USDA Forest Service Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)

1. USDA Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) April 28, 2009 Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

2. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update - Introduction Presented by: Rick Ullrich Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

3. US Forest ServiceA New Century of Caring for the Land and Serving People 2009: 155 National Forests and Grasslands covering 193 million acres 1905: 60 Forest Reserves covering 56 million acres “To provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run.” – Gifford Pinchot, 1st Chief “..Healthy forests …multiple sustainable use…” Gail Kimbell 16th Chief http://www.fs.fed.us

4. Healthy Geospatial Foundations: 1999 Geometronics & GIS Workshop in Baltimore... Resulted in the establishment of the Geospatial Executive Board (GEB) and Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) In 2008, the Information Management Council (IMC) was chartered, replacing the GEB... Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

5. The US Forest Service (USFS)Information Management Council (IMC) and Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) • IMC is a key participant in developing and articulating a corporate vision for an enterprise information environment • IMC draws on advisory committees (such as the GAC) representing a broad spectrum of FS business needs and administrative levels • GAC provides critical support to the IMC on geospatial programs and activities Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

6. The US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee • Required to develop, maintain and articulate a FS-wide Geospatial Strategy and Vision • GAC members are responsible for supporting the GAC and IMC Charters and representing their Regions and Staffs • GAC working groups, called Focus Areas, are established to address specific issues and develop recommendations Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

7. Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)Focus Areas • Emerging Issues Team (new) • Geospatial Strategy • Geospatial Training and Awareness • Technology and Architecture Coordination • Standard Forest Service Data • Coordinate and Share Geospatial Data • Forest Service Application Coordination • Cartography Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

8. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update – Emerging Issues Team Presented by: Sue Preece Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

9. EIT Purpose • EIT = Emerging Issues Team • Provide support to the GAC on collecting, evaluating, and addressing emerging geospatial issues that may impact the FS business. • Develop a Strategy That Will Provide: • Recommendations on which issues should be addressed by GAC • Timely response on very short term (moth or less) issues • Recommendations on dissemination of issues to GAC • Suggest the creation of new focus areas or task teams

10. EIT Purpose Cont… • EIT is not a GAC Focus Area • Provides guidance to all focus areas on intake, evaluation, priority, and assignment of issues

11. EIT Scope • Provides recommendations on broad geospatial issues • Not a substitute for functional management groups • Focus Areas, Task Teams, etc. • Develop criteria that limit the number and type of issues to be addressed

12. EIT Responsibilities • In Support of the GAC the EIT Will: • Implement a means for issues to be brought to the GAC • Generate criteria to rapidly evaluate the relevance of geospatial issues • Do they require further action by the GAC? • Organize a rapid response team when needed • Quick turn around issues • Provide feedback to the originators of issues on resolutions

13. EIT Structure • Team Structure • 5-7 members • Requires focused effort, short rotation of members

14. EIT Accomplishments/Status • Team is now fully functional • Developed a Process for Capturing Issues: • Anyone can submit issues to GAC members • Some basic level of filtering by GAC members • GAC members submit issues to the EIT • EIT meets and reviews issues • EIT works with GAC to assign issues • Focus areas and Task Teams • GAC works on issue • Results Reported Back to Submitter

15. EIT Workflow Geospatial Advisory Committee Entry Point Team Focus Area returns issue GAC Issue Initiator Focus Area Team Fits in focus Area? Not A GAC Issue Yes Recommendation to GAC Chair NO Task Team Rapid response needed? Quick Response Team Yes NO Task Team

16. EIT Workflow Details • Capturing Issues • SourceForge (Need an Account) • Word Template

17. EIT Workflow Details • Tracking Issues • SourceForge (FS Employees have view access) • http://sforge.fs.fed.us/sf/tracker/do/listArtifacts/projects.gac_emerging_issues/tracker.issues

18. What you can do to help? • Bring significant geospatial issues to the attention of a GAC member • GAC members will work with you to get your issues to the EIT • http://fsweb.gac.fs.fed.us/members.html

19. Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)Focus Areas • Emerging Issues Team (new) • Geospatial Strategy • Geospatial Training and Awareness • Technology and Architecture Coordination • Standard Forest Service Data • Coordinate and Share Geospatial Data • Forest Service Application Coordination • Cartography Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

20. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update Forest Service Geospatial Strategy 2005-2009 Presented by: Barry Napier

21. Background • Work on the Forest Service Geospatial Strategy was initiated in 2002 as a Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Focus Area activity • The Strategy was accepted by the Geospatial Executive Board in January 2005 • Today, GAC is evaluating the requirements for the next Geospatial Strategy

22. Elements of the Geospatial Strategy Vision Goals Objectives

23. Vision Quality Forest Service geospatial information is current, adheres to government standards, is developed collaboratively, and is routinely available for use by internal and external customers

24. Goals • Standardized geospatial data are acquired to meet agency business requirements and data quality is assured by responsible stewardship and administration. • Geospatial applications work together so that users can easily access, update, query, and analyze the data within them.

25. Goals • Forest Service geospatial data are easily located and used by internal and external customers. • Quality standard map products are easily produced and can be customized to meet the needs of internal and external customers. • The Forest Service is proactively engaged with partners in the development of geospatial data and information sharing.

26. Objectives • Each objective has performance measures. • Each objective has associated means and methods (task statements).

27. Creating a New Geospatial Strategy • Improve ties to the Forest Service Strategic Plan and immediate business goals. • Include additional geospatial program and activity areas. • Measure, evaluate, and report accomplishments.

28. Creating a New Geospatial Strategy • Establish and administer a change management process. • Determine the roles and responsibilities of the GAC and the newly formed Geospatial Management Office in governance of the Strategic Plan. • Better connect with all Forest Service stakeholders.

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30. Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)Focus Areas • Emerging Issues Team (new) • Geospatial Strategy • Geospatial Training and Awareness • Technology and Architecture Coordination • Standard Forest Service Data • Coordinate and Share Geospatial Data • Forest Service Application Coordination • Cartography Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

31. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update – Geospatial Training and Awareness Presented by: Robin Carroll Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

32. Geospatial Training and Awareness FY09 Plan Planned Expenditures for FY09 ItemPlanned Costs Courses $390,000 Activities $186,000 TOTAL $576,000 Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

33. Geospatial Training and Awareness FY09 Plan Planned FY09 CoursesPlanned Costs Update Intro to ArcGIS 9.2 to 9.3 $ 30,845 Intermediate ArcGIS 9.3 $ 25,000 GIS Visualization for Planning and Analysis $ 95,000 Using WMS, WCS, and ArcGIS Server $ 24,000 Using Imagine Objective $ 26,000 Apollo – Phase 1 $ 22,000 Using Orange (module) $ 13,000 Teach 3 ArcGIS Geodatabase Courses $ 30,000 Teach ArcGIS & Develop Map Tool Course $114,000 Develop miscellaneous Tutorials $ 7,005 Instructor Certification (ArcGIS I, II, III) $ 3,150 Sub-Total $390,000

34. Geospatial Training and Awareness FY09 Plan Planned FY09 ActivitiesPlanned Costs Geotraining Website maintenance $40,000 Course Administration $30,000 Mobile Lab Upgrades and Maintenance $31,000 Computer Lab & Training Rm. Maintenance $25,000 Geospatial Conference $60,000 Sub-Total$186,000 Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

35. Geospatial Training and Awareness Website Information Information for 10/01/08 to 3/20/09 ONLY Number of visits to the website 16,479 Unique visitors to the website 4,464 Number of participants in: Instructor Led and On-line courses 1,383 On-line Tutorials 3,932 Web Conferencing Courses 558 Virtual Campus Total number of courses 47 (current) Total completed courses 3,296 out of 5,679 (58% completion – since beginning)

36. Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)Focus Areas • Emerging Issues Team (new) • Geospatial Strategy • Geospatial Training and Awareness • Technology and Architecture Coordination • Standard Forest Service Data • Coordinate and Share Geospatial Data • Forest Service Application Coordination • Cartography Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

37. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update –Technology and Architecture Coordination Presented by: Andy Peavy Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

38. Technology and Architecture Coordination • ArcGIS Version Management Coordination • Version release scheduling • Service Pack management • Tools, extensions • Version retirement scheduling • Desktop GIS configuration • Data Center GIS Configuration Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

39. Technology and Architecture Coordination • GIS Hardware Contract • Desktop for GIS Users • Laptop for GIS Users • Plotters etc. Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

40. Geospatial Advisory Committee (GAC)Focus Areas • Emerging Issues Team (new) • Geospatial Strategy • Geospatial Training and Awareness • Technology and Architecture Coordination • Standard Forest Service Data • Coordinate and Share Geospatial Data • Forest Service Application Coordination • Cartography Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

41. US Forest ServiceGeospatial Advisory Committee (GAC) Activities Update – Standard Forest Service Data Presented by: Michael Braymen Healthy Forests ~ Healthy Lands ~ Healthy Earth

42. GIS Data DictionaryUpdate Project

43. Data Dictionary • 2003 to 2006 Vintage standards • Coverage model • Oracle views • Word Documents and PDF files • 2008 Vintage Standards • Geodatabase model • XML Documents

44. Data Dictionary • Our contract with ourselves for data standards • Attribute standards and domain value standards widely referenced • Adherence to data standard is a safe bet

45. Project Objective #1 • Update the Current GIS Data Dictionary for I-Web and NRIS supported themes: • geodatabase designs • new or changed attributes • Document the transactional and published versions

46. Activities Cultural (heritage) RMU TESP and Invasives Transportation Wildlife Sites Vintage 2008 Themes:

47. Geology Geomorphology Recreation Soil Resource Inventory (SRI) Terrestrial Ecological Unit (TEU) Water Themes with Updates in Process:

48. Project Objective #2 • Create a Data Dictionary database management tool to facilitate future updates • XML database integrated with ArcCatalog FGDC metadata engine

49. Metadata Templates • Long-time GAC objective • Template production is integrated with Data Dictionary/Metadata production

50. Metadata Stylesheet