3DEP in Montana by the Numbers

Expected annual benefits $13.08 million 

Estimated total cost $49.05 million

Payback 3.8 years

Quality level 1 buy-up 

estimate

$31.21 million

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3022

March 2014

The 3D Elevation Program—Summary for Montana

Introduction

Elevation data are essential to a 

broad range of applications, including 

forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national 

security, recreation, and many others. 

For the State of Montana, elevation data 

are critical for flood risk management, 

infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and precision farming, 

geologic resource assessment and hazard 

mitigation, natural resources conservation, and other business uses. Today, 

high-density light detection and ranging (lidar) data are the primary sources 

for deriving elevation models and other 

datasets. Federal, State, Tribal, and 

local agencies work in partnership to (1) 

replace data that are older and of lower 

quality and (2) provide coverage where 

publicly accessible data do not exist. A 

joint goal of State and Federal partners is 

to acquire consistent, statewide coverage 

to support existing and emerging applications enabled by lidar data. 

The National Enhanced Elevation 

Assessment (NEEA; Dewberry, 2011) 

evaluated multiple elevation data acquisition options to determine the optimal 

data quality and data replacement cycle 

relative to cost to meet the identified 

requirements of the user community. The 

evaluation demonstrated that lidar acquisition at quality level 2 (table 1) for the 

conterminous United States and quality 

level 5 ifsar data (table 1) for Alaska with 

a 6- to 10-year acquisition cycle provided 

the highest benefit/cost ratios. The new 

3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative (Snyder, 2012a,b) selected an 8-year 

acquisition cycle for the respective quality levels. 3DEP, managed by the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS), the Office of 

Management and Budget Circular A–16 

lead agency for terrestrial elevation 

data, responds to the growing need for 

high-quality topographic data and a wide 

range of other 3D representations of the 

Nation’s natural and constructed features. 

3D Elevation Program Benefits 

for Montana

The top 10 Montana business uses for 

3D elevation data, which are based on the 

estimated annual conservative benefits of the 

3DEP initiative, are shown in table 2. The 

NEEA survey respondents in the State of 

Montana estimated that the national 3DEP 

initiative would result in at least $13 million 

in new benefits annually to the State. The cost 

for such a program in Montana is approximately $49 million, resulting in a payback 

period of 3.8 years and a benefit/cost ratio 

of 2.1 to 1 over an 8-year period. Because 

monetary estimates were not provided for 

all reported benefits, the total benefits of the 

3DEP to Montana are likely much higher. 

On the basis of the NEEA survey results, all 

levels of government and many organizations in Montana could benefit from access to 

statewide high-resolution elevation data.

The status of publicly available lidar 

data in Montana is shown in figure 1, and 

table 2 shows the conservative estimates of 

cost benefits for the top 10 business uses 

identified in the NEEA survey. More recently, 

the benefits of flood risk management have 

increased in importance because using lidar 

data produces more accurate flood maps, 

3D Elevation Program

3DEP is a national program managed 

by the USGS to acquire high-resolution 

elevation data. The initiative is backed by 

a comprehensive assessment of requirements (Dewberry, 2011) and is in the 

early stages of implementation. 3DEP will 

improve data accuracy and provide more 

current data than is available in the National 

Elevation Dataset (NED). The goal of this 

high-priority cooperative program is to be 

operational by January 2015, and to have 

complete coverage of the United States 

by the end of 2022, depending on funding 

and partnerships. 3DEP can conservatively 

provide new benefits of $1.2 billion/year 

and has the potential to generate $13 billion/year in new benefits through improved 

government services, reductions in crop 

and homeowner losses resulting from 

floods, more efficient routing of vehicles, 

and a host of other government, corporate, 

and citizen activities (Dewberry, 2011). A 

shared, common elevation dataset would 

foster cooperation and improve decisionmaking among all levels of government and 

other stakeholders.

Benefits of a Funded National Program

• Economy of scale—Acquisition of 

data covering larger areas reduces 

costs by 25 percent.

• A systematic plan—Acquisition of 

data at a higher quality level reduces 

the cost of “buying up” to the highest levels needed by State and local 

governments.

• Higher quality data and national 

coverage—Ensure consistency for 

applications that span State and watershed boundaries and meet more needs, 

which results in increased benefits 

to citizens.

• Increase in Federal agency contributions—Reduces State and local partner 

contributions.

• Acquisition assistance—Provided 

through readily available contracts and 

published acquisition specifications.

Figure 1. Map of Montana showing the 

extent of existing and planned publicly 

available lidar data. Information source: 

United States Interagency Elevation 

Inventory, August 2013, updated annually. 

Quality level 2 or better data meet 3DEP 

requirements. See table 1 for quality 

level information.

EXPLANATION

Quality level 2

 or better data

Quality level 3

data

Quality level 4

or lower data

No publicly available

lidar data 0 100 Kilometers

0 60 Miles
Next Steps for Implementing 3DEP

Accomplishing the 3DEP initiative’s 

goal of national coverage in 8 years depends 

on the following factors:

• Increased partnerships among Federal, 

State, Tribal, and local governments. 

• Partnerships that acquire elevation data 

to the program’s specifications across 

larger project areas.

• Increased communication about and 

awareness of the program’s benefits 

and goals.

• Support for the program from government and other stakeholders.

For Further Information:

Mark DeMulder, Director, 

USGS National Geospatial Program

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 511

Reston, VA 20192

Email: mdemulder@usgs.gov

Lance S. Clampitt, 

 USGS Geospatial Liaison

2327 University Way, Suite 2

Bozeman, MT 59715

Email: lsclampitt@usgs.gov

http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/

By William J. Carswell, Jr.

which in turn support more effective flood 

response plans and mitigation activities. By 

enhancing coordination between 3DEP and 

various government and private organizations in Montana, it may be possible to realize 

more than the cited conservative benefits and 

attain the higher potential benefits for many 

business uses.

 The following examples highlight how 

3DEP data can support business uses in Montana: (1) The availability of accurate elevation 

data would reduce onsite data-collection 

costs and the time required to complete flood 

risk mitigation projects. By having access to 

enhanced elevation data, the quality of data 

analysis and study results would be improved. 

Digital elevation models derived from lidar 

data can provide more accurate flood hazard 

maps, mitigate flood risk, and save property 

and lives. (2) Hill-shaded digital terrain models derived from high-resolution lidar data 

can be used to identify faults, including the 

amount of surface offset and the angle of the 

scarp face. This information is very important 

in quantifying seismic hazards and reducing 

the instances of infrastructure being placed on 

potentially active faults. For example, until 

lidar data became available, the Bitterroot 

fault (fig. 2) was not known to be active and 

likely to produce a future earthquake in the 

magnitude 6.5 to 7.5 range. The amount of 

surface offset and the angle of the scarp face 

provide new information about the elapsed 

time since the last paleoearthquake, as well as 

its magnitude.

References Cited

Dewberry, 2011, Final report of the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (revised 2012): Fairfax, Va., 

Dewberry, 84 p. plus appendixes, 

http://www.dewberry.com/Consultants/

GeospatialMapping/FinalReport-Nation

alEnhancedElevationAssessment.

Snyder, G.I., 2012a, National Enhanced 

Elevation Assessment at a glance: 

U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 

2012–3088, 2 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/

fs/2012/3088/.

Snyder, G.I., 2012b, The 3D Elevation 

Program—Summary of program 

direction: U.S. Geological Survey Fact 

Sheet 2012–3089, 2 p., http://pubs.

usgs.gov/fs/2012/3089/.

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143022

3D Elevation Program—Continued

The USGS and its partners will 

acquire quality level 2 or better (table 1) 

3D lidar data over the conterminous United 

States, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories. 

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar 

(ifsar) data are being collected at quality 

level 5 (table 1) in Alaska. The data will 

be acquired over an 8-year period and will 

be made available to the public. By using 

this acquisition scenario, a number of 

high-quality elevation-data products can be 

created to serve a wide range of business 

uses in government and the private sector.

Figure 2. A hill-shaded digital terrain model 

derived from high-resolution lidar data at 

0.17 meter nominal pulse spacing shows 

the Bitterroot fault (indicated by red arrows) 

offsetting an alluvial terrace along Big Creek, 

northwest of Hamilton, Montana. The alluvial 

terrace was deposited during the glacial retreat 

in the Bitterroot Range to the west, approximately 

12,000–15,000 years ago. Until these lidar data 

became available, the Bitterroot fault was not 

known to be active and likely to produce a future 

earthquake in the magnitude 6.5 to 7.5 range. 

Image courtesy of Montana Bureau of Mines 

and Geology.

Table 2. Conservative benefits estimates for the top 10 business uses of the 

proposed 3DEP data identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment for 

Montana (Dewberry, 2011).

Rank Business use Annual benefits

(millions)

1 Natural resources conservation $4.86

2 Agriculture and precision farming 3.48

3 Water supply and quality 1.18

4 Infrastructure and construction management 1.09

5 Flood risk management 0.83

6 Geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation 0.72

7 Forest resources management 0.40

8 Wildlife and habitat management 0.20

9 Renewable energy resources 0.14

10 Aviation navigation and safety 0.10

Other 0.08

Total 13.08

Table 1. Data quality levels used in the 

National Enhanced Elevation Assessment 

(Dewberry, 2011).

[≤, less than or equal to]

Quality 

level

Nominal pulse 

spacing

(meters)

Vertical 

accuracy 

(centimeters)

1 0.35 9.25

2 0.7 9.25

3 1–2 ≤18.5

4 5 46–139

5 5 93–185