News & Events

Week ending August 7, 2009

NGP Director in Podcast: USGS National Geospatial Program Director, Mark DeMulder, was featured in a Pocast produced by Very Spatial (http://veryspatial.com/). The interview covered NGP projects including The National Map, the "Digital Map � Beta" and the 125th Anniversary of USGS Topographic Mapping. (Mark Newell, Rolla, MO 573-308-3850)

The National Map Fact Sheets: The USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP) has released three new Fact Sheets related to The National Map. They are: The National Map�Elevation (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3053/), The National Map�Hydrography (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3054) The National Map�Orthoimagery (http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3055/). They can also be viewed/downloaded from the "Reading Room" of The National Map web site (http://nationalmap.gov/). (Mark Newell, Rolla, MO 573-308-3850)

Digital Map - Beta Update: In just a little less than two months since the release of the "Digital Map - Beta" web site and population of the mapping products on the USGS Store, the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center can report the following:

• More than 5,130 Digital Maps loaded to the Map Locator of the USGS Store
• State quad status, in order of loading to the Map Locator:
  • Arizona: 99% complete
  • California: 67% complete
  • Louisiana: 71% complete
  • Nebraska: 73% complete
  • Wyoming: 70% complete
  • Alabama: 46% complete

The NGTOC graphics program is working hard towards their year-end goals and strive to meet the 2009 planned coverage as they continue to move towards the integration of hydrography and contour layers in the Fall. For more information, to include the 2009 status graphic, go to the "Digital Map - Beta" Web Site. (Jerry Wagner, Rolla, MO 573-308-3764 )

Chinese Visit USGS: On July 21, 2009, a group of twenty GIS Scientists from the Heiloghjiang Bureau of Surveying and Mapping in Harbin, China visited the National Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) in Denver. The group�s visit was sponsor by the Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder and lead by Professor Kenneth Foote. USGS Representatives from the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) and NGTOC provided a number of presentations on the National Geospatial Program. The presentations include an overview of the CEGIS research program, demonstration of The National Map viewer and map on demand development activities, and the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) model focusing on change management built into the design, the concept of national stewardship where many agencies contribute to the nationally consistent database, and the use of applications that has resulted in new possibilities for the future of mapping. (Ron Lofton, Denver, CO 303-202-4115)

National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD): Members of the Denver NGTOC office celebrated the completion of the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) with Jack Dangermond of ESRI, representatives of the NRCS and other USGS employees in San Diego on July 15th. The completion of the WBD represents many years of national effort and millions of dollars invested. The event coincided with the annual ESRI user conference and allowed participants to attend from all over the US. Guests from other countries also attended the brief ceremony and celebration. (Stephen G Daw, GISP Denver, CO 303-202-4418)