NSGIC Mid-Year Reports: The National Map Tactical Plan

The USGS has been working on a new tactical plan for the National Map. Bill Carswell, of USGS, gave an overview of the purpose of the National Map. He described it as a key part of the NSDI and noted that it is built on partnerships and standards. He listed some of the accomplishments of the first version of the National Map, but added that the job is not yet done.

The focus for the National Map "2.0" includes integration into a consistent, quality assured and seamless map; revitalization of topographic maps, and online services from consistent national data.

The near-term priority areas include the coasts, along international borders and the 133 urban areas, among other areas.

Mr. Carswell set out a tactical plan to gather and publish base-map data for the National Map.

Paul Wiese explained a movement from distributed data to centralized data in National Map 2.0.

Vickie Lucas spoke about the importance of partnerships, which she called the foundation of the National Map. The USGS partnership strategy is based on the complimentary roles of levels of government to develop the NSDI.

She noted that the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is an example of working in partnership with states and local governments.

She said that the USGS will draw from the NSGIC 50 States Initiative and the strategic plans that states are developing. Staff are starting meet with NSGIC members to gather feedback.

Bill Carswell reported that the USGS director has signed the National Map 2.0 tactical plan.

Update (3/18/08): Presentation materials from this session are now available on-line.