to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Home Page. This page is maintained by the National Data Administration Office of Information Resources and Technology Management, located in Lakewood, Colorado. We are expanding our involvement in GIS activities in the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with an emphasis on the spatial data aspects of GIS. These include coordinating Metadata efforts in FWS, assisting offices by locating free or low cost spatial data, providing general evaluations on the quality of that data, providing a platform for sharing Metadata and spatial data, and serving as a clearinghouse for other GIS topics such as data standards, training, the A-16 process, global positioning systems, contract information, and technical notes.
Chris Lett maintains this information and serves as a central contact point for spatial data issues within FWS. She works closely with the Regional GIS Coordinators and members of the GIS Steering Committee on coordination issues, and referring local GIS questions back to them. She can be contacted via the e-mail address at the bottom of the page, or at 303/274-3574.
Geospatial Data Inventory
- Data
- US Fish and Wildlife Service Data Sites: see the State data sets also for data by state.
- Geospatial One-Stop Portal: Federal Geospatial Data Discovery
- Organized by Agency Agencies include federal and state governments, universities, other non-government groups and commercial sites.
- Organized Geographically
- National Data Sets General, nationwide coverage's (mostly 1:2,000,000). This includes links to many of the nationwide USGS data sets, such as the National Elevation Data set, along with brief descriptions of those data sets.
- State Data Sets More detailed coverage's (1:12,000 to 1:500,000). Each state includes Fish and Wildlife data links as well. Please also check the Data Conversion and Utilization Tools below for information on DEM, DOQ, DLG, soils and other data.
- Organized by Type of data: Data on this page is listed by data types such as fire, elelvation, vegetation, etc.
- Biological Data - While not exclusively geospatial, many of these sites contain data that is both biological and geospatial.
- Satellite and Aerial Imagery - General Information
- Interactive Mapping Links: These sites provide a way to view data on the screen, as well as download data.
- Geocommunicator - publication site for the Bureau of Land Management's National Integrated Land System (NILS).
- USDA's Geospatial Data Gateway provides One Stop Shopping for natural resources or environmental data.
- Fire Data and sites - Government and Interagency sites dedicated to fire resources.
- Tools
- Data types, short discussion of common ones
- Data Conversion and Utilization Tools - Text documents, Dbase files, and data conversion tools for GIS data including UNIX to PC DLG conversion notes and SDTS conversion tools. Tools and tips are included for DLG, DEM, DOQ, soils, hydrologic data and other data.
- GIS Technical Tips Including software specific tips and sites and datum conversion tools.
- GIS Data Depot - This site has been expanded, with many links to how to use data as well as extensive data listings. Much of the data is free or very low-cost; this is a good site if you have a slow modem connection and do not want to spend a lot of time downloading large files. There are tutorials and job listings as well as data resources.
- Arc/Info and ArcView Map Symbols page.
- Standards
- Metadata
General GIS Information
- Glossary of GIS terms
- Internet GIS Sites - Overall GIS information - not specifically data oriented. Sites include government agencies, universities, vendors, remote sensing, publications, and some on-line mapping examples.
- The ESRI Conservation and GIS Site
- Conservation GIS Site hosted by The Conservation Fund.
- Historical Maps Online
USFWS GIS Topics & Contacts
- US FWS GIS Steering Committee Contact information, projects
- Regional GIS Information Links and contact information
- Background paper on GIS in FWS
- 1997 Update on GIS in FWS
- Partnerships, success stories, current applications
- FWS Strategic Plans
- The Service GIS Strategic Plan (Word, PDF), dated June 1, 2006, describes our geospatial goals and objectives for fiscal years 2005 through 2009. This plan encompasses the goals and objectives in the Service IRTM Strategic Plan and replaces the previous GIS Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2001 through 2004.
- The Service IRTM Strategic Plan (PDF) describes our goals and objectives for fiscal years 2005 through 2009.
- Contract Information This page highlights a sample template for a digital data contract and information on suggested hardware and software configurations
- Presentations
- USFWS Presentation at the DOI Landcover Summit (in PDF format).
GIS Training & Meetings
Other GIS Topics
- DOI High Priority Digital Base Data Program (A-16 ) and information of the Interior Geographic Data Committee.
- Environmental Jobs list Includes links to lists of GIS jobs
- Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
- Grant Information - for clearinghouse and Metadata projects.
For additional information regarding this Web page, contact Chris Lett, in the Division of Information Resources and Technology Management, at Chris_Lett@fws.gov.