[Igc] January Map and App of the Month Plus Activity Summary

[Gail Ewart]

Happy New Year, Everyone

Last year we made steady progress on many fronts. We have strategic and business plans guiding our statewide activities to realize Idaho's spatial data infrastructure. We have a governance structure in transition to broaden and deepen our collaborative decision-making. Several technical working groups are making significant progress on their respective Framework themes. These include Imagery, Cadastral, Hydrography, Public Safety and Transportation. Work began on Elevation (LiDAR Consortium) and Energy & Utilities. Geoscience, Hazards, and Bioscience continue to gain ground mostly through individual program resources.

To help realize our vision of accessible, authoritative statewide seamless base data, we now have a policy for collaboratively developing and establishing Framework standards (P5030). Already we have two standards in the pipeline, with Emergency Service Zones near the finish and Structures about halfway through the process. Three cheers for Jimae Haynes for using the new policy to develop what will be our first Framework standard.

Framework stewardship is beginning to take shape, and Bureau of Homeland Security has committed to be the Framework steward of Structures (aka Address Points) in the Public Safety theme. Thank Col. Shawver the next time you see him. The stewardship documents are still being drafted, but the overall approach has been considered by the stewardship workgroup. I'll be readying draft documents in January for workgroup review and wider circulation and input.

The Cadastral leadership team, along with a few others, has engaged an array of stakeholders in discussions about how best to provide stable funding to support county parcel mapping and integrate all the pieces into a seamless parcel database. IAC, county officials, surveyors, the real estate industry, the Chair of the Tax Commission, and the Governor's office are all involved. If you have ideas to share or if you know of a group that should be added to the conversation, contact me or Donna Pitzer (dpitzer at usbr.gov<mailto:dpitzer at usbr.gov>).

After some setbacks, I have scraped together enough funding to hire a Framework Coordinator. Recruitment will begin early this year. Initially, this is a two-year commitment, with probable extension for an additional three years. My goal is to make it permanent as soon as possible. This duties of this position will focus on support to Framework TWGs. I'll post the announcement on geotech.

Another significant development:  ISDI is in ITRMC's portfolio of large-scale IT investments. This means that ITRMC approves of what we're doing and agrees that it's worth State support. A core state funding request is part of the package, which is planned to be advanced in the 2011 legislative session due to the severe budget constraints in play this year.

In 2010, expect to see Land Use/Land Cover TWG lifted and Government Boundaries TWG gearing up. People have energy and ideas about both. If you are interested in participating in either one (or both), let me know and I'll get you involved.

We feature a Map App this month from the City of Boise called After 3. It offers a way for people to discover after school activities for kids. You can check it out at http://www.cityofboise.org/After3/Locator/YouthProgramsLocator/index.aspx.
Just plug in a Boise address (you can use 650 West State Street if you don't know a valid address) and specify a distance. You can narrow your search by selecting an age. A few moments later, you are presented with a list of activities to consider.

Our January map is contributed by Department of Water Resources. It depicts the water rights affected by the Clear Springs Foods Water Call. As you can imagine, any water call affects people adversely, and this affected more than 300 water rights in the Magic Valley. Insets describe the water call process and set out definitions. The mapmaker is Sandy Egbert. You can access a digital version of the map at http://gis.idaho.gov/IGO/MapGallery/water_call.pdf.
<http://gis.idaho.gov/IGO/MapGallery/MapGallery.htm>
Thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far. Your initiative, energy and willingness to work together has made all the difference. With your continued participation, I look forward to another year of accomplishments.

Sincerely,

Gail M. Ewart, GISP
Geospatial Information Officer
Idaho Geospatial Office
Dept of Administration
208-332-1879
gail.ewart at cio.idaho.gov
http://gis.idaho.gov

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