GIS Association of Alabama News

Upcoming Deadlines for Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:58:17 GMT

From ADA.gov - State and Local Governments with 50,000+ persons are required to have compliant web content and mobile apps by April 24, 2026.

A fact sheet is available here: https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/#highlights-of-the-requirements-in-the-rule

Smaller governments and special districts should be aware their deadline is April 26, 2027.

GISAA is reaching out to web app providers for guidance and tools to ensure accessibility.

UAB GIS Day Event: Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 18:25:29 GMT

Can't make it to the GISA Conference? The University of Alabama at Birmingham UAB) is hosting the UAB GIS Day!

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Time: 9:00am - 4:30pm

Location: Lister Hill Library 4th Floor

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4235be8d5b924fcaa4f6c753fb23426dhttps://uab.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4OUluMI1RPRputw

GIS Day celebrates the power of mapping and spatial thinking—bringing people together to learn, share, and be inspired. At UAB, GIS connects research, teaching, and community engagement across fields from public health and medicine to environmental engineering and policy.

What to expect:

Explore UAB’s GIS innovations See how mapping and spatial analysis are advancing public health, policy, and environmental research across Alabama and beyond.
Hear from faculty, students, and partners Learn how GIS supports teaching, discovery, and community engagement through real-world applications and data storytelling.
Connect with the UAB GIS community Meet others who share your interest in spatial thinking, and discover tools, resources, and collaboration opportunities available across campus.

Interested in attending?

https://uab.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4OUluMI1RPRputw
Email: anassel@uab.edu or mhender4@uab.edu

The two easiest Public Parking Decks to park at are shown on the embed map within this StoryMap UAB GIS Day 2025
Both of these deck cost $3 for the first hour and then $1 each additional hour

Here are the parking locations on UAB’s Campus Map

NASA’s Plankton Aerosol Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory: Lunch and Learn posted on YouTube

Jeannette Byrd — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 16:48:15 GMT

In case you missed it, watch NASA’s Plankton Aerosol Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory's GISAA lunch and learn from 10/3/2025, which has now been uploaded to YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5b0R7IFufg

Many of the past GISAA webinars have been uploaded to our YouTube channel. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/@gisalabama

FEMA Releases Updated RAPT app

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 16:07:02 GMT

The popular FEMA resource, Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT), has been updated!

"The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool gives everyone access to powerful data and GIS mapping that can help everyone understand their community. RAPT has more than 100 preloaded layers with data on population, infrastructure and hazards. This data and the analysis tools in RAPT extend GIS capacity for state and local officials to help understand disaster impacts and the potential challenges to resilience they face."

Visit https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planning-tool

Dan Mellott, GISAA VP, blog post for Sain Associates

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 15:02:18 GMT

Dan Mellott, GISP, and VP of the GISAA Board of Directors, authored a Sain Associates blog post about our organization.

Check it out: https://www.sain.com/advancing-gis-across-alabama/

We would also like to thank Sain Associates for being a GISAA sponsor!

Esri's John Nelson - Area of Interest Techniques Lunch and Learn

Jeannette Byrd — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 17:00:00 GMT

Area of Interest Techniques

With Esri's John Nelson

When: 09/05/2024 12:00 PM, CDT
Where: Google Meet

Register here: https://gisaa.org/event-5834678

Google Meet Link will be emailed upon registration.

When making your map, you want the focus area to be prominent, to help draw the audience's attention to your area of interest. There are lots of different ways we can do this, and we'll explore a variety of them using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. Get ready to live!

John Nelson is a map maker, software experience designer, and writer at Esri creating fringe geographic data, curious web experiences, marginally educational blogs, and debatably instructional videos. He works in a small woodshed in Michigan and relishes the opportunity to chat with other map folks.

2024 UNA Geoscience Alumni Conference

Jeannette Byrd — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 18:48:39 GMT

Join us for the UNA Geography Alumni Conference, Thursday and Friday April, 18-19, 2024. This year, the conference will be $10 for all UNA Alumni & Non-Alumni registrations and student registrations are free. See the conference page for more information. GISAA looks forward to being a sponsor again this year.

Registration page: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeoVQkra46YoKZBLl4L0GPVJo5-pWycOL-JnaU4pCeVpqvVxA/viewform

GISA Conference 2024 - Save the Date!

Jeannette Byrd — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:21:39 GMT

The Alabama Geographic Information Office is excited to announce the dates for this year’s GIS of Alabama (GISA) Conference! The conference will be held November 18-21, 2024, so mark your calendars and make plans to join us back at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. Registration will open up this summer, so be on the lookout for more information soon. If you missed the conference in 2023, you don’t want to miss this year’s!

For more information or questions...

Jaime H. Lambert

GIS Specialist

Alabama Geographic Information Office (AGIO)

Office: 334-676-6421

https://algeohub.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html

Sweet Trails Alabama Web Presentation

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 20:22:47 GMT

The GISAA would like to thank the Sweet Trails Alabama initiative for their Lunch and Learn presentation on December 6, 2023.

If you missed this presentation, it can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/-Vj8U7nfvzQ

Webinar: GIS for Search and Rescue (recording)

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 23:59:49 GMT

Earlier this year, GISAA members Keith Conville and Ken Busby participated in interviews and webinar with Equipped Events on the topic of Using GIS for Search and Rescue (SAR).

A recording of the webinar and more resources related to using GIS for search and rescue are available here.

GeoCue Releases True View EVO Embedded Metashape

Alison Sepulveda — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:58:26 GMT

Huntsville, AL – GeoCue Group Inc. is pleased to announce an embedded version of Agisoft’s Metashape photogrammetric processing software. We have built interfaces directly into our LIDAR/Photogrammetric processing software, True View EVO, for driving both an embedded version of Metashape (Metashape for EVO, MfE) as well as the full GUI version of Metashape Professional. This design provides a seamless photogrammetric workflow for users of GeoCue True View EVO processing software.

While EVO has always supported generating “Photogrammetry Data Packages” for Metashape, Pix4D and Context Capture, users were still forced to exit the EVO environment to run these flows and then import results back into EVO. Now with Metashape for EVO (MfE), users can set up Metashape processing using a simple dialog and schedule the processing using EVO’s new Job Manager. The MfE job runs as a background task, allowing users to work on other projects in EVO while the MfE job runs in the background. Upon completion of the job, results are automatically added back in to the EVO project. EVO’s Job Manager can queue jobs, allowing users to set up a series of tasks to run in the background without the need to start the next job when the current one completes.

Metashape for EVO supports the generation of:

· Block Bundle Adjusted (BBA) imagery for improving the positional accuracy of imagery
· Point clouds from imagery (“structure from motion”) – typically used in DJI camera workflows
· Orthomosaics

Having Metashape directly integrated into True View EVO offers some unique advantages in hybrid imagery/LIDAR workflows. These include:

· The ability to use a LIDAR-derived elevation model (typically a ground model) in orthomosiac generation
· For True View 3D Imaging Sensors (3DIS®), the ability to “inject” the sensor’s Applanix Position and Orientation System (POS) solution into Metashape where image correlation fails. This reduces “holes” in orthos over areas where Metashape fails to find image matches (typically over vegetation).

True View EVO with the MfE add-in supports:

· All True View 3DIS® - True View 410, 515 and 635/640 sensors
· DJI Phantom 4 RTK
· DJI M300 RTK with P1

MfE is a must-have for any serious production shop. It dramatically streamlines the production of ground surface orthomosaics when using a True View or DJI sensor.

MfE is available now and will be bundled with all new True View 515 and True View 635/640 sensors shipped after September 1, 2021. MfE is available for purchase for all other sensors. If you already own a full GUI version of Metashape Professional, True View EVO will automatically connect to and use the software.

About GeoCue

GeoCue is the largest supplier of kinematic LIDAR processing tools in North America and LP360 is one of the world’s most widely used tools for exploiting point cloud data. In 2014, GeoCue Group started a division focused on using small Unmanned Aerial Systems for high accuracy mapping. Leveraging our expertise in LIDAR/Photogrammetric production, risk reduction, and point cloud processing tools, we are continuing to bring new services and products to market to provide surveyors and other geomatics professionals exciting tools for geospatial data extraction. Our most recent addition is our fused LIDAR/Camera drone surveying system, the True View® 3D Imaging System (3DIS®) product line. True View 3DIS offer compete hardware/software solutions for drone mapping from topography collection to high accuracy DOT work. To learn more, visit www.geocue.com.

About Agisoft Metashape

Founded in 2006 as an innovative research company with focus on computer vision technology, through years of intensive R&D work Agisoft LLC has gained expertise in image processing algorithms, with digital photogrammetry techniques setting the direction for development of applied tools. To learn more, visit www.agisoft.com.

North Dakota Department of Transportation Selects GeoCue True View LIDAR/Imagery Technology for UAS Program

Alison Sepulveda — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 13:24:43 GMT

July 21, 2021

HUNTSVILLE, AL – North Dakota Department of Transportation recently acquired a GeoCue True View 640 3D Imaging System (3DIS®) for their UAS program. “We are very pleased to be selected by NDDOT as their UAS drone LIDAR/Camera system supplier,” said Lewis Graham, President/CTO of GeoCue Group. “The DOTs literally keep America moving and we are honored to be an integral part of that mission.” To read more on this achievement, here is the full press release: North Dakota Department of Transportation Selects GeoCue True View LIDAR/Imagery Technology for UAS Program

URISA Announcement

Tue, 04 May 2021 22:27:59 GMT

It is with mixed emotions we announce the GIS Association of Alabama membership has voted to disaffiliate from URISA, with 26 of 39 votes for disaffiliation. With this change, we will remain the GIS Association of Alabama (GISAA). Disaffiliation will not impact your current membership. If you are currently a member of GISAA, you will remain a member of GISAA. Likewise, there will be no change in URISA membership if you are currently a member.

Change in affiliation with URISA will not change our mission to be an impactful organization to our community. GISAA will continue to strive to be the premier association of GIS professionals and students.

The disaffiliation process is not immediate and will take place over the next several months. The Board of Directors will work with URISA as we move through this process. We have maintained a close relationship with URISA over the years and wish them the best as we part ways. We support and encourage members who wish to participate with URISA, to continue to do so.

We would like to thank our membership for voicing their concerns throughout this process and casting their ballot on the matter. We are excited to be moving forward as an independent organization and anticipate this change will allow GISAA to be more impactful within the community. We are looking forward to continued service to our membership.

If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to us on Slack or email info@gisaa.org.

URISA Update on OneURISA

Alex Lopez-Rogina — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 20:32:27 GMT

On March 12, 2021 URISA International sent out an email update about the OneURISA initiative. The email is included below. Be sure to attend the Future of GISAA Meeting on Wednesday, April 21 at 11:00 am. Voting will be available to current GISAA members for one week after the meeting. Being a URISA International member does not make you a GISAA member (read below for more on that) so be sure your GISAA membership is current if you want your voice heard!

Dear URISA Member,

I want to take this opportunity to update you on the OneURISA initiative as we approach the June 1, 2021 deadline for chapters to sign the Chapter Charter Agreement and begin the process of becoming a fully chartered chapter. For those new to URISA International (URISA) who may not be familiar with OneURISA, allow me to provide a summary:

Chapters have always been integral to URISA and serve an important function at the local level. They are closer to local issues and often serve as the starting point for members interested in getting more involved in their professional community through URISA. Over time, chapter membership became separate from URISA International membership, making the definition of URISA membership confusing. For example, it is common for chapter members to register to attend a URISA educational event believing member discounts applied to them when in fact, they were not a URISA member, but only a member of their local chapter.

Professional organizations are typically structured such that when an individual joins, they become a member of both the parent organization and their local chapter. Dues paid to the organization support services and benefits at both levels. The parent organization helps to support chapter programs and events, collaborating with local volunteer leaders. Working together provides for a coordinated, exponential increase in the organization's ability to share knowledge, education, and best practices and have a positive impact on the profession.

After a lengthy discussion between chapter leaders and the URISA Board, the OneURISA initiative was announced in 2018. Existing and any new chapters are required to sign a Charter Agreement (previously an Affiliation Agreement) and meet several conditions, primarily that chapter membership is tied to membership in URISA. It is important to note this requirement does not prevent nonmembers from participating in chapter activities.

Under the unified membership model, when you join or renew your URISA membership you automatically become a chapter member if one exists in your geographic area. If there is not a local chapter, let’s talk about starting one!

The following list indicates the current status of U.S. Chapters.
[Note: International Chapters will undergo a separate implementation process following the U.S. Chapters].

Currently Chartered U.S. Chapters:

California URISA
Louisiana URISA
New England URISA
Northern Rockies URISA
Rocky Mountain URISA

U.S. Chapters in the chartering process:

Chesapeake URISA
Mid-Atlantic URISA
Ohio URISA
Texas URISA

U.S. Chapters inquiring about the charter process:

Alabama URISA
Carolina URISA
Florida URISA
Oregon URISA
Washington URISA

U.S. Chapters currently not planning to charter:

Georgia URISA
BayGeo URISA

Currently, inactive U.S. Chapters set for automatic disaffiliation:

Alaska URISA
Central Appalachian URISA
Chicagoland URISA

As stated above, existing chapters have until June 1, 2021, to formally indicate their decision to charter as a chapter of URISA. Those that choose to charter with URISA will continue to maintain URISA chapter status. Those that choose to go a separate way, will no longer be associated with URISA as a chapter. You can find out more about the charter process at www.urisa.org/chapters/oneurisa/

We encourage you to investigate the status and plans for the chapter in your area and contact your current chapter leadership with your opinions on the unified membership model. Your membership in URISA is a statement of your commitment to the GIS profession and the vision and mission of our professional association.

Thank you for your dedication,

Kevin Mickey, President
URISA
president@urisa.org

GISAA named 2020 Outstanding Chapter of the Year!

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 14:41:45 GMT

Each year, URISA recognizes a Chapter that has excelled in serving its membership and/or sponsoring effective activities. Great work and congratulations to the 2020 Board of Directors and all members of the Association on receiving the award!

We encourage you to read more about the service GISAA has strived to provide during the past year: https://www.urisa.org/chapters/

To see all past recipients and to learn more about the award criteria click here.

2021 Board of Directors

Alex Lopez-Rogina — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 15:51:47 GMT

The 2021 Board members met virtually for the annual Transition Meeting on December 15. It was a great meeting for passing along knowledge and setting goals for the new year.

No election was held for the 2021 GISAA Board of Directors due to all seats being unopposed. The following Board has officially taken office:

Position	Name	Region of Residence
President	Bryan Price	Central
Vice President	Jeremy Conner	Central
Past President	Alex Lopez-Rogina	North
Treasurer	Jeannette Byrd	Central
Secretary	Alison Sepulveda	Central
North Region Director	Keith Conville	North
Central Region Director	Emily Roberts	Central
Capital Region Director	Sarah Jones	Capital
South Region Director	William O'Toole	South

Congratulations to all of the incoming officers! We are looking forward to a productive and successful year!

GeoCue Group Launches GeoCue Australia Pty

Alison Sepulveda — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 16:25:30 GMT

News from GeoCue Group: GeoCue Group, Inc. has launched GeoCue Australia PTY! GeoCue Group, Inc. is based in Madison, Alabama and has partnered with two Australian investors to form GeoCue Australia PTY. This joint venture is aimed at providing customers in Australasia GeoCue’s Lidar and drone mapping solutions, as well as local support for users in the region. To read more on this venture, you can access the news release here or for more information on GeoCue Group, Inc. and their products or services, you can visit: www.geocue.com. GISAA thanks GeoCue Group, Inc. for their continued support and sponsorship.

Census Webinar - OnTheMap: The Road to Employment Dynamics

Jeannette Byrd — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 17:18:55 GMT

Census Webinar - OnTheMap: The Road to Employment Dynamics

This workshop is designed for data users who want to research local workforce and employment trends. During this training you will learn about the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) and Local Employment Dynamics (LED) programs from Eric Coyle, Data Dissemination Specialist.

Join Us

This webinar will focus on and teach attendees how to use the LEHD's OnTheMap tool, which is a web-based mapping and reporting application that shows where workers are employed and where they live. It also provides companion reports on age, earnings, industry distributions, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, and sex.

Date: August 11

Time: 11:00 a.m. ET

Dial In: 888-566-5902

Passcode: 6863273

Link: Log In Details

Johns Hopkins Univ webinar: Mapping the Monster Part 3

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 13:22:36 GMT

Making Sense of COVID-19 Data through Geospatial Technology: Part 3 of the Johns Hopkins University “Mapping the Monster” series related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wed, Jul 1, 2020, 1:00 PM CDT.

In Part 3, speakers will give a state and county level perspective of data and geospatial visualization. How was the COVID-19 data used to determine State and local decisions? Participation in prior webinars in not necessary.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mapping-a-monster-part-3-tickets-104657679938?aff=Part2

NG9-1-1 Webinar now available online

Jeannette Byrd — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 13:27:29 GMT

From DATAMARK and the GIS Association of Alabama: The recent webinar, "Solving the GIS Puzzle in NG9-1-1," is now available online.

Questions: info@datamarkgis.com

Please follow this link to access the recordings of the virtual webinar.

Utilizing OnTheMap for Emergency Management for Response and Recovery During a Natural Disaster

Jeannette Byrd — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 12:53:05 GMT

OnTheMap for Emergency Management is a public data tool that provides an intuitive web-based interface for accessing U.S. population and workforce statistics, in real time, for areas being affected by natural disasters. The tool allows users to retrieve reports containing detailed workforce, population, and housing characteristics for hurricanes, floods, wildfires, winter storms, and federal disaster declaration areas.

Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EST)
Dial-in: 1-888-790-3521
Participant Passcode: 3521459
Presenter: Earlene Dowell, Program Analyst, Economic Management Division/Data User and Trade Outreach Branch, U.S. Census Bureau

Register: https://census.webex.com/census/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed0bc4249e31ea64d9e2c99a7a4966716

NOAA webinar - State Plane 2022

Jeannette Byrd — Wed, 13 May 2020 14:38:11 GMT

NOAA Webinar: State Plane 2022 - The Shape of Things to Come

June 11, 2020 | 2-3 pm, Eastern Daylight Time

Dr. Michael Dennis, National Geodetic Survey

The State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) of tomorrow is taking shape. March 31, 2020 was the deadline for submitting requests and proposals for SPCS2022 zones. Requests are for designs by NGS, and proposals are for designs by state stakeholders. Inquiries were also received for “special use” zones with coverage areas in more than one state.

This presentation shows how stakeholder input affects the number, distribution, and performance of SPCS2022 zones. Although there will be more zones than earlier versions of SPCS, that will vary greatly by state, with some having only one zone and others having many zones (including low-distortion projections). This variability shows how SPCS2022 will help meet the diverse needs of the geospatial communities in different states.

Intermediate Technical Content Rating: Some knowledge of this topic is helpful.

REGISTER

USGS Library Virtual Services

Jeannette Byrd — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 13:20:22 GMT

The USGS Library has added a new, online guide highlighting resources and services available to employees whether they are teleworking, offsite, or working from their office. Please visit the USGS Library Virtual Services Guide for tips on how to search the Library Catalog, order documents, and contact Library staff for assistance. https://usgs.libguides.com/virtualservices

Exploring Census Data Webinar Series: Transportation – Key Census Data on Transportation

Jeannette Byrd — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 18:00:00 GMT

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 31st from 2:00-3:00 PM EDT

Learn about transportation data from the Census Bureau and how this information can be valuable to you. These webinars, presented by subject matter experts, provide information on Census data from business and demographic programs based on popular topics. During this webinar, Census Bureau experts will help you:

Understand practical ways to use our transportation data through illustrations and use cases.
Learn about available resources and data tools, which can assist you in saving time looking for data.
Learn how to compare and contrast the different types of available data.

Presenter: Charles Gamble III, American Community Survey Office

Barbara Zamora-Appel, Governments and Trade Management Division

Info on webinar: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/news/events/acs-transportation-2020.html

2020 Election Results

Alex Lopez-Rogina — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 21:30:25 GMT

The election for the 2020 GISAA Board of Directors recently came to a close. The following Board will officially take on their positions and responsibilities on January 1, 2020.

Position	Name	Region of Residence
Past President	Hunter Simmons	South
President	Alex Lopez-Rogina	North
Vice President	David Wright	North
Treasurer	Jeannette Byrd	Central
Secretary	Alison Sepulveda	Central
North Region Director	Keith Conville	North
Central Region Director	Bryan Price	Central
Capital Region Director	Sarah Jones	Capital
South Region Director	William O'Toole	South

The current and future Board members will meet together for a transition meeting on December 17. This meeting will be an opportunity to pass on knowledge and set goals for the new year.

Congratulations to all of the incoming officers! We are looking forward to a productive and successful year!

By-law Changes: Officer Term Limits

Alex Lopez-Rogina — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 14:44:37 GMT

From Oct 29 to Nov 4, GISAA members voted to change officer term limits. The vote passed unanimously, and has taken affect immediately. The following information was included in the vote:

Background: The GIS Association of Alabama (GISAA) is preparing to take nominations for the 2020 elections. It has come to our attention that three of the four Regional Directors will be rolling off due to term limits. In order to avoid high turnover in the future, the current GISAA board members would like to propose the following changes to the by-laws:

Quick Summary:
Change Secretary, Treasurer, and all Regional Director positions from 1 year term/2 term limit to 2 year term/2 term limit. Treasurer, North Region Director, and South Region Director will begin their term on even years. Secretary, Central Region Director, and Capital Region Director will begin their term on odd years.

Complete By-law Wording:

Current:
Tenure of Officers and Directors. Officers and Directors shall assume office at the beginning of the following membership year. The Vice President shall be elected to serve one year as Vice President, one year as President and one year as Past President. Other officers and directors shall be elected to one-year terms and shall not serve more than two (2) successive terms in any position. The period of time an officer or director may serve, in completing the unexpired term of another officer or director, shall not be included when applying the foregoing limitation of terms. Officers and directors shall serve without compensation.

Proposed:
Tenure of Officers and Directors. Officers and Directors shall assume office at the beginning of the following membership year. The Vice President shall be elected to serve one year as Vice President, one year as President and one year as Past President. Other officers and directors shall be elected to two-year terms and shall not serve more than two (2) successive terms in any position. The terms for Treasurer, North Region Director, and South Region Director begin on even years. The terms for Secretary, Central Region, and Capital Region begin on odd years. The period of time an officer or director may serve, in completing the unexpired term of another officer or director, shall not be included when applying the foregoing limitation of terms. Officers and directors shall serve without compensation.

Temporary Suspension:
In order to execute the proposed plan of alternating elections, the positions of Secretary, Central Region Director, and Capital Region Director will serve a one year term in 2020. Current term limits will be suspended for the 2020 election to allow any person interested in one of these three positions to run and complete the one year term.

Central AL GIS Day: Registration is open!

Jeannette Byrd — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 13:11:38 GMT

Registration is open for the Central Alabama GIS Event, to be held Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, at the Taylor Center on the Auburn University at Montgomery campus. GISAA is helping to sponsor this event for the second year in a row.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/central-alabama-gis-day-2019-tickets-72795400001

More Info: https://centralalabamagisday.wordpress.com/

New National Soil Survey Geographic Database (gNATSGO)

Jeannette Byrd — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 15:32:59 GMT

From the USDA: We are pleased to announce the release of the first version of a new USDA-NRCS Soil & Plant Science Division (SPSD) soils database called the gridded National Soil Survey Geographic Database (gNATSGO). This product was designed and built by a team of SPSD staff in spring of 2019. It is the first SPSD composite database that provides complete coverage of the best available gridded soils information for all areas of the United States and Island Territories. For more info, visit: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=nrcseprd1464625

Census 2020: Alabama Counts

Jeannette Byrd — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 15:52:50 GMT

As communities around of the state prepare for the 2020 Census, many GISAA members are participating in preparation activities. Alabama has a lot a stake - a great deal of funding is determined by the Census count, not to mention some population projections show our state could lose a seat in the Legislature. Having everyone count matters more than ever. How can you help? Visit https://census.alabama.gov/ to find out more!

Map projections: Esri publication

Jeannette Byrd — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:04:50 GMT

If all the available map projections seem overwhelming, you might want to check out a recent Esri publication, Map Projections in ArcGIS. This Story Map app provides brief explanations as well as examples for 68 featured projections.

USGS: NLCD 2016 now available

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 31 May 2019 15:52:45 GMT

From the USGS: The NLCD 2016 suite of Conterminous U.S. (CONUS) land cover and impervious products have now been released. This release includes seven epochs of land cover (2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2016), a 2001 – 2016 land cover change index, and eight urban imperviousness datasets - a percent imperviousness and classified imperviousness for 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016. The NLCD 2016 products for trees, shrubs, and grasses will be released in the coming weeks.

Check it out: https://www.mrlc.gov/

U.S. Census webinar series

Jeannette Byrd — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 13:08:03 GMT

The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting a series of free data access webinars to all interested data users. Topics include Introduction to the U. S. Census Website, Understanding the American Community Survey, and Census Data Made Easy. Visit the Census Academy webinar page to learn more.

Lucity Regional Users Group meeting, 5/20/2019

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:58:09 GMT

The City of Tuscaloosa is hosting a Lucity Regional Users Group meeting on May 20, 2019. If you are a Lucity user, join the City of Tuscaloosa GIS staff for this free event. The City of Tuscaloosa is also a sponsor of GISAA!

Registration info: https://lucity.wufoo.com/forms/regional-user-group-meeting-registration-2019/

ArcGIS User Group Meeting: 5/14/2019

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 12:28:29 GMT

From Keith Cooke at Esri:

We'll be holding an ArcGIS User Group Meeting on Tuesday, May 14 from 9-noon at the Regions Center Auditorium. It's at 1900 5th Ave. N. in Birmingham. Will Meyers and I will go over some of the changes in the ArcGIS platform, including some of the newer products coming out. It will be a great opportunity to learn and network.

NEI Drones Survey a 9,000 Acre Pipeline.

Hunter Simmons — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:35:16 GMT

Click here to read how NEI assisted Arkansas-based Crafton Tull to develop an in-house solution to survey a 9,000 acre pipeline, that allowed photogrammetry, CAD files, and 'blueprints' to be produced in 10 days.

Downloading USGS elevation data

Jeannette Byrd — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:29:30 GMT

Need quick access to elevation data in a variety of formats? Check out this resource from the USGS. The web app makes it easy to find your area of interest, select an elevation product, and download just what you need. https://apps.nationalmap.gov/3depdem/

USGS National Map, 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) lidar data is now available

Jeannette Byrd — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 13:10:19 GMT

The USGS National Map, 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) lidar data is now available as an Amazon Public Dataset. For more details on this new capability please see the USGS Technical Announcement at: https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-3dep-lidar-point-cloud-now-available-amazon-public-dataset

For additional information, contact The National Map Service Desk, United States Geological Survey at tnm_help@usgs.gov.

Changes to the USGS Contour Overlay service URL

Jeannette Byrd — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 14:34:20 GMT

The USGS National Map is making a small change to its dynamic Contour Overlay service URL starting Friday, March 1, 2019. The new Contour service URL will be https://carto.nationalmap.gov/arcgis/rest/services/contours/MapServer. The ‘c’ in contours is now a small letter rather than a capital letter. This change maintains consistency in the naming pattern across our overlay services and helps facilitate the automation in loading our data updates. There are no changes to the cartography of the product, only the URL.

For additional information please contact The National Map Service Desk, United States Geological Survey at tnm_help@usgs.gov.

GISAA on Social Media

Alex Lopez-Rogina — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 15:24:09 GMT

GISAA is now on social media!

Click to links below to find us on your favorite platforms... and help spread the word!

Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

WebGL Examples from ASI

Hunter Simmons — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:44:00 GMT

Ryan Kibsgaard, over at ASI, provides a general description of WebGL, specifically in regards to rendering maps natively in a browser. Check out the full article and be sure to click through the interactive examples, such as the hurricane map shown below.

Google Earth Updates It's Measuring Tool

Hunter Simmons — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:49:35 GMT

On January 7, 2019 Google Earth updated it's measuring tool with some new features, as well as features previously found only in Google Earth Pro. Read their official announcement for more information.

Logo and Rebranding Update

Hunter Simmons — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 19:42:16 GMT

Thank you to everyone who submitted and voted for our new logos. We had some great submissions and great participation for the final vote with one logo receiving an overwhelming majority of votes. You will see lots of updates over the next few months as we re-brand with our new logo and name.