March 2007 Newsletter
2007 Indiana GIS Conference
March 13-14, 2007
Crown Plaza Hotel and Conference Center
Downtown Indianapolis
With the conference just days away, now is the time to plan out your event. Check out the full schedule on the conference website.
Geocaching Event
There's still time to sign up for the Geocaching Competition on Monday, March 12th. Have fun and win prizes!
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Update Your Ramona Profile Today!
From Executive Director Jill Saligoe-Simmel
Ramona has become the ultimate source for information about Indiana GIS people, systems, policies and data.
It is used for statewide GIS planning purposes on a regular basis. Each year before the Annual GIS Conference,
we are asking users to review their profiles to ensure contact and other information is still current.
Updated results of the Ramona GIS Inventory during the GIS Conference Plenary Session on Wednesday, March 14th so be
sure your information is up to date!
There are six new questions specific to Indiana under a new tab labeled "State Questions." This important section allows
us to gather information critical to future planning for Indiana GIS initiatives. Please login to Ramona and answer the
State Questions today. It is not possible without your participation.
As a reminder, login to http://in.gisinventory.net using the email address that you used when creating the account. If you've
forgotten your password the system can email you a new temporary password.
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ESRI Discounts in Numbers
IGIC members are eligible to receive discounts on ESRI products. Through a special arrangement with ESRI,
members who work for any level of Indiana government can combine their orders for bulk discounts.
Participants can receive 18%-30% off ArcView, ArcEditor and ArcGIS extensions. If you'd like to add
your name to the list, or get more information, contact the IGIC offices at 317.234.924 or info@igic.org by April 20th.
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Congratulations to the 2007 GIS Award Winners!
Each of these projects were chosen for their innovation, technical merit, and contribution to improving
our quality of life. Thanks to efforts like these, GIS in Indiana provides ever-increasing benefits to
Hoosiers. Congratulations to all the winners.
Economic Development
Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative
"Priming Economic Opportunity Through Tax Relief"
Large Communities
City of Evansville
"Defining and Funding 'Front Door Pride' Areas"
Small Community
Town of Plainfield
"Incorporating a New Wastewater System"
Counties
Hamilton County Local Government GIS Technical Advisory Group (HAGTAG)
"Distributed Maintenance of E911 Address Data"
State and Federal Government
Indiana Department of Transportation
"Fixing the Roads: Innovative Data Collection and Transmission"
Educational and Nonprofit
University Information Technology Services at IU and the Indiana Geological Survey
"Building a Practical Download Tool"
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Welcome New IGIC Board Members
The results are in! Congratulations and welcome to the newest members of the IGIC Board of Directors.
Charline Avey, Veolia Water
Jeff Coates, TrueNorth & Associates
Bill Holder, Kosciusko County
Deb Martin, City of South Bend
Kevin Mickey, The Polis Center at IUPUI
Christina McCullough, Indiana National Guard
Jim Sparks, Cripe Architects & Engineers
Phil Worrall, Pinnacle Mapping Technologies
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More New Realigned TIGER Files Available
The U.S. Census Bureau has posted the 2006 Second Edition TIGER/Line Files online at
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tiger2006se/tgr2006se.html.
This latest version of TIGER/Line files have realigned street features for counties that have been through the
MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP). There are two lists of counties with realigned street features;
counties with realigned street features in the 2006 First Edition TIGER/Line files; and a consolidated list of
counties with realigned street features.
For more information visit www.census.gov or contact Gail Krmenec (gail.a.krmenec@census.gov) at the Census Bureau.
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New on the GIS Atlas
The GIS Atlas for Indiana announced the addition of several video tutorials. These videos, which were
originally created for the Indiana Watershed Leadership Academy, were produced by Dr. Jane Frankenberger,
Associate Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Purdue University. This new set of
three video tutorials, which replaces an older text-based tutorial, are titled "Getting Started,"
"Investigating and Mapping a Watershed," and "Measuring Lengths and Areas." The video tutorials can be
accessed by clicking the link titled "GIS Atlas Tutorial" found at the top of the "News" page.
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Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial 2007
The 2007 Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference gathers developers and users of open source
geospatial software from around the world to discuss new directions, exciting implementations, and growing business
opportunities in the field of open source geo-spatial software.
Focused on the practical "make it work, get it done" world of open source application development, this annual conference
boasts a very high concentration of geo-spatial technical opinion leaders. Attendance at this event has grown at over 50%
a year since its inception in 2003, paralleling the rapid growth and adoption curve of open source geospatial tools in the marketplace.
Find out more about FOSS4G at
http://www.foss4g2007.org/.
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Soils and Cropland Data
The National Agricultural Statistics Services (NASS) Indiana Cropland Data for 2000-2004 have been made available for
download from the IndianaView GloVis website (www.indianaview.org). Use the Sensor - Other Files menu item to access
the files, which represent classifications of Landsat TM data specific for agriculture crops.
Also, the project to create a Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database for each county in Indiana is complete! You can
download them from the FTP site at ftp://ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/abegis/indiana/ssurgo/download_ssurgo/. For more information
on how the geodatabases were created and how to use them, browse the Flash movies (see Step Seven) at
http://danpatch.ecn.purdue.edu/~caagis/PurdueGIS/video/.
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Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data Working Group
The HIFLD Working Group is a coalition of Federal, state and local government organizations, and supporting
private industry partners who are involved with geospatial issues related to Homeland Defense, Homeland Security,
Civil Support, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. HIFLD members share the goal of identifying and facilitating
acquisition of authoritative homeland infrastructure geospatial data for common use by the HD/HLS Community, as
well as promoting domestic infrastructure geospatial information sharing, protection, collaboration, and knowledge management.
The HIFLD Working Group is co-sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense & Americas'
Security Affairs; the National-Geospatial Intelligence Agency; and the Department of Homeland Security Preparedness Directorate.
The group has announced the next meeting of the HIFLD Working Group, which is scheduled for April 3-4, 2007 and will be
hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, Virginia. The primary focus of this two-day meeting will be the
availability and use of geospatial data and applications characterizing and supporting the Energy Sector and its Public
Works Defense Critical Infrastructure Sector counterpart.
If you have any questions regarding the April 3-4 session or HIFLD in general, please contact Mary Kimener at
(757) 459-4380 kimener_mary@bah.com.
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In Brief
A Close-up Look at BorgWarner
The Delaware County Office of Geographic Information and Zoomify software made it possible to include an
interactive map with a recent story in the Muncie Star Press:
http://www.thestarpress.com/services/multimedia/BorgWarner/index.htm.
Growing Industry
Here are 2 interesting facts regarding the GIS market and emerging importance of the GIS industry.
- As reported by Daratech, Inc., the worldwide GIS/Geospatial marketplace generated revenues of US$3.63 billion
in 2006, up from US$2.82 billion in 2004, a 17% increase.
- In 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor identified geotechnology as one of the three most important emerging and
evolving fields, along with nanotechnology and biotechnology.
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Classes & Seminars
Basic HAZUS-Multihazards
Tuesday-Thursday, March 27th-29th, 8:30-4:30, Lawrenceburg
FREE
This course provides students with an understanding of the multi-hazard applications of HAZUS-MH toward
mitigation, response, recovery, and risk management for earthquake, flood, and hurricane hazards. It
also discusses how HAZUS-MH inventory data can be applied to assessing the exposure to other types of
hazards.
Recommended Participants: Anyone involved with or interested in planning for emergencies associated with
flooding or earthquake events. This includes government officials, students and researchers, insurance
companies, utilities and others.
Register by sending your contact information to hazusgis@yahoo.com. Call the Indiana Department of
Homeland Security at 317.232.3833 or 317.232.3831 for more information.
Water, Water, Everywhere: Finding and Using Hydrology Data
April 16th, 1:00-3:30pm Indiana State Library, Room 401, Indianapolis
FREE
Register
This seminar features three speakers who will present on Indiana's hydrology data and GIS uses. Topics will include:
- Obtaining and using the National Hydrography Dataset
- Elevation-derived hydrography data
- Indiana's streamflow-gauging network
- Web-based streamflow applications
- Groundwater data in GIS-based analysis
- Incorporating land cover, elevation and soil data into hydrogeology models
Join Dave Nail and Scott Morlock of the U.S. Geological Survey, and Sally Letsinger of the Indiana Geological Survey to
learn how you can use GIS to estimate runoff potential; analyze conservation plans; calculate groundwater flow rates;
or predict how fast contaminants will move through a stream system.
Geo-Spatial Technologies in the K-12 Classroom
Thursday, May 3rd, 4:30-7:30pm, Indiana State Library, History Reference Room, Indianapolis
FREE
Register
Are you looking for ways to incorporate orienteering, GPS, GIS, aerial photography or satellite imagery into your
classroom? Join us for a quick journey through successful lessons and activities from educators throughout the state.
Connections to Indiana Academic Standards, resources, and organizations will be offered. Food will be provided, and
professional development points are available.
Project Management Methods for Making Credible Maps
Thursday, June 14th, 1:00-3:30pm, Indiana State Library, History Reference Room, Indianapolis
FREE
Register
How can you make maps that are convincing and reliable? How can you make sure that the knowledge you have is
passed on accurately? What can you do if your organization's mapping guru leaves? Cele Morris of the Northwest
Indiana Center for Data Analysis will guide you through data development practices for creating maps that mean
what they say, with accurate, credible data behind them, providing a greater return on your data investment.
Team Navigation!™ and Treasure Hunts!
Friday, July 13th, 1:00-3:30pm, Indiana State Library, History Reference Room, Indianapolis
FREE
Register
This unique presentation will engage participants in fun, practical ways of using maps as real navigation tools.
It will begin with a Treasure Hunt, using a Treasure Map and a secret puzzle to find a Treasure Chest!
Participants, lead by Jeff Coates of TrueNorth and Associates, will learn about:
- How you can easily make accurate maps using aerial photographs available on the internet
- How to read and use a topo map
- Fun interactive ways to introduce maps to others
- How to use map and compass together as a navigational tool
- More about the family sport of orienteering
- How to have a little fun actually navigating!
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