SWUG Conference ~ 2005
 Park City, Utah
 September 24 - 28, 2005
 Park City Marriott

 
   

  Conference Information
 Main

 Schedule
 Keynote Speakers
 Call For Papers
 Abstracts
 Pre-Conference
 Workshops
 Posters
 ESRI Training
 Exhibitors
 Registration
 Accommodations
 Educator's Conference
 Golf Tournament
  Recreation
 Opportunities
 
 SWUG 2005 Committee
 

 

Park City Area Links

 Park City Chamber of
 Commerce and Visitors
 Bureau
 Park City
 KPCW
 

SWUG 2005 - User Break Out Sessions - Abstracts
September 27 - 28, 2005

As user/vendor presentations are received and accepted a brief abstract of the presentation is posted below.  Please check back often as this page will be updated often.

If you are interested in presenting, please view our "Call For Papers".

User Presentation Schedule - Tentative

Questions: papers@swuggis.org

A Map Critique: Lessons in Cartographic Design
 - Tosca Hoffman, ESRI

Cartography, or map making defined is the combination of art and science. Tie in GIS technology, now we have a tremendous way for you to produce high quality maps. Tying cartographic skills with GIS is essential in map production today.

In this session, you will be able to sharpen your skills while we review and critique the design of maps for characteristics such as visual balance, display techniques, color theory, symbology, scale, visualization and others. These are “need-to-know” topics for producing credible and useful maps.

Using the Geodatabase
 - Tosca Hoffman, ESRI

The Geodatabase is the native geospatial data format used with ArcGIS applications, ArcCatalog and ArcMap. It is a 4 dimensional data model with additional properties to ensure spatial and attribute integrity. There are 2 types of Geodatabases, the Personal Geodatabase and the Enterprise (ArcSDE) Geodatabase. The 2 different types provide users different levels of storage options and management. This session will cover the properties of the Geodatabase format:

  • Spatial Properties:
    • Spatial Domain
    • Precision
    • Topology
    • Geometric Networks
  • Attributed Properties:
    • Domains
    • Subtypes
    • Relationship Classes

Also, differences between the Personal and Enterprise Geodatabase storage parameters and functionality will be addressed, as well as, data/schema transfer (importing and exporting) using XML.

Metadata-Ensuring Data Quality
  - Tosca Hoffman, ESRI

Today, maintaining Metadata is a necessary task in GIS workflow. ArcCatalog has a Metadata Manager and other metadata tools providing ESRI end-users an organized and succinct way to create, manage and maintain high quality metadata. With the Metadata Manager, ESRI offers compliance with the FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards for GIS metadata.

Also, ESRI stores metadata via XML, an excellent format for sharing and sending metadata digitally. Proper stewardship of metadata is paramount. This session will cover the tools and methods you can use to ensure you have high data quality for your organization, including providing it to others.

ArcGIS Developer: Advanced ArcGIS Desktop Development
 - Jeremiah Lindermann, ESRI

The ArcGIS Desktop applications can be extended in many ways by developers who choose to write custom components using ArcObjects and plug them into the application framework. This session intends to give developers an inside look at the application framework and show them how the framework can be extended by writing their own custom components such as commands, toolbars, menus, extensions and windows. The demonstrations will be performed in programming languages such as VB6, VB.Net and C#.Net.

Audience: ArcGIS developers interested in building custom components and extensions or VBA ArcObjects users interested in porting their VBA code to compiled components.

Prerequisites: Some familiarity with the ArcGIS Desktop applications and COM programming is suggested.

ArcGIS Developer: Building and Deploying ArcGIS Engine Applications
 - Jeremiah Lindermann, ESRI

The ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit can be used to build and deploy a wide range of light-weight, highly functional GIS applications. The ArcGIS Engine framework includes a rich set of components that developers can use to build these types of applications quickly and effectively. This session covers how to leverage the framework components to build and license applications. It covers how to work with the developer controls such as the MapControl, GlobeControl, ToolbarControl and TOCControl and how to customize and extend these controls for specific use case scenarios. It will also illustrate the various techniques available to license ArcGIS Engine applications at runtime and what the end user needs to run ArcGIS Engine applications. Demonstrations will be in VB.Net, C#.Net and Java.

Audience: ArcGIS developers interested in building custom deployable applications or VBA ArcObjects users interested incorporating their VBA code into ArcGIS Engine applications.

Prerequisites: Some familiarity with the ArcGIS Desktop applications and COM programming is suggested.

Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center: Operations & GIS Implementation in a large 9-1-1 Call Center
 - Joe Borgione, VECC

Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center (VECC) is the largest 9-1-1 call center in the State of Utah, averaging 2000 9-1-1 calls per day. Serving a large portion of Salt Lake County, VECC dispatches police, fire and emergency medical response for multiple agencies along the Wasatch Front.

Deploying SDE technology, VECC coordinates the maintenance of a street centerline feature class for the dispatch area. Cities that fall under the VECC umbrella remotely logon the VECC server to edit data for their own city; edits include geometry and a host of attributes. The data are then uploaded into the VECC computer aided dispatch (the other CAD) system. As a result of this effort, call response has improved dramatically.

Various aspects of GIS/CAD coupling are discussed as well as lessons learned along the way.

GPS on the cheap: Using consumer grade hand held GPS receivers to develop reasonably accurate and very affordable GIS data.
 - Joe Borgione, VECC

The advent of affordable, consumer grade GPS receivers as well as available freeware provides GIS users an alternative to expensive, mapping grade or survey grade GPS units. While accuracy is limited to about 3 meters, there are many applications where such accuracy is acceptable.

Using the popular DNRGarmin software and the ESRI GPS Support module to interface between a handheld GPS receiver and a PC or ArcGIS directly, users can gather and create point and line features easily. For those users who do not require high accuracy data for their applications, or novice users exploring available technology, this presentation provides an understanding of what is available.

An Example of Creating and Editing Parcels in Lake County, Colorado using ESRI's ArcGIS 9 and the Parcel Data Model.
 - Willy Lynch, ESRI

Digital parcel data for a small portion of Lake County, Colorado has been created using ESRI's ArcGIS 9 software. Due to a variety of complexities including the unsurveyed nature of the PLSS framework and a complex overlapping network of patented mining claims, the area of interest had not been previously digitally mapped. New data was created in a personal geodatabase modified from the published ESRI "Parcel Data Model". A parcel editing workflow of COGO line creation followed by line adjustments and subsequent creation of the parcel polygons was effective in quickly creating a consistent and accurate parcel framework
 

An Example of Adjusting Parcel Data in Clear Creek County, Colorado using ESRI's ArcGIS 9
 - Willy Lynch, ESRI

Assessor parcel data is often of excellent quality to show the relative positions and relationships of parcels but the absolute accuracy of the data is often deficient due to the lack of local survey data. With the availability of low-cost mapping grade GPS data, GPS "land positions" can be quickly acquired with an accuracy of +/- 1 to 3 feet and these locations can be utilized to adjust and increase the absolute accuracy of parcel data. Existing parcel data for a small portion of Clear Creek County, Colorado has been adjusted using ESRI ArcGIS 9 software utilizing GPS land positions created from post processed GPS data and the GPS Analyst extension.

Managing a GIS
 - Bart Killpack, ESRI

This workshop will focus on departmental strategies, planning, human resources, workflow and automation, software tools and components, and development considerations relating to GIS implementations. This workshop is directed at GIS managers. Program will include:

  • Mission and objectives
  • Guidelines for strategies and tactics
  • Human resources, training and development
  • System designs that meet your objectives
  • Workflow and Automation
  • Development considerations

Attendees should leave this workshop with a working knowledge of the key elements in managing a successful GIS implementation.

Enterprise GIS Management Strategies
 - Bart Killpack, ESRI

This workshop will focus on technical terminology, software tools and components, development considerations and computing trends relating to Enterprise GIS implementations. This workshop is directed at GIS managers who are planning an Enterprise GIS system, or are looking for a discussion forum on the topic. Program will include:

  • Guidelines for system design / system architectures
  • GIS development
  • Web Development / Web Services
  • Spatial Databases
  • Workflow and Automation

Attendees should leave this workshop with a working knowledge of trends, software components and considerations for developing a complete enterprise GIS. Real world implementations will be referenced.

Creating Mobile GIS Solutions for the Non-GIS Mobile Workforce
 - Ryan Pierson, Electronic Data Solutions

Mobile GIS solutions that integrate various corporate database management systems are now a reality with ESRI technology. These custom solutions streamline the workflow of the mobile workforce and provide more timely and accurate data to the enterprise. Ada County Idaho (Boise) recently deployed new Mobile GIS technology developed around the ESRI ArcPad software platform. Twenty field workers have replaced clipboards, paper map books, laptop computers, and GPS with a single mobile field computer and the ArcPad software solution. This ArcPad application updates and maintains the County GeoDatabase but also updates and maintains the County AS400 Billing and Work Order Management System vital to the economic viability of Ada County. This presentation will highlight the methodology and technology deployed to the Ada County workforce that drastically increased operational efficiency. Particular attention will be devoted to the tools that automated many Mobile GIS operations making this solution ideal for the non-GIS field operators. The presentation will culminate with a live demonstration of the Mobile GIS tools developed for the Ada County field personnel.

Protecting Lives and Property using Spatial Information
Successful Mobile Mapping - It is ALL about the Interface
   - Lynnette Terrett, Director of Spatial Technologies, National Geographic Maps

The use of spatial information is one of the key critical components in the deployment of resources, manpower and equipment to prepare and fight nature’s fury.

Experience a first hand tour of spatial data capture and exchange applications which simplify the process of collecting and disseminating information for projects as challenging as: Wildland Urban Interface Hazard identification, Real-time Fire Mapping, Emergency Response, Vector Control and Asset Inspections.

Examples will reveal the importance of designing a simple interface for non-GIS personnel to enable the acquisition and sharing of quality data. The discussion will include a brief overview of PDA, Pen Tablets and Web mobility platforms to support decisions, interoperability and enhance enterprise-wide data currency.

Who Says “You Can’t Take It with You” – Performing Appraisals in a Mobile Environment
   - Cindy Braddock, Boulder County Assessor’s Office, Boulder, CO
   - Bill Campbel, Farragut Systems, Inc., Lafayette, CO

Because of technological limitations, the deployment of mobile solutions for the appraisal industry has largely been restricted to simple data collection activities. Limitations have included lack of computing power, poor screen technology, and problems with ergonomics. Recent advances in hardware and software, however, have increased the potential usability of these systems.

In order to take advantage of these new technologies, Wake County (NC) initiated an effort to move appraisal functions into the field. The intent is to allow appraisers to perform a physical appraisal “at the curb”, thus increasing accuracy and reducing the need for multiple site visits. This deployed technology will feature a fully functional CAMA system integrated with GIS, and builds upon an existing CAMA upgrade that is currently in progress. A prototype of the mobile application has been deployed and development of the actual system is underway. In addition to Wake County, other technology-savvy counties such as Boulder County (CO), are also evaluating the technology and plan on implementing similar solutions.

This presentation will discuss the system implementation rationale, technological impacts of moving appraisal functions into the field, deployment and development issues, and benefits of the system. In addition, we will present and discuss the potential impacts to business processes that may occur as a result of deploying this type of mobile technology

The National Geodetic Survey – an Overview of Products and Services
   - William Stone, National Geodetic Survey, Albuquerque, NM

This presentation will provide an overview of the varied products and services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS), with a focus on offerings that are of particular interest to GIS practitioners. NGS’ primary responsibility is to provide the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), which serves as the common and consistent positional framework allowing geographic data from disparate sources to be brought together and analyzed meaningfully. The current status and forthcoming developments of the NSRS will be presented. Global Positioning System (GPS)–related utilities such as the nationwide network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations and the Online Positioning User Service play a major role in the modernization of the NSRS and will be described. Other geodetic data offerings and services available through the NGS website (www.ngs.noaa.gov) will be discussed.

Business Process Analysis - How to Leverage This Tool to Ease IT Implementations.
   - Bill Campbel, Farragut Systems, Inc., Lafayette, CO.

Business process analysis is often thought of as a dry subject. It's used to identify inefficiencies in a process, define how a process can be changed, and how IT tools can be used to affect these changes. This paper adds a spin on this by using business process analysis as a way to involve potential users and built support for IT implementations. We will discuss how conduct the analysis in a group setting and how to identify user needs and system requirements. The key is to give users a sense of ownership right from the beginning of the project. This paper explores IT implementation strategies and examines some real world examples.

Extend the ArcGIS Environment into the Field with Mobile Matrix
   - Barbara McInerney, Leica Geosystems Inc.

Eliminate the need for field data file conversions; collect data directly in your geodatabase. Mobile Matrix field software (MMX) from Leica Geosystems is based on the latest OEM containing ArcGIS and the Survey Analyst from ESRI and has been developed for seamless dataflow between the field and the office. It was designed specially for the needs of GIS data collectors and field surveyors by extending the ArcGIS environment to the field. MMX software allows for the interactive collection and visualization of field data such as computed coordinates, quality information and imagery directly in the geodatabase format. It is a natural solution for agencies working with an ESRI enterprise database in the office and a variety of GPS and TPS systems in the field. Data is disconnected from the network environment with the ability in the field for collection and design using the checked out features. MMX software is suitable for:

  • Geodesy and Land Surveying
  • Urban and Regional Mapping
  • Cadastral
  • Public Safety
  • Forestry and geologic mapping
  • Agricultural Mapping
  • Archaeology
  • Construction Industry
  • Environmental Data collection
  • Traffic Infrastructure
  • Photogrammetric Completion
  • Utility market and Power Supply Industry

Join us for this session to learn how MMX can simplify your workflows by eliminating the need for data file conversions and by supporting a variety of GPS and TPS (Total Stations) in the field using the same software in an ESRI format.

GPS Analyst - Trimble’s new extension for ESRI’s ArcGIS
   - Thomas Wussow, GPS/GIS Solutions, Monsen Engineering Inc.

This presentation will start by showing the toolbar and the tools available in GPS Analyst. Some key features, such as, viewing, editing and analyzing GPS data directly in ArcMap will be discussed. An explanation of the post-processing will also be given. It will discuss the fact that GPS Analyst gives the ability to store metadata of all of the GPS information that is associated with the data collected. One of the main features of GPS Analyst is the fact that GPS data can be collected directly into a Geodatabase – which means that the power of the Geodatabase and ArcGIS can be used out in the field. The presentation will conclude with a summary of the benefits of the use of GPS Analyst, along with a demonstration of the workflow of data collection with the use of GPS Analyst. During that explanation the differences and benefits of using this product as apposed to Pathfinder office will be discussed.

Building a Multivariate History icon for Traffic Accidents.
   - Kevin Bell, GIS Technician II, Salt Lake City Transportation

A multilayer icon was developed enabling transportation engineers to visually extract traffic accident history for all major intersections in Salt Lake City. At a glance, one may graphically see descriptive statistics for traffic accident rates, and the severity of the accidents per location. The icon was built from datasets that required custom programming and extensive use of ESRI's Model Builder. In order to normalize accident frequency by traffic volumes, our traffic volume database was used in conjunction with the accident event database. Through extensive use VBScript and XML tags, complex labeling augments the visual components of the icon. Having mature databases for traffic data has set the stage for more exploratory work. By massaging code borrowed from the NOAA into a personal geodatabase module, sun angles were derived for each accident and a vector was generated from the accident position to the sun. The Line of Sight of each vector was analyzed against a DEM built from LIDAR of the city, and the NED for the surrounding mountainous areas. Returning all accidents with a clear line of sight to the sun, and angles of 20 degrees or less, we've been able to estimate the percentage of traffic accidents that occur under glare conditions. Future work will correlate glare accidents with tree canopy size and type with interest in using strategic tree planting for glare accident mitigation.  Software: ESRI ArcInfo Desktop with Spatial Analyst, VB/VBA/VBScript.

Managing TimeSeries Data for Water Resources Applications in ArcGIS
   - Michael J. Blongewicz, Senior GIS Specialist, DHI, Inc.

In many various water resource projects, hundreds of megabytes of time series data can be required and is easily created. Managing all of this data, and using this data in association with spatial features within ArcGIS and a geodatabase requires some planning and organization. This presentation outlines considerations when needing to manage time series data with a geodatabase and focuses on the organizational mechanisms and applications that are available. It also will illustrate how this organization provides a logical structure for using the time series data in a variety of water resource applications inside of ArcGIS.

Cheatgrass: Detecting Invasive Species within Northwest Utah using Remote Sensing
   - Anthony Quarm
   - Shoshana Risman
   - Thomas Glennon
   - Mahdi Ashktorab
   - Casey Cleve
   - Cindy Shmidt
   - Dr. Jay Skiles
   - DEVELOP Program, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

In 2000, Utah State University (USU) began a project as part of the SWReGAP group, to utilize field measurements with NDVI images derived from MODIS data to model changes of Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) coverage from the 2000 growing season to the 2001 growing season. The NASA DEVLOP team replicated these methods for 2004 and 2005 growing season. A percent coverage map for cheatgrass has been derived from presence and absence points from the new Southwest ReGAP data set using a customized regression model (CART). The NASA DEVELOP team developed a field validation method for the percent coverage map, as well as a means of estimating invasive species density utilizing MODIS data. A three-part accuracy assessment was performed on the predictive coverage maps. The method and results for this study yielded a higher accuracy compared to similar studies; as a result, recommendations were made for improvements to the modeling process.

The Fountain Creek Watershed Study: A Showcase of GIS Technology Or Why the Engineers and Environmental Scientists Can’t Live Without GIS
   - Rich Chamberlain, GISP GIS Marketing Leader, Staff GIS Specialist, URS Corporation

The Fountain Creek watershed covers 927 square miles of east-central Colorado and includes the cities of Colorado Springs and Pueblo. URS is over halfway through a multi-year study of the watershed for the Albuquerque District of the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE).

The Fountain Creek Watershed Study has two chief tasks. The environmental baseline task studies various environmental resources (wetlands, planned developments, threatened and endangered species, etc.) and provides an assessment of their current condition. The engineering task includes GIS-based hydrologic and hydraulic watershed modeling as well as geomorphologic analyses of selected reaches within the watershed. The results of the watershed modeling will provide a comprehensive analysis of stream flows within the watershed for both the current and future (2020-2030) time periods. The results of the geomorphology study will help the Corps and local sponsors determine which reaches are subject to increased flooding, erosion, and sedimentation today and in the future.

This presentation will briefly discuss the initial results of the environmental task and then focus on the preliminary results of the hydrologic modeling and geomorphology tasks. Specific topics to be discussed are listed below:

  • A general background on the watershed and why it’s being studied. Some of the chief environmental and cultural issues will be discussed.
  • A brief discussion of the initial results of the environmental assessment task with an emphasis on the data sets created and GIS technologies used such as ArcSDE and ArcIMS.
  • A brief explanation of the hydrologic modeling results for current and future time periods. Relevant data sets will be displayed using GIS. Map automation using a custom-built VB application will be profiled.
  • A summary of the GIS-based tasks and preliminary results of the geomorphology study:
    • Acquisition and rectification of historic aerial photos to create a 50-year baseline data set for the geomorphology work.
    • Creation of a custom personal geodatabase to assist with heads-up data collection for geomorphology features.
    • A quick “snapshot” of the geomorphologic data that’s being collected.
  • A live GIS demo of preliminary geomorphology results:
    • How have certain reaches changed over the last 50 years?
    • How have erosion and deposition areas changed in extent and location?
    • How has increased development within the watershed impacted reaches?

Developing a Safe Walking Route Application Using ArcGIS 9.1 Network Analyst
   - Kevin Sato, Murray City GIS Administrator

I found the ArcGIS 9.1 Network Analyst extension to be very powerful and easy to use. If you have a good topologically correct Street Centerline data set you can combine it with other data to develop fun and powerful applications. In this session I will discuss how I developed a simple Safe Walking Route Application for Murray City. Topics of discussion include:

  • application methodology
  • data used
  • using ArcGIS 9.1 Network Analyst
  • the future - complexities of a Pedestrian application and ideas on how to solve them

Bringing GIS to your Community through Education
   - Kevin Sato, Murray City GIS Administrator

As a GIS professional there are a number of ways for you to help bring GIS technology to your community by volunteering to help bring GIS into the K-12 environment. Topics of discussion include:

  • the UGIC Educator Mentor program
  • some general thoughts on how to be a good Educator Mentor
  • an example GIS day activity for Elementary School classes
  • an open discussion - sharing of thoughts and other ideas

Do I really know where you are? Real world address data problems and possible solutions
   - Kevin Sato, Murray City GIS Administrator

Murray City had what we considered a very good address ranged street centerline data set. However, over the past year our data has been used along with other Salt Lake County Municipalities by the Valley Emergency Communications Center (VECC) to dispatch Emergency Services calls. In several instances we found “addresses” that did not fit the norm and did not or could not be accurately described by our data. In this session we will examine these “Real World” address issues and the solutions employed to accurately model them.

UGIC Update - What are we doing? Where do we go from here?
   - UGIC Board

Come and meet with some of your UGIC Board members in an informal open discussion. Find out what initiatives UGIC is involved in and the status of those initiatives. Let us know what you think UGIC should or shouldn’t be doing to promote the use of GIS technologies in the State of Utah. Help us to formulate the initiatives that will make UGIC a more successful organization.

GIS Data Management Examples with Modelbuilder and Python
   - Bert Granberg, Utah AGRC

This presentation will look at several case examples that use the geoprocessing capability within the ModelBuilder and Python scripting environments to manage GIS data. The examples come from real world problems that AGRC has tackled in recent months including: updating an SDE database nightly from a local MS-Access database, creating and zipping file-based products from SDE database, etc. We'll look at some of the restrictions in the current Model Builder environment; how, when, and why to move your models into python; how to creating basic looping structures; good reference resources, and other considerations.

SouthWest Data Center’s Data Integration Project
   - Randy McBride, SWDC and Eric Svensen, City of Montrose

The Data Integration Project is a regional collaborative effort to integrate maintained GIS data across political and organizational boundaries and provide a means for public Internet access to such data. The SouthWest Data Center, Inc. (SWDC), as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation, is the developer, coordinator and maintainer of the Data Integration Project. Within a six county region of western Colorado, local governments and federal agencies provide maintained data to the project on an ongoing basis. This paper will look at the history of the project, how it is maintained, and where we see it going in the future.

Addressing Ordinance & Policy – Tales from the Grid
   - Don J. Wood – Wasatch County, Utah

Wasatch County has been working for years to develop and test an addressing ordinance/policy that works for Wasatch County.  Addressing at face value seems to be a fairly simple task so long as you pay attention to the details.  However, addressing can also have unseen political challenges and can generate tremendous emotional issues. Wasatch County is nearing the end of ordinance development and pilot project process and is quickly implementing what we have learned. This presentation will document the experiences of Wasatch County throughout this process and discuss the lessons learned.  It is hoped that this presentation will involve the exchange of ideas between the presenter and the audience.

An Example of Ridgeline/View Shed Analysis from both Wasatch County and Midway Utah
   - Don J. Wood – Wasatch County, Utah

Wasatch County and Midway City are surrounded by the mountains of the Wasatch Front and Uintah Basin and yet are with 50 minutes of the Salt Lake and Provo metropolitan areas. Development pressures are increasing in the mountainous regions of both entities. Both the County and the City have adopted ridgeline ordinances requiring the County’s GIS department to perform visual assessment models on ridgeline developments.  Examples of the different ordinances and the analysis performed for each will be given. The analysis platform includes ESRI’s 3D Analyst, Workstation - Grid, and ArcDesktop.

AZSITE: Arizona’s Cultural Resource Inventory - Moving Toward a Complete GIS
   - Rick Karl, Arizona State Museum

After over a century of data collection and more than 10 years of data consolidation, AZSITE and the State of Arizona can see the light at the end of the GIS Tunnel. AZSITE has taken distributed paper records and various electronic versions of the same data and organized them into a centralized cultural resource inventory for the State of Arizona. From initial in-the-field data capture, electronic site number request, electronic submission, internet record searches, and web application resource and inventory updates, AZSITE is nearing complete functionality as a Geographic Information System that servers to protect and preserve the cultural resources of Arizona.

Getting the Most Out of ArcIMS, the HTML Viewer, and the ArcIMS ArcMap Server
Dominick Cisson – Arapahoe County Information Technology, CO

ESRI’s Internet Map server, or ArcIMS, has been available for almost a decade and since its initial release at Version 3.0, has changed very little. It has become the de facto platform for serving map data over the Internet for ESRI users, and its out-of-the-box, “quick setup” HTML Viewer is instantly recognizable. Over time, the user community has generated a wealth of add-ons, tweaks, and even hacks to improve upon or compensate for ArcIMS’s performance.

At Arapahoe County, when asked to update our ESRI-standard HTML viewer that had been in service for many years, we wanted to develop upon what we already had, but make it much more feature-rich and user friendly. We decided to use ESRI’s best IMS imaging technology, ArcMap Server, and marry it with a map browser that incorporated the best fixes, enhancements, and even hacks that were available from the user community at large. The end result (that is still evolving) is an Internet Map browser that is more than the sum of its parts, and has replaced the need for ArcReader or even ArcView for some users in the County.

Throughout the project, we had to overcome some of the unique technical limitations of the ArcMap server, as well as the inherent limitations of an HTML/JavaScript only browser. This presentation will highlight many of the enhancements to the HTML browser, and how they were implemented. It will also highlight the many benefits as well as the limitations of the ArcMap image server, and how to compensate for them where possible.

Travel Modeling and GIS, Linking Two Tools
Matt Riffkin and Thomas McMurtry – InterPlan Co.

A travel demand model is a tool that traffic engineers, modelers, transportation planners, and others use to test future traffic congestion on a road network. Most Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) have a travel model for their county or region. Travel models vary in their format, but most use the standard 4 step method of trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and assignment. These four steps are carried out over a road network of links and nodes.

Using the travel model as a tool and the road network as the interface, data can be exported from the model and imported into GIS. Using GIS to manipulate and display the spatial data from the travel model makes it come alive. GIS maps which can be created from the travel model include: traffic volume maps, level of service maps, travel time maps, number of lanes maps, and others.

The travel model uses Citilabs software including Cube Base and Cube Voyager. ESRI’s ArcDesktop including ArcMap is used in the GIS analysis.

GIS for Humanitarian Projects in Mexico
Joel Bradford, Assistant Professor Environmental Management, Utah Valley State College

Tamaula is a small Mexican village in the state of Guanajuato. For the last six years the author has been taking students and volunteers to work on humanitarian projects in the village. The students have been working to bring clean water to the village, improve the indoor air quality for the women by building stoves from adobe, build clinics and schools and improve the economy through sustainable development projects. The author is currently using ArcGIS 9 to establish well sites in the village, track economic data, land control, crop yields, and women’s health. The data is tied to aerial photos and AutoCAD vector data provided by the Mexican government, census data provided by ChoiceHumanitarian and GPS data gathered by UVSC students. The author currently teaches Environmental GIS/GPS at UVSC. and is a graduate student in Anthropology at the University of Utah.

Programmatically Modifying Features with VBA in ArcGIS 9: Creating Contiguous Cartograms
Eric Wolf, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Moving buttons and modifying menus are common customizations in the ArcGIS Desktop environment. The Visual Basic for Applications also allows the programmer to get "down and dirty" with features, creating new feature classes, copying features from one class to another, and modifying the polygons. A script to generate contiguous cartograms in ArcGIS 9 will be presented along with a review of some of the programming challenges encountered.

Software: ArcGIS Desktop 9 (ArcEditor license)

Microsoft SQL 2005 Overview:
Derek Baines, Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a next-generation data management and analysis solution that delivers increased security, scalability, and availability to organization data and analytical applications, while making them easier to build, deploy, and manage.

Building on the strengths of SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 provides an integrated data management and analysis solution that will help organizations of any size to:

  • Build, deploy, and manage enterprise applications that are more secure, scalable, and reliable.
  • Maximize Information Technology productivity by reducing the complexity of building, deploying, and managing database applications.
  • Share data across multiple platforms, applications, and devices to make it easier to connect internal and external systems.
  • Control costs without sacrificing performance, availability, scalability, or security.

Microsoft SQL Reporting Services Overview:
Derek Baines, Microsoft Corporation

Organizations need to extend information beyond the walls of their organization and seamlessly interact with citizens/customers, partners, and suppliers in real time. Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services enables organizations to transform valuable enterprise data into shared information for insightful, timely decisions at a lower total cost of ownership.

SQL Server Reporting Services is a comprehensive, server-based solution that enables the creation, management, and delivery of both traditional, paper-oriented reports and interactive, Web-based reports. An integrated part of the Microsoft business intelligence framework, Reporting Services combines the data management capabilities of SQL Server and Microsoft Windows Server with familiar and powerful Microsoft Office System applications to deliver real-time information to support daily operations and drive decisions.

LIDAR Terrain and Vegetation Modeling in Wyoming
Mike Price, Entrada/San Juan, Inc.

In 2004, The US Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) sponsored collection of LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) terrain data and imagery in central Wyoming. LIDAR data was acquired and processed by Sanborn Map Company Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. The data is available for testing and modeling through a cooperative agreement between NRCS and Firewise Communities.

LIDAR has many advantages over traditional terrain data collection methods. It is accurate, quick, cost-effective, and defines intermediate surfaces including treetops, buildings, power lines, and fences. Stereo compilers may selectively collect a limited number of points per hour from photography, whereas LIDAR allows the real-time accumulation of tens of thousands of points per second. The data are quickly available for DEM generation and topographic mapping. LIDAR analyses repeated over time provide excellent tools for mapping and analyzing change.

This presentation reviews the LIDAR method, including data collection, processing, and modeling. Terrain synthesis, vegetative cover analysis, cultural feature extraction, and fluvial geomorphologic synthesis are demonstrated. Examples of raw and interpreted surfaces near Story, WY and on Casper Mountain, WY will be presented. Uses and applications of LIDAR in the Wildland/Urban Interface and in natural resources industries and are discussed.

Hi-Tech in the Wild West
John Flahie, Dave Vaughn, and Mike Price

Using GIS technology to map and understand the Wildland/Urban Interface at Castle Valley, UT
Facing challenges of emergency services infrastructure development in a rural area of Southeast Utah, the community of Castle Valley has joined with Federal and State land management agencies to create a comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan. Guided by Geographic Information Systems (GIS), planning incorporates granted software, loaned Global Positioning System hardware, and computers owned by members of the town’s all-volunteer fire department.

Volunteers survey their town for wildfire hazards using the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard 1144 - Standard for Protection of Life and Property from Wildfire (2002), assigning numerical scores for threats to life and property from fire. Access and egress points, types of building construction and building locations, utility services, topography, vegetation and fuels, and survivable/defensible space are mapped. Firefighters collect and score field data with a Trimble GeoExplorer 3 GPS unit. They import data into ESRI’s ArcView software and build dynamic maps to plan hazard reduction projects and develop operational fire fighting strategies.

Castle Valley is nationally recognized by NFPA as a Firewise/USA Community, a Firewise ArcView, and a Firewise FEMA/HAZUS community. This presentation summarizes processes used by volunteers to capture and build data sets, model WUI data, and guide community and regional emergency planning and preparedness.

We want to have a GIS, how do I do that?
Matthew P. Hirst, P.E., Caldwell Richards Sorensen

For over 15 years, Caldwell Richard Sorensen has been assisting cities, municipal special improvement districts, and private agencies to plan for and develop GIS programs. Mr. Hirst will explain his approach of sorting through old data and paper information and working with employees to capture critical information. He assists these groups in transitioning from paper maps and retiring employees to running a self sustaining GIS program by training employees to use the information and to pass the skills to new employees. Key GIS beginning questions will be answered such as: What information is valuable? There is so much to do, how do I keep from being overwhelmed? What kind of timetable can I expect? How much will this cost? New GIS managers find that older employees often feel alienated due to the mysterious new software and will not use or trust they data in the GIS. By contrast, the younger employees adapt very quickly to the GIS software, but believe everything they see on screen. Mr. Hirst will explain how specific training for both older and younger employees helps to bridge the technology generation gap. Mr. Hirst will touch upon how GIS utility mapping aided in such projects as the Legacy Highway. This final topic will offer a perspective for those trying to decide if GIS will be valuable to their organization. Mr. Hirst will explore how GIS aided municipal agencies affected by Legacy Highway to identify utility conflicts for the new highway construction and tracked system changes from utility relocation.

Utility Systems & GIS for UDOT Relocation
Matthew P. Hirst, P.E., Caldwell Richards Sorensen

As Utah continues to grow, public utility system operators will face the challenges of displacement and relocation of their facilities to new highway and surface rail transportation projects. The demands to relocate existing facilities to accommodate these transportation project designs can be a utility operator's nightmare. Such utility relocations are often restricted to densely populated utility corridors, to be shared with various other utilities including: telecommunication lines, sewer, storm drainage, gas, petroleum, power, and irrigation.  Participants will gain an understanding of how GIS Technology will aid with utility coordination, design, and field construction methods used to squeeze utilities into crowded rights-of-way.

What are your rights as a utility system operator when UDOT, UTA, or other surface transportation agencies require relocation to fit their geometric surface transportation design changes? How can GIS help you manage to operate and maintain sanity through the course of a design-build highway project? Can GIS help track the improvements? Allof these questions and more to be addressed, as CRS brings its' experience to bear from the recent Legacy Highway, Shepard Lane design-build, and the impending Commuter Rail projects. Mr. Hirst and CRS worked as a project utility coordinators and relocation designers working for UDOT and FAK, LLC to successfully accomplish these projects.

Enhancing LIDAR Surfaces with 2D+ or 3D Breaklines. What is Your Requirement?
Torin Haskell,

LIDAR is quickly becoming the dominant technology for terrain modeling. It is common for models derived from LIDAR to utilize breaklines to supplement bare earth classified returns in the final terrain model. The amount of breaklines and the technology utilized to develop breaklines can dramatically affect the cost and accuracy of the terrain model. This presentation will discuss 2D and 3D breakline approaches, the cost impact of each approach, and the accuracy implications thereof.

Get It All
Tom McGovern, Immersive Media, Inc.

Tom McGovern explains how the Telemmersion System quickly captures a complete spherical video to create a photorealistic environment. Learn how emergency planners can monitor activities, persons of interest, and plan evacuation routes from live or recorded immersive videos. Likewise for planning and asset management, an operator can move the Telemmersion System through a location and capture omnidirectional video. This imagery may be recorded in combination with metadata and can be integrated with ESRI’s ArcGIS to provide decision makers with a terrestrial perspective of the environment.

Take the Plunge
Tom McGovern, Immersive Media, Inc.

Experience an immersive environment with a walk through of the newly opened WWII Memorial or a drive along the streets of Washington, DC. Tom McGovern will demonstrate IMC’s ArcGIS extension that enables you to combine aerial photography, metadata and immersive video placing you in the middle of a situation that you can assess frame by frame and from every angle.

NHD Updates
Cindy Clark, Utah AGRC

The NHD (National Hydrograph Dataset) for Utah has now been put into a personal Geodatabase. It is accessible at the NHD website. Learn how to download and use the new NHD in ArcGIS. Also learn how Utah will be the lead in the national maintenance program as the first state to do photo-revision maintenance on the Provo Sub-basin. Also learn the procedure for all errors or updates you find while working with the NHD. It was never said that this would be a perfect dataset. The AGRC is intending to make this a dynamic dataset that will be up to date and accurate. With your help, Utah will have the most accurate NHD data in the country.

Utilizing NILS for your Cadastral and Parcel Mapping needs
Leslie Cone, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management

In 1998, the BLM initiated efforts to build an automated land system to assist in managing the lands within the BLM stewardship and for the distribution of a national cadastre. This system is called the National Integrated Land System (NILS) and consists of four custom GIS applications; Survey Management, Measurement Management, Parcel Management and GeoCommunicator. Learn how surveyors use GIS tools for importing, analyzing, and manipulating survey data to create a measurement network and a legal description fabric. This legal description fabric is the foundation for defining land parcels such as leases, mining claims, planning areas, title transfers, etc. The survey and parcel data are vertically integrated to maintain accuracy and high quality maps. GeoCommunicator is an Internet mapping website for downloading and streaming the PLSS data from NILS, and includes three live Internet mapping applications. The applications provide all levels of government and the public with easy-to-use live mapping services to access, query, and display PLSS, land and mineral use authorizations, mining claims, and federal surface management agency boundaries.

Zoning in the City – Panel Discussion
Bob Nagel – State AGRC, Sara McArthur – South Jordan City, Matt Jarman – West Jordan City

Zoning polices and procedures on a local level are as numerous as the cities that maintain them. With the passing of Utah State Senate Bill 60, consistent zoning practices become highly desirable. This discussion will examine the variety of methods currently in place in administering and maintaining zoning information at a local level. AGRC will also discuss their needs and practices regarding Senate Bill 60.

Data for the Masses
Matt Jarman – West Jordan City

Many tools are available for the collection of GIS data. This data often resides on servers or local machines within a GIS department. How do we make this information available to those within (or without) the organization? How do they know what is available? Are there best practices or models? What are the advantages of ArcIMS, ArcReader, and others? This discussion will give some examples of ways to get the information to those who need to know. Please come prepared with ideas or schemes that you have implemented in your organization. This is an opportunity to share what you have done and learn from the experience of your colleagues.

GIS Project Requests: An Access Tool to Prioritize, Manage, Archive, and Analyze GIS Production
Elena Robisch, GIS Program Manager, Zion National Park, National Park and
Chris Dietrich, Information Management Specialist, Colorado State University

At Zion National Park, the GIS department provides services to programs within Resource Management and Research, Fire and Aviation, Maintenance, Law Enforcement, Interpretation, etc., as well as to two smaller park units, Cedar Breaks and Pipe Spring National Monuments. Prioritizing and tracking a large number of GIS project requests from such diverse sources can become a logistical nightmare without an effective project management system. We have developed an Access database to manage four aspects of each project: project status (date requested/needed, staff assignments, completion, location on the computer network, etc.) metadata status (initiation, completion and posting), outputs (number of copies and their formats) and backups (necessity, completion, location). Because we can use the database to demonstrate the sources and number of project requests, it has become a valuable tool for negotiating financial support for the GIS department from other programs. The database is also useful for evaluating GIS department performance and has become an integral part of Zion’s GIS project management system.

Ogden City Enterprise GIS – Enduring Change
Kathleen Kelly, Ogden City GIS

Through winds of budget, technology and personnel changes, GIS holds the steady course at Ogden City. This workshop is designed with the beginner in mind but may also benefit those already knee-deep in an Enterprise Implementation. Topics for discussion will include:

  • ArcSDE at the heart
  • ArcIMS and other web enables applications
  • Master Plans and Evaluations
  • GIS dependent 3rd party applications
  • The Master Address Database
  • Analysis that lead to change
  • 3D modeling
  • Getting users involved.

Leveraging sample code to develop functional ArcPad solutions
Josh Jones, Ogden City GIS

Sample code available on the ESRI website can serve as an excellent starting point in the development of simple ArcPad applications. Using the sample code and a free XML editor, it is possible to develop applications without the ESRI ArcPad application builder. By combining and modifying various sample applications Ogden City was able to create a powerful and useful sign asset collection tool. It allows non-GIS workers to collect all necessary data including GPS and digital photography in a simple user friendly interface with virtually no programming needed. This presentation will hopefully give incentive and confidence to those of us that have little to no programming abilities and will explore some of the functionality currently available in the online ArcPad samples.

The National Agriculture Imagery Program – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Aerial Photography Field Office (APFO)
Brian Vanderbilt, USDA-FSA-APFO

Since 1862, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been improving the quality of life for citizens of the U.S. and world. The U.S. agriculture sector contributes a great deal to the nation’s economic security through the export of agricultural goods. The agriculture sector also plays a humanitarian role by supplying communities with food, and provides a service to our environment through conservation programs. Because agriculture is so vital to our society, it is important to utilize the most advanced technologies to improve agricultural planning and management.

The NAIP objective is to acquire peak growing season “leaf on” digital orthorectified imagery on a national scale, and deliver this imagery to USDA Service Centers in the year of acquisition in order to assist with Common Land Use delineation in GIS, Crop Compliance, and other programs. These are not, however, the only uses of NAIP imagery. Interest in NAIP has been shown by the defense sector, survey and engineering firms, local and State governments, utility companies, etc.

NAIP leverages advances in computer, sensor and geographic information systems (GIS) technology to migrate from antiquated aerial imagery slides and hard copy maps to higher quality and more useful digital imagery products.

This presentation will discuss and highlight NAIP on a national scale, as well as discuss specifics of 2004 and 2005 NAIP acquisition for the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
© 2002-2005 by SWUG ~ ESRI's Southwest Users Group
Email: