----

# *The National Map* - Texas Pilot Project

**Fact Sheet 119-01 (November 2001)**

----

 || The Nation Needs ***The National Map*** || The Texas Pilot Project ||  || More Information About the Texas Project || More Information About *The National Map* || 

----

### The Nation Needs *The National Map*

Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economicand community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safetyservices.  Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information.  Privateindustry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy.

Available geographic data often have the following problems:

- They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revisedseparately,
- They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organizationuses different methods and standards, and
- They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing ***The NationalMap*** to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set ofonline, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues.  ***TheNational Map*** will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using otherdata easily and consistently.

In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteergroups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain basegeographic data.

***The National Map*** will include digital orthorectified imagery;elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features;geographic names; and land cover information.  The data will be the source of revised papertopographic maps.

Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as ***The NationalMap*** is implemented.  To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilotprojects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues.  The pilots are the foundationupon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

|| Top || Main Table of Contents || 

### The Texas Pilot Project

With the maturity of the Texas StratMap program, Texas is a natural choice for a NationalMap pilot.  Texas Natural Resource Information System's (TNRIS) StratMap data holdingscontain most of the data components envisioned as part of ***The NationalMap*** concept.  Texas has already implemented many of the strategies inherent in***The National Map***, such as Web-accessible data (see figure 1) and maintenance partnerships for acquiring data from otherproducers.

The Rocky Mountain Mapping Center's decision to colocate the Texas Area MaintenanceOffice (AMO) with the USGS Water Resources Division (WRD) office in Austin will provideopportunities to explore mutually beneficial relationships with the many partners and cooperatorsof TNRIS and WRD.  These relationships should help foster data sharing partnerships, stimulateexploration of integrated science opportunities, and make the USGS suite of products available toa wider audience.

The primary partner in ***The National Map*** AMO of Texas willbe TNRIS, the State agency that is a subsidiary of the Texas Water Development Board.  TNRISis responsible for building and maintaining StratMap, Texas' Statewide geographic database,which includes primary layers that ***The National Map*** has definedas its base categories, including hydrography, hypsography, transportation, orthoimagery, andboundaries.  Additionally, TNRIS, as the State Earth Science Information Center, can use thispilot to evaluate customer satisfaction as a test bed of ***The NationalMap***products.  TNRIS will cooperate with the USGS to establish a linkagebetween The National Map and StratMap, which will allow the USGS to serve ***TheNational Map*** data and products to customers.

In the building and maintenance of StratMap, TNRIS has developed its own network of State,county, local, and private enterprise partnerships.  There are many geographic information system(GIS) activities at all levels of government and private industry in the State.  In addition, TNRISplans to explore further integration of local datasets into StratMap and to automate updating andmaintenance.  As the USGS/TNRIS relationship grows, it is expected that the USGS will developties to many of these partners as it supports TNRIS wherever possible in facilitating partnershipsin data information gathering, integration and maintenance processes.

In addition to data partnerships resulting from the USGS relationship with TNRIS, it isenvisioned that the USGS will develop partnerships with various other Federal, State, and localagencies, primarily as a result of the colocation partnership with WRD and the USGS formationof the Texas Federal Geography Information Workgroup.  This includes the many organizationsand individuals that are interested in natural resource planning, water quality and availabilityissues, and emergency response work throughout the State.  This will enhance prospects forintegrated science and will allow the USGS to offer its geographic science expertise to facilitatethe study of these issues and other socioeconomic problems.

*Initial National Map Pilot Activities* - An agreement to develop a cooperativepilot project for ***The National Map*** has already been signed withTNRIS.  The initial phase of the Texas pilot, which consists of five high-visibility quadrangles inBrownsville near the Texas-Mexico border, calls for the integration of the StratMap data layers,including transportation data acquired from the Texas Department of Transportation and theLower Rio Grande Development Council.  The purpose of the Texas pilot is to create and storethe data in the StratMap database, link ***The National Map*** to thedata, and serve prototype graphic and digital outputs for the five quadrangles over the Web.  Theresult will be a demonstration of ***The National Map*** dataset,complete with Web user interface and prototype digital and graphic standard products (which maynot be identical to present standard products).  Once connectivity to StratMap data is established,the initial technical interface for ***The National Map*** requirement forthe State of Texas will have been completed.

Another partnership is being implemented with the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment for monitoring the status of economically disadvantaged communities, or colonias,along the U.S.-Mexico border to determine where services should be provided.  The initial testarea will be in Eagle Pass and will involve the integration of local datasets into StratMap forinclusion in ***The National Map***.  TNRIS will also be involved inthis pilot development.

*Next Step in **The National Map*** Pilot - In addition to theBrownsville and Eagle Pass quadrangles, follow-on pilot activities for fiscal year 2002 involveimplementing ***The National Map*** in areas where there are manyGIS activities and local datasets to which StratMap has or will establish data integration linkages. The plan is to expand the scope of initial pilot development activities to allow for the integrationof these local datasets into StratMap, make them available through a Web interface, and developan automated update and maintenance system based on the local data.  A USGS GIS dataspecialist will work with StratMap personnel in the data integration/linkage process and ensurethat integrated or linked data are consistent with ***The NationalMap***.

*Volunteerism* - The opportunity also exists to establish partnership between theUSGS and TNRIS for a volunteer internship program that consists of certified volunteers whocan add updates to ***The National Map*** through StratMap.  This isconsistent with ***The National Map*** vision and will be anopportunity to resolve data quality and validation issues associated with volunteerism.

|| Top || Main Table of Contents || 

### More Information About The Texas Pilot Project

Bill FlynnChief, Texas Area Maintenance Office8027 Exchange DriveAustin, TX  78754Phone:  512-927-3582Email: [email protected]

### More Information About ***The National Map***

We welcome your comments on ***The National Map*** missionand strategies.  You can view and download the full report at  nationalmap.usgs.gov.  Please share your thoughtsabout the vision with the USGS by e-mail at [email protected] or by mail to USGS-National Map, MS 511 National Center, 12201Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA  20192.

Figure 1. TNRIS web site featuring StratMap's National Map of Texasat www.tnris.state.tx.us/digitalquad/demo.htm

| Top | Main Table of Contents| MappingPublications| Eastern Region Geography | Geography Home |

*Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only anddoes not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.  This document has undergone officialreview and approval for publications established by the National Mapping Discipline, U.S.Geological Survey.  Some figures have been modified or added to improve the scientificvisualization of information.*

U.S. Department of the Interior — U.S. Geological Survey — 509 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA **URL:***http://mac.usgs.gov/mac/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs11901.html* — **Contact:**[email protected]**Page Maintainer:** USGS Eastern Region Geography**Last modified:**   09:33:44 Fri 20 Feb 2004 — USGS Privacy Policy and Disclaimers— Accessibility