MAINECOORDINATES
The Official Newsletter of theMaine GIS Users Group
I have taken on the challenge to produce and"edit" this edition of our Newsletter. I am not a graphic artist, but hope that we meet the goal ofMaine Coordinates—to share information with our members about Maine GIS andparticularly inform you about our upcoming Annual Meeting and Conference.
Spring Is Almost Here!
It has been an honor to serve you this past year andit gives me a great feeling to see the support and dedication YOU, the MaineGIS Users, provide our organization. I would like to take this opportunity torecap the last year and let you know what is coming up in the future.
We have had two conferences this year. The FallConference was in Houlton on October 17, 2000 where we covered the use of GISin Public Works, Forestry and Agriculture, in addition to Asset Management,Data Automation and GPS.
The Winter Conference was dedicated to GIS users inmunicipalities and was held at SMTC on January 4, 2001, with an opening addressby Dr. Harlan Onsrud. This was followed by presentations on MunicipalApplications, Internet Mapping, Community Viz-A planning Tool, Orthophotographyand Base Mapping, How Do You Use GIS for Planners, and Assessors and PublicWorks. The conference ended with a discussion on Smart Growth and GIS.
We have something new in store for you at theAnnual Conference on May 1 and 2. Our Vice Chair, Bob White suggested that wehave a GIS Presentation Contest for students of Maine high schools and highereducation institutions. Students whose papers are selected will present them onthe afternoon of May 1. We will have a full day of GIS presentations on May 2.
The Board of Directors is also working on MEGUGbecoming incorporated as a non-profit organization, more info about this at theannual meeting.
See you on May 1 (Career Day) and May 2 (AnnualConference)
May 1 & 2, 2001
The Maine GIS User's Group will hold our AnnualMeeting and Conference at the Spectacular Events Center, Bangor, Maine. Thisyear the theme of our conference is "GIS Technology in Maine
This year we will have presentations from studentsand people involved in GIS study, research, development and management.
2:00-4:00 PM
Student Presentations
4:00-6:00 PM
Reception and Networking
Appetizers served
The Annual Meeting andConference offers presentationson a variety of important projects, opportunities to meet with GIS vendors, andto network with GIS colleagues.
Directions from Map Quest show the SpectacularEvents Center on the right hand side of Union Street when coming from I-95, itshould be on the left hand side towards the airport.
(Speaker list subject to change)
8:00 –8:30 Coffee Networking
8:30 –8:45 Welcome Address
8:45 –9:45 Mystery keynote speaker
9:45 –10:00 Mid-morning break
10:00 – 11:00 E911Update, Nicki Bistrais
11:00 – 12:00 BlueMarble, Jeff Cole
12:00 – 2:00 Lunch, BusinessMeeting & Social time
2:00 – 2:30 PeterForbes, Case Study: Environmental Remediation at Greenlaw Brook, LAFB
2:00 - 2:30 NewGIS Technology at Bangor Hydro, Kris Dean
2:30 – 3:00
2:30 – 3:00
3:00 – 4:00 Closing,door prizes
The Registration Fee for this conference is $35 formembers, $50 for non-members and $10 for students
Please make checks payable to "Maine GIS User'sGroup". Registration includes May 1 reception, May 2 lunch and refreshmentbreaks.
To register, use our
http://www.megug.org/MEGUG/confreg5.html
or contact Judy Colby-George at 846-6717
Rooms are available at the Ramada Inn for May 1st ata $55.00 flat rate. Make reservationsprior to April 15 and use code #0501.
Angela Brockmann
GIS Coordinator – Maine Office of GIS
The Maine Office of GIS is currently in the processof completing a pilot project to enhance the digital hydrography data for theState of Maine. This task proved to be a monumental one with many issues atstake; therefore, it was necessary to form a hydrography subcommittee composedof members who would be using the final data. This committee involves membersfrom various departments throughout the state, included are the Dept. of EnvironmentalProtection, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Dept. of Marine Resources, NaturalResources Conservation Service, Dept. of Conservation along with many othersbeing represented. For a complete list of members, topics and issues discussed,please visit:
Some of these meetings and discussions were alsoheld with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Mass GIS (MassachusettsGIS)
As a result of these ongoing meetings, the committeedecided to take on a pilot project and complete a study area within thespecifications and standards set by USGS National Hydrography Dataset for thecreation of high-resolution data.
This was partly done to standardize hydrography datathroughout the northeast as well as nationwide and also met the needs of thehydrography subcommittee. Maine currently has 1:100,000 scale hydrographyavailable as a USGS National Hydrography Dataset and this proposed project wasdesigned to create high-resolution (1:24,000 scale) data statewide.
The14-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) watershed,for the region referred to as the Central Coastal Rivers Drainage Area, waschosen for this project. This watershed was chosen in order to give the pilotmost of the anticipated issues faced by the rest of the state such as: manywetland and flat areas along with a significant coastline. Other factorsinfluencing the selection included the availability of USGS digital orthophotoquadrangles (DOQs) and the inclusion of photo-revisions from the USGS digitalraster graphics (DRGs).
The coastal rivers watershed delineation was used asa boundary to select out and combine the existing 1:24000 hydrography layers(streams, rivers, ponds and coast) into one watershed layer.
· Addingextra items to the data in order to track types of edit work performed.
· Theaddition of photo-revisions from USGS digital raster graphics.
· Edge-matchingpreviously tiled 1:24,000 scale hydrography data.
· Theaddition of MIDAS numbers and MIDAS names.
· Thecreation of a single-line hydrography network.
· Theaddition of USGS GNIS names and Ids (Geographic Names Information System)
Once these enhancements to the 1:24,000 scalehydrography data are completed for the state, the data will support a multitudeof applications and serve a great many user needs. Some of these applicationsinclude but are not limited to emergency management studies such as dam safety,water quality modeling, permit modeling and watershed analysis. These modelingand analytical abilities along with enhanced cartographic applications will makethe hydrography data for the State of Maine an up-to-date and extremelyvaluable dataset.
Publication Title: Maine Coordinates
Issue Date: April 2001
Statement of Frequency: Occasional
Authorized Organization: Maine GIS User Group
Issue Number: Vol. 6, No. 2
Notice: Mention of specific companies, products, or brand names does not imply support for or endorsement of those mentioned. Similarly, omission of specific companies, products, or brand names does not imply anything either.