Shouldn't this data be freely available?

Thursday, April 24. 2008

Shouldn't this data be freely available?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Manatee Awareness Coalition (MAC) want to save manatees. But for years, no mapping company's would put the manatee and homeland security zones in Tampa Bay on the navigation maps. But now Garmin is. The information is on all new chart plotters and updated SD cards.

Kipp Frohlich, leader of the FWC’s Imperiled Species Management Section, said “This marks a breakthrough that can save a lot of manatees. We tried unsuccessfully for years to get any mapping company to put the zones in their map covers. Garmin stepped up to the plate and did it.”

This is a great story and I do appreciate that Garmin stepped up, but if we all really want to save manatees, shouldn't this data be freely available to install on any unit? Perhaps that's naive and it's not how the boating navigation GPSs/charting tools work, but I thought I'd ask.

- TCPalm

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Satellite Navigation at 06:00 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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The rec-grade GPS vendors like to sell map data packages to the public, why would they want to make it really easy for users to supply their own public domain maps...

Here are a couple of ways to make your own maps for Garmins, not sure about how possible this is for other GPS receivers...

http://www.cgpsmapper.com/
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/OSM_Map_On_Garmin

#1 free the maps on 2008-04-25 10:29 (Reply)

You have to be careful what you ask for. Not sure the status of the Manatee, what their classification is, endangered or the like.

Here in Indiana, the state has an endangered and threaten species data layer. Which is relatively accurate for animals and very accurate for plants. Should that data layer be freely available? It's developed and maintained by the taxpayer.

The positive, it would be usefully to determine sites to stay away from. The negative, people could use the information to harvest the plant or animal. So, which out weighs the other?

We have tried to balance this out. We provide our employees with hardcopy maps, not digital, with buffers zones. It doesn't give a specific area, but rather a general area of concern or awareness. And the information is retained inhouse, no release to the public in any form.

For example, a certain bat, we did use a mile or so buffer. Now, it's up to 5 or so miles. The buffer isn't symmetrical, hopefully enough fuzziness is built in so a specific spot can't be found.

KoS

#2 KoS on 2008-04-25 16:14 (Reply)

And how much do you then charge for the hardcopy to the tax-payer, KoS? Or, are you giving the map on request if asked by convoluted form and processing?

#2.1 Daniel (Link) on 2008-04-28 13:04 (Reply)

Sorry Daniel, I miss read you question.

If you mean by charge, how much the plotter, ink, paper and time. I have no clue, that is for the bean counters in admin and DC.

No regular taxpayer can order/request these maps. Only the state and Feds can use the data. Field people can request a hardcopy for their use only, either in person, phone or email.

Nothing, as of yet, viewable online, again only inhouse. Not sure the whys and what nots as to only hardcopy. Those talks and discussions were above my pay grade.

KoS

#2.1.1 KoS on 2008-04-28 20:38 (Reply)

I rest my point then, as I sort of saw the answer that you just outlined coming a mile or so away.

It's unfortunate really, that people even in a lesser pay-roll positions basically don't contest policies that otherwise -- when looking at most legislation -- is contradictory to the policies that should have been in place. That tends to be a systemic pattern across the US -- and much of it, in discussions I've had, is attrituted to those state and local governments charging to gain revenue, not simply for cost and time that may or may/not even be involved.

Interesting little web they all weave, isn't it though? Then again, if you were to contest anything, I'm sure you'd find yourself in an interesting position as a result as well. Thus, the catch-22 emerges in the way things are generally handled and how they play-out over time.

#2.1.1.1 Daniel (Link) on 2008-04-29 06:35 (Reply)

The maps and data are not avaliable to the public. Inhouse only.

We don't trust our own field people with specific information either.

KoS

#3 KoS on 2008-04-28 15:59 (Reply)

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