South Dakota Watershed Data Made Available in Google Earth
The data had been available from Natural Resources Conservation Service, but it required software most people don’t have. Once the data was converted to Google Earth format (KML) anyone can view it in Google Earth. The cost?
“It only cost $10,000,” Ehlers said of getting the information to mesh with Google Earth. “Now that’s a really good investment, and I hope other states pay attention and start digitizing their watershed data.”
South Dakota was the first state to make data available this way, under an agreement with Google. Funding for the boundary tool came from Hyde County Conservation District, the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, the State Conservation Commission, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Argus Leader
- app and data download
(Note to USGS and Google: Is this correct? “In recent years, public domain software such as Google Earth has made it possible for anyone with internet access to view maps and high-resolution imagery of the earth’s surface.” Is Google Earth public domain? I do not believe it is.
