U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2008–3074

September 2008 Printed on recycled paper

Enhancing The National Map Through Tactical Planning and 

Performance Monitoring

“The National Map is a vital, essential program to provide a trusted, nationally consistent geospatial framework. Its development at USGS continues our 

heritage of national mapping begun by John Wesley Powell. As we improve the 

way The National Map works – through improved data standards, accessibility, 

and consistency; through improved understanding of customer needs; and, perhaps most importantly, through more robust partnerships – these advances will 

promote a synergy of geospatial information that will benefit counties, states, 

and the nation.”—Mark Myers, U.S. Geological Survey Director, April 7, 2008, 

104th American Association of Geographers annual meeting in Boston, Mass.
The National Map Tactical Performance Planning 

Summary for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009

Tactical planning and performance monitoring are initial 

steps toward improving “the way The National Map works” 

and supporting the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science 

Strategy. This Tactical Performance Planning Summary for The 

National Map combines information from The National Map

2.0 Tactical Plan and The National Map Performance Milestone 

Matrix. The National Map 2.0 Tactical Plan is primarily a working document to guide The National Map program’s execution, production, and metrics monitoring for fiscal years (FY) 

2008 and 2009. The Tactical Plan addresses data, products, and 

services, as well as supporting and enabling activities. Tactical 

Plan goals and deliverables will be balanced with financial as 

well as other resources through plan management. The Performance Milestone Matrix contains the full list of milestones, 

major deliverables, and major tasks for The National Map and 

forms the basis for reporting on accomplishments and issues.

The National Map’s 2-year goal for FY 2008 and FY 2009 

is to provide a range of geospatial products and services that 

further the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and underpin 

USGS science. To do this, the National Geospatial Program will 

develop a renewed understanding during FY 2008 of key customer needs and requirements, develop the infrastructure to support The National Map business model, modernize its business 

processes, and reengineer its workforce. The USGS collaborates 

with a broad range of customers and partners who are essential to the success of The National Map, including the science 

community, State and Federal agencies involved in homeland 

security, planners and emergency responders at the local level, 

and private companies. Partner contributions and data remain a 

primary input to and foundation of The National Map. Partnerships with State, Federal, and local agencies and industry will 

enhance the USGS capacity to acquire and steward 1:24,000-

scale or better data into The National Map. The data will be 

used to modernize the cornerstone 7.5-minute topographic map 

series for the Nation.

The integration of data is critical to the success of The 

National Map. The approach to integration will be determined 

by assessing standards and available resources. The edited data 

must be preserved and corrections passed back to the source. An 

integration team will be established to plan for and coordinate 

the horizontal and vertical integration of data and reestablish the 

capabilities through the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center.

Priorities for The National Map have been established 

for those activities most important to the short- and long-term 

success of The National Map. These priorities help to focus 

work, management, and the distribution of resources within 

the project. Priorities will be adjusted if necessary to respond 

to changes to the project that may impact resources, constrain 

timeframes, or change customer needs. Priorities are set and 

adjusted on the basis of a collaborative process involving leadership, management, technical leads, customers, partners, and 

others. That process involves identification of a driver (need 

for a change); an assessment of impact; identification of cost, 

risk, and requirements; and establishment of responsibility and 

timeframes for deliverables. The collaborative process results in 

the submission of a proposal to a Change Management Board. 

Any changes require final management approval and are fully 

documented. In FY 2008 and FY 2009, The National Map will 

focus on (1) the priority areas of the East Coast and Gulf Coast 

States, two counties (50 miles) deep from the coastline and 

from international boundaries with Canada and Mexico; (2) 133 

urban areas; (3) the Department of the Interior’s high-priority 

lands programs; (4) USGS science initiatives; and (5) areas 

where current data are available for the eight data themes on 

which The National Map focuses. The National Map will hold 

data in centrally managed databases to improve availability and 

performance while controlling costs.

Figure 1. Herbert “Shortie” Clark mapping with a plane table and 

telescopic alidade in the early 1900s.

Figure 2. USGS employees scribing copper plates for map 

production in 1917.
Data Products and Services

In the context of The National Map, products are information assets with specified characteristics and qualities delivered 

to consumers in electronic, or in some emergency cases paper, 

formats. Services are functional capabilities provided to The 

National Map consumers that support a sustained interaction with The National Map data and computing assets. The 

National Map products and services are designed to satisfy 

consumer-initiated geospatial or mapping requests or inquiries. 

The product and service directory can be found at http://www.

usgs.gov/ngpo (click on “Reading Room”).

Elevation

The USGS is designated by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A–16 as the lead agency for elevation 

data. Three hundred and eighty-four quadrangles of data are 

planned to be produced per quarter (Q) in FY08, and 400 quadrangles of data per quarter are planned in FY09. The National 

Map will hold 10-meter or finer elevation data in the National 

Elevation Dataset, covering 100 percent of the priority areas by 

the end of FY09. Working with partners, the USGS will update 

an additional 500 quadrangles of 10-meter or finer elevation 

data, which will be published in the National Elevation Dataset. 

The elevation team will work with the graphics and systems 

teams to develop automated contour generation by the end of 

the first quarter of FY09. This work will develop requirements 

in FY08Q1, drafting an automated contour plan and specifications in FY08Q2 to be finalized in FY08Q4, and implementing 

the contour plan in FY09Q1. A revision of elevation specifications will begin with a review in FY08Q1, followed by revised 

specification in FY08Q3 to be adopted in FY08Q4. Downloads 

are available at http://ned.usgs.gov.

Geographic Names

The USGS is designated by OMB Circular A–16 as the 

lead for geographic feature names and is the authoritative source 

for geographic names usage throughout the Federal Government. The National Map will collect 2,500 selected administrative features along the East Coast in each quarter of FY08 and 

along the Gulf Coast in each quarter of FY09. The Geographic 

Names Team will work with USGS Geospatial Liaisons to 

establish partnership agreements to integrate the Geographic 

Names Information System with State Geographic Information 

Systems and (or) to steward data for one State in each quarter 

during FY08 and the first quarter of FY09 and two States in the 

final three quarters of FY09. Names of administrative features 

will be updated along the East Coast by the end of FY08. It is 

a National Geospatial Program Office goal to have agreements 

in place for Google Earth to use and credit USGS Geographic 

Names by the end of the first quarter of FY08. Downloads are 

available at http://geonames.usgs.gov.

Hydrography

The USGS is designated by OMB Circular A–16 as the 

lead for hydrographic units, which are comprehensive sets 

of digital spatial data that represent the surface water of the 

United States using common features such as streams, rivers, 

canals, ponds, lakes, and oceans. All of the hydrography in The 

National Map will be upgraded to the interim design standard 

by the end of FY08 by updating 450 subbasins of hydrographic 

data each quarter. Updating 565 subbasins during each quarter 

in FY09 will result in 25 percent of the hydrography being 

upgraded to the final design standard by the end of FY09. Stewardship partners will upgrade 25 percent of the The National 

Map’s hydrography by updating 96 subbasins per quarter. Fifteen stewardship agreements will be developed in FY08 (Q1, 5; 

Q2, 3; Q3, 3; Q4, 4) and 30 in FY09 (Q1, 5; Q2, 5; Q3, 10; Q4, 

10). Downloads are available at http://nhd.usgs.gov.

Fiscal year Number of quadrangles

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

2008 384 384 384 384 1,536

2009 400 400 400 400 1,600

Fiscal year Number of features

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

2008 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 10,000

2009 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 10,000

Fiscal year Number of features

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Hydrographic features:

2008 450 450 450 450 1,800

2009 565 565 565 565 2,260

Subbasins (by stewardship partners):

2008 NA NA NA NA 384

2009 NA NA NA NA 384

Fiscal year Number of agreements

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

2008 5 3 3 4 15

2009 5 5 10 10 30

Figure 3. Geospatial information specialist digitally processes 

imagery in 2008.
Land Cover (Responsibility of the Geography Discipline)

The USGS is designated by OMB Circular A–16 as the 

lead for land cover data. The National Map will use the National 

Land Cover 2001 database for land cover data. Beginning in 

FY09, the Land Cover program will begin production of the 

National Land Cover Database 2006 update. Production will 

take 18 to 24 months and will depend on member contributions 

from the Multi-Resolution Land Cover Characteristics Consortium. National Land Cover Database 2006 update products 

include percentage of canopy and percentage of impervious 

surface for National Geospatial Program high-priority areas, 

to be completed by September 30, 2009. National Land Cover 

Database 2006 processed data will be updated beginning in 

2009, with completion scheduled by March 31, 2010. Downloads are available at http://landcover.usgs.gov.

Orthoimagery

The USGS shares the Circular A–16 lead for orthoimagery 

with the Department of Agriculture. The standard for orthoimagery data is digital orthorectified imagery of 1-meter groundcover sample distance resolution or better, acquired in a 5-year 

cycle for the United States and its territories and possessions, 

and digital orthorectified imagery of 1-foot groundcover sample 

distance resolution or better, acquired in a 2- to 4-year cycle 

for the 133 urban areas as defined in the Homeland Security 

Infrastructure Program (HSIP) Tiger Team Report of 2002. The 

National Map will acquire or update 1,377 quadrangles of data 

during each quarter of FY08 and FY09. Downloads are available at http://gisdata.usgs.net/website/Orthoimagery.

Boundaries (Governmental Units)

The USGS is not the Circular A–16 lead for boundaries 

(governmental units), which depict administrative and jurisdictional information. Federal boundaries will be updated for 600 

counties in FY08 (Q2, 150; Q3, 200; Q4, 250) and 300 counties 

in each quarter of FY09. Census data will be used to update 550 

counties in FY08 and 750 counties in FY09 and are dependent 

upon when the Census Bureau makes the information available. 

Downloads are available at http://bpgeo.cr.usgs.gov.

Structures

The USGS is not the Circular A–16 lead for structures, 

which depicts the geospatial location, classification, and other 

characteristics of manmade facilities. National coverage at 

a 1:24,000-scale for essential facilities, including hospitals, 

schools, police stations, and fire stations, will be available by 

December 31, 2008. Data will be updated for 650 counties in 

FY08 (Q1, 50; Q2, 100; Q3, 200; Q4, 300) and 1,900 counties 

in FY09 (Q1, 400; Q2, 500; Q3, 500; Q4, 500). Downloads are 

available at http://bpgeo.cr.usgs.gov.

Transportation

The USGS is not the Circular A–16 lead for transportation, 

which consists of the geographic locations, interconnectedness, 

and characteristics of roads, railroads, airports, and other associated transportation features. Census data will be used to achieve 

national coverage of road data by December 31, 2008. Twenty 

percent of the Nation will be under active stewardship for 

roads data by December 31, 2008. The National Map will work 

with providers of other transportation data, including airports, 

pipelines, trails, and railroads, to develop nationally maintained 

and integrated geospatial data inventories. Pilot projects will be 

developed in five States to test and implement data exchange 

workflows between State implementations and The National 

Map. Transportation will incorporate Emergency-911 and evacuation-route content in support of disaster response capabilities. 

Downloads are available at http://bpgeo.cr.usgs.gov.

Fiscal year Number of boundaries

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Federal:

2008 NA 150 200 250 600

2009 300 300 300 300 1,200

Counties:

2008 NA NA NA NA 550

2009 NA NA NA NA 750

Fiscal year Number of structures

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

2008 50 100 200 300 650

2009 400 500 500 500 1,900

Figure 4. The National Map data support recovery efforts after 

Hurricane Katrina.
Supporting and Enabling Activities

Supporting and enabling activities make it possible to produce the products and services of The National Map. They include 

partnership activities, improved compatibility of systems, outreach, and integration of data themes. During the 2-year period, 

the following supporting and enabling activities will take place.

Partnerships in Support of Products and Services

Data acquisition efforts, footprints, specifications, and work 

priorities will be aligned with a joint schedule and plans for 

The National Map. USGS Geospatial Liaisons will develop The 

National Map-aligned business plan focused on data inventory, 

discovery, and acquisition for each State by the end of the third 

quarter of 2008. During FY09, 79 (Q1, 5; Q2, 14; Q3, 35; Q4, 25) 

partnerships will be established or revised. Feedback on products 

and services will be collected from partners and customers. The 

USGS Geospatial Liaisons will provide outreach and support for 

The National Map Tactical Plan and its products and services 

through 54 (Q1, 9; Q2, 18; Q3, 16; Q4, 11) presentations to 

regional executive science centers in FY08. A business case analysis in FY09 will evaluate hosting partner data in native format.

Systems in Support of Products and Services

The National Map shared (common) systems Phase I activities in FY08 address immediate needs for products and services. 

Each of the following efforts follows a schedule incorporating a 

statement of need, project plan, requirements, design, acceptance, 

and deployment. The Agreements Management System will be 

completed by December 31, 2008. The Performance Management and Status System will be completed by September 30, 

2008. Portal and User Interface Improvements (Geospatial OneStop and The National Map) will be completed by December 

31, 2008. Data Integration Strategy and Technical Approaches 

will be developed by September 30, 2008. Improvements to The 

National Map Architecture will be made by September 30, 2008. 

During FY08, Phase II requirements will be evaluated and work 

planned for FY09 and beyond. Other system activities include 

Web Mapping Services (WMS), Web Feature Services (WFS), 

Web Coverage Services (WCS), Data Catalogs, a data partnership Marketplace, and Data Theme Status Graphics. A quarterly 

deliverable schedule for systems work is available on request.

Outreach and Communications in Support of Products and 

Services

Accurate and clear communication is important if the geospatial data community is to support the building, maintenance, 

and use of The National Map through partnerships. Activities 

include establishing criteria for comprehensive and specific 

training, workshop, focus group, fact sheet, and promotional 

item requirements; coordinating the theme-driven outreach 

activities with the broader National Geospatial Program activities; ensuring that outreach efforts, as appropriate, are coordinated with the USGS Office of Communications; developing 

an individual life cycle for The National Map fact sheets; and 

crafting specific messages targeted to specific audiences. The 

outreach team will finalize a communication plan during the 

third quarter of FY08. During the fourth quarter the outreach 

team will provide the communication plan to the USGS audience. A feedback mechanism for National Geospatial Program 

Office employees to report successes will be in place by the end 

of the first quarter of FY09, and the National Geospatial Program Office Web site will contain approved briefing materials 

by the end of the second quarter.

Integration of Data Themes in Support of Products and Services

The integration of data is critical to the success of The 

National Map. For national data sets to be readily suited for 

producing integrated data products or for performing sound 

scientific studies, they must be reasonably current and complete, 

nationally consistent, and properly integrated. Horizontal integration within The National Map ensures nationwide seamlessness and consistency within each data theme. Vertical integration ensures that the spatial relationship of features across The 

National Map’s data themes will be the same that those features 

have in the real world or on the ground. The implementation of 

an acceptable data-integration process will require development 

of efficient interactive data editing tools. The edited data must 

be preserved, and mechanisms must also be established to send 

updates made by the USGS back to the authoritative source for 

any particular dataset. An integration team established during 

FY08 is planning for and coordinating the integration of data.

Figure 5. Scientists integrate flowage deposits from 1980 Mount St. 

Helens eruption with base topographic data from The National Map.

Figure 6. Geospatial One-Stop displays The National Map data 

through a map viewer.
Map Products and Services

Scanned 7.5-Minute Topographic Maps

The USGS is making previously published (printed) versions of USGS primary base series topographic maps available 

by scanning the prints and converting the resulting image files 

to high-resolution, georeferenced pdfs. Approximately 3,000 

7.5-minute quadrangles covering the East Coast and Gulf 

Coast States will be scanned and converted to high-resolution, 

georeferenced pdfs by December 31, 2008. Approximately 

250 additional 7.5-minute high-resolution, georeferenced 

pdfs will be created across the United States to support printon-demand for low-selling, out-of-stock quadrangles and a 

to-be-determined quantity of high-resolution, georeferenced 

pdfs from the USGS library in Reston, Va. (early FY08). 

The scanned maps are available through the USGS Store at 

http://store.usgs.gov (click on “Map Locator”).

7.5-Minute Digital Topographic Maps

The National Map will produce 1:24,000-scale georeferenced pdf digital topographic map products from The 

National Map data with contours, hydrography, transportation, 

boundaries, structures, geographic names, and land cover in 

the customary 7.5-minute by 7.5-minute tile-based format. An 

orthoimagery layer can optionally be turned on or off at the click 

of a box. The quality of the digital product will improve as the 

accuracy, currentness, and completeness of the data improve. 

Product specifications will be developed with customer input 

on prototype products received by the end of the first quarter of 

FY09. A streamlined production process will be developed by 

the end of the first quarter of FY09 and 177 quadrangles will be 

produced in the final three quarters of FY09.

Image Maps with Selected Overlays

The National Map will produce orthoimage maps at the 

1:24,000 scale from the best available orthoimagery framed 

with a 7.5-minute by 7.5-minute projection line and with sufficient labels to help orient the user within the image. In priority 

areas, 1,734 1:24,000-scale image maps with selected overlays 

two counties deep (50 miles) along the Atlantic Coast (Florida 

to Delaware) and the Gulf Coast (Florida to Texas) will be produced in FY08 (Q1, 240; Q2, 498; Q3, 498; Q4 498) and 498 in 

the first quarter of FY09, on the basis of written specifications. 

Full automation of image map production will allow image 

maps to be rapidly produced for emergency response needs by 

the end of the first quarter of FY09. An image map standard 

will be approved in the first quarter of FY08, and customer 

feedback on the new product will be gathered during the third 

quarter of FY08, after which the image maps will be prepared 

for release to the public and available at http://store.usgs.gov.

Fiscal year Number of image maps

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

2008 240 498 498 498 1,734

2009 498 NA NA NA 498

Figure 7. Find maps using the Map Locator at the USGS Store.

Figure 8. Cartographer creates contours for a digital map using 

scanning and digital processing.

For more information, contact:

nationalmap@usgs.gov

Comments and Suggestions

“The National Map Tactical Performance Planning Summary for Fiscal 

Years 2008 and 2009” is a dynamic, working document. Your comments and 

suggestions are welcome at http://www.usgs.gov/ngpo/tnm_tacticalplan.html.