News Archives - Maryland State Geographic Information Committee

Marylander Appointed to the National Geospatial Advisory Committee

May 14, 2020

MSGIC is proud to announce the appointment and installation by the United States Department of Interior of Doug Adams (Baltimore County Government) to the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) as a County representative. The NGAC provides advice and recommendations on national geospatial policy and management issues, the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), and the implementation of the Geospatial Data Act of 2018. The NSDI promotes geospatial data sharing across all levels of government, the private and non-profit…

State Geospatial Policy Organization Lauds “Geospatial Data Act” Language Included in FAA Reauthorization Bill

October 6, 2018

Stephanie George

News

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By Bronwyn Walls | October 3, 2018 | Duluth, MN Participants at the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) Annual Conference cheered at the news that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill passed the Senate this morning. The legislation contains provisions critical to building the national spatial data infrastructure by establishing a clear vision, assigning responsibility, providing authority and ensuring oversight of federal activities by Congress. The bill includes language previously winding its way through both houses as a standalone bill…

LiDAR Acquisition Update: Ellicott City and Howard County

September 9, 2018

Stephanie George

Data, Elevation, News

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The USGS has fully funded the collection of LiDAR data for Ellicott City (42 sq mi, QL1) and Howard County (QL2). The Ellicott City acquisition is scheduled to be complete by December 31; Howard County acquisition by Fall 2019. Data will be collected at USGS specifications: Quality Level 1: 8 points/sq meter or more; NPS .35m or better; vertical resolution of 10cm in areas of clear or short vegetation. QL2: 2 points/sq meter, NPS .7m, same vertical resolution as QL1. …

Population Forecasts Now Available on BMC’s Open Data Site

June 21, 2018

Stephanie George

Data, Elevation, News

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For the first time Baltimore Metropolitan Council is making its small area population and employment forecasts available for free to the public through our BMC Regional GIS Data Center. This data will be available by Traffic Analysis Zone, a geography commonly used in transportation planning for travel demand modeling. The data will be available in formats friendly to GIS, Excel, and in a web service that can be used with interactive mapping applications. Over the last three decades, the Cooperative Forecasting…

Potential Acquisition of QL2 LiDAR in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties

June 8, 2018

MSGIC Blog

News, Uncategorized

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USGS is currently working to form a partnership among federal, state, and local organizations to acquire QL2 LiDAR data for Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester in the upcoming 2018/2019 leaf-off season. USGS, NRCS, and at least one local county have pledged funding support. Additional funding support would facilitate tidal coordination, hydro enforcement, and topobathy collection. The most recent acquisition in this region was in 2011/2012.NOAA plans to continue nearshore topo/bathy LiDAR collection in the Chesapeake Bay. To date, nearshore bathymetric data…

Dr. Art Lembo Wins the Maryland Board of Regents Teaching Award

March 19, 2018

MSGIC Blog

Events, News, Uncategorized

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The 2018 Maryland Board of Regents’ Excellence in Teaching Award. An impressive name for an equally prestigious honor, and only awarded to four teachers in the entire University of Maryland System. This year, a particularly gifted and highly respected teacher is being recognized for his commitment to teaching, professional development and strategic vision, and he happens to be teaching GIS. Dr. Arthur “Art” Lembo joined the faculty at Salisbury University in 2007 where he teaches Advanced GIS, Spatial Analysis, and…

Letter from the Chair

January 10, 2018

MSGIC Blog

Getting to Know, News, Uncategorized

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MSGIC Members, Over the past two years, I have seen MSGIC grow from a fledgling, non-profit organization into a robust organization providing opportunities to its membership and reaching out to develop relationships among the different entities in the State of Maryland. Since becoming a non-profit in 2012, we have worked hard to build a direction for the organization to both grow and to provide benefits to its members. But without direction and guidance, we worked towards what was the…

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council Releases its New Regional GIS Data Center

October 9, 2017

MSGIC Blog

Data, News

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There is no doubt that digital data has become one of the most efficient resources for data-driven decision making for projects such as transportation management, neighborhood statistics, and even emergency preparedness research. Taking data collected over years, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council has decided to relocate it to a centralized portal. The Regional Geographical Information System Data Center contains information maintained by BMC for Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s County. The Data Center is a hub…

Girls Innovation Academy Explores the World of GIS with ESRGC

July 16, 2017

MSGIC Blog

Events, News

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This is a re-post of a June 2017 blog entry from the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative website. Find out more about ESRGC and read more articles on their blog at ESRGC.org. On Tuesday afternoon the ESRGC hosted the Girls Innovation Academy summer camp. The Girls Innovation Academy (GIA) is a three-week summer camp at Salisbury University for middle school girls and focuses on technology, communication, and leadership. Dr. Lembo began the session with an overall discussion of the definition of…

New Electronic Construction Map

May 26, 2017

MSGIC Blog

News, Uncategorized

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Many of us will be traveling for memorial day weekend, but your summer travels don’t have to be impacted by construction. A new online map has been released to the public, which can help you avoid the traffic. The Maryland State Highway Administration recently released a map that pinpoints constructions zones, so that commuters can plan to navigate around them. It couldn’t come at a better time too, as the Maryland Department of Transportation will have a record high of construction projects this…