Tuesday, June 30. 2009

Update: TN GISers Praised for Helping FBI

Update: We received this from James H. Butcher, G.G., GISP, GIS Manager, Town of Collierville on his experience.

"I just read the blog entry concerning the article in the Commercial Appeal. As you suspected the request did come from the local office in Memphis, not from D.C. The request was for a topo map of an area in Perry County, TN near the Tennessee River. Since the agents were more interested in the terrain of that area a 7.5 minute USGS quad made sense. We were more than happy to help. So we obtained the required DRG and printed the number of copies they needed. The Tennessee Spatial Data Server ( http://www.tngis.org/ ) maintains a copy of all the DRG's by County for Tennessee. I'm certain that most agents do not have the time to familiarize themselves with what resources are available to the geospatial community. I will give them kudos for having the forethought to contact members of the local GIS community for assistance. I've had some prior contacts with some of the agents in that office, so I guess that is what led them to call my office. We also go out of our way to assist and work closely with other Geospatial users in the region, a view shared by many of the GIS professionals in the Mid-South.

"For example, our regional GIS group is involved with a number of initiatives to improve contacts and data access for first responders and local law enforcement. As a group we encourage active participation in our regional users group MAGIC: Memphis Area Geographic Information Council and our State organization TNGIC: Tennessee Geographic Information Council. We also encourage participation in the GISP Program and joining national organizations such as URISA and ASPRS."

Comments

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Adena...the short answer is no!!

A friend with the park service went to Iraq to assist with finding, mapping and cataloging the mass grave sites. The FBI agents sent over to lead/assist in the effort didn't know squat about geospatial technology or uses.

Not surprising they couldn't print out their own maps.

#1 KoS on 2009-06-26 09:11 (Reply)

Whether FBI agents know about GOS or The National Map or not is immaterial - there's nothing useful at either site.

The 'newest' map available from the USGS for Collierville, TN was built in 1963 and validated in 1965 using aerial photogrammetry. The map was edited (but not validated) in 1983 from aerial photography taken in 1980.

So the "authoritative" national map product of Collierville is TWENTY NINE YEARS OLD.

This is a national disgrace. There are three possible remedies to this: One, Congress spends the funds necessary to re-invigorate USGS map programs and do business the traditional way; Two, Congress directs USGS to spend money with Google and Microsoft to have commercial sources build and maintain the national map product; Three, just eliminate the USGS immediately, and distribute budgets to geospatial programs at the user level across the Federal government.

Given the politics of Washington, none of these things will occur. Good thing Google and MSFT are doing the work regardless of the USGS phenomenal incompetence.

#2 Archie Belaney on 2009-06-26 10:01 (Reply)

Seems like this is the way things should work. The FBI agents were smart enough to both 1) get in contact with the right people for the map and 2) catch the criminals. Don't know why you would want to get the USGS involved. It points to the fact that trained personnel (whether they be GIS analysts for federal agents) working together is what solves problems.

#2.1 Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne (Link) on 2009-06-27 22:49 (Reply)

Umm, you don't know what you are talking about...
Have you seen the next generation USGS maps? New map every 3 years, being upgraded with new imagery (which is also on a 3 year schedule).

#2.2 Mike on 2009-06-30 21:19 (Reply)

Mike, check your facts.

Download the map for Collierville. The dates and production info is right there on the collar.

New maps (?) every three years? Really? Validated? USGS updated official maps? Not likely.

Yes, there are "graphical products" that have been produced along the Gulf States (well, some...not most of Louisiana) and East Coast...but these are NOT validated and official "maps" by the legal definition and standard required of the GS.

An image is not always a map, and a useful product is not always a map either...but the nation's civil map maker can do far, far better than the travesty they offer now.

New map every three years? Since it's taken three to produce these graphical products, perhaps that's somewhat accurate. As to whether there's another round of graphical products and imagery along the coasts in another three years remains to be seen.

BTW - who flew that imagery? Wasn't USGS, was it? Why has the GS ceded it's mission to the USDA and NAIP? Why isn't the GS contributing more than a couple million (if that) to the tens of millions needed to support the NAIP program? And what about The National Map? Where's the updates there?

Mike, I can only assume you're ill informed.

#2.2.1 Archie Belaney on 2009-06-30 21:53 (Reply)

Further input, correcting my own misperceptions and the apparent lack of clear information available to "Mike"

St. Lucie Inlet, FL - 7.5 min quad
Topo from plane-table surveys 1948
Planimetry from aerial surveys 2003
- so there's a six-year-old map. Best I've seen yet.

Gulfport South, MS - 7.5 min quad
Planimetry from aerial - 1950 and 1952
Topo from plane-table, etc., in 1954
Revised from aerial in 1992
revisions field checked in 1993
Edits completed in 1994
- there's a fifteen-year-old map. That's better than most.

Now, let's consider something here: both of these quads are centered on the landfall locations for major hurricanes - St. Lucie for Frances & Jeanne in 2004, Gulfport for Katrina in 2005. The USGS has made NO updates to either of these locations since these events.

One might suppose that at least US locations devastated by natural disasters might receive an update. Apparently not.

#2.2.2 Archie Belaney on 2009-07-01 05:53 (Reply)

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In reply to	[ Top level ]#1: KoS on 2009-06-26 09:11 #2: Archie Belaney on 2009-06-26 10:01   #2.1: Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne on 2009-06-27 22:49   #2.2: Mike on 2009-06-30 21:19     #2.2.1: Archie Belaney on 2009-06-30 21:53     #2.2.2: Archie Belaney on 2009-07-01 05:53
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