Oct/2008 IGIST has been hired by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop scripts to aggregate NWI (National Wetlands Inventory) geospatial data into new data structures.
NWI data provides very detailed wetlands inventory. In order for specific USFWS regions to use the data, though, it must be generalized into a geographic unit called a basin. This allows the NWI data to be compatible with the regions’ data collection conventions for wetlands and wetland biota data. This conversion process has historically been performed on coverages by a series of manual steps, AML programs, and INFO programming. NWI data have been converted to the geodatabase, and IGIST is rewriting these steps using Python scripts and VBA, which will be able to take geodatabase data as input.
Oct/2008 IGIST has been contracted to provide onsite GIS support to the City of La Mesa for one year.
IGIST is returning on-site to the City of La Mesa with a renewed contract to provide GIS support to the Department of Engineering at the City of La Mesa. IGIST personnel will be on-site at the city 2 days per week. A variety of GIS tasks will be performed, including data development and maintenance, data analysis, map production. Also, IGIST will be refining and further developing a Standard Operating Procedures manual which documents the maintenance and use of the City’s GIS.
Sept/2008 IGIST has been tasked to perform a variety of GIS work for the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) throughout the next year.
IGIST is acting as a subcontractor to PSOMAS, who holds a contract with the CCDC to provide GIS services on an ongoing basis. IGIST’s role over the next year will be to perform tasks like map production, data design, and data development and clean-up on an as-needed basis for task orders awarded to PSOMAS.
Sept/2008 IGIST has been awarded a contract with the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians to perform data collection and map production on their reservation near Coachella, CA..
IGIST has been tasked to perform GPS data collection of reservation features such as the reservation boundary, roads, wells, utility poles and lines, and various buildings and facilities. These data will be incorporated into an existing GIS, several maps will be generated in MXD and PDF format, and a template for future reservation mapping work will be developed. This work is being performed as an update to GIS and GPS work that IGIST performed in 2004, and it will be used to assist in planning for future development on the reservation.
Sept/2008 IGIST has been tasked to provide on-site GIS training for several federal agencies.
IGIST has been hired to provide 4 instances of the ESRI-certified class Introduction to ArcGIS I. Courses are scheduled for the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins AFB in Georgia and the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. Courses are also scheduled for the US Department of Health and Human Services (the Indian Health Service), in St. Michael, NM, and Billings, MT.
Aug/2008 The US Fish and Wildlife (FWS) has awarded IGIST a contract to revise and upgrade an Invasives Field Mapping course.
IGIST will be providing curriculum development, on-site training, and a year of support for the FWS National Invasive Weeds Program. The FWS has an existing curriculum that was authored over time by various sources. IGIST is tasked to review and consolidate the curriculum so that it is cohesive, and so that it is compatible with ArcGIS 9.2 and ArcPad 7. IGIST will be going to FWS sites to teach two instances of the newly developed class. Also, IGIST will provide a year of technical support related to this class.
Aug/2008 The US Forest Service GSTC has requested IGIST to teach 4 instances of the newly developed custom GIS course entitled Managing Workflows in USFS Enterprise Geodatabases.
The USFS is reworking its GIS strategy, such that ArcGIS is to be run from centralized CITRIX servers, and geospatial data are to be concentrated into 3 Data Centers. USFS GIS users are beginning to interact with geospatial data held within Oracle databases and served out to them using ArcSDE 9.2. This new class, developed by IGIST and released this month, is an important component in helping the USFS educate its GIS users to this new approach to using GIS. IGIST has contracted with PSOMAS to provide instructors when IGIST is unable to handle requests for this course. The first round of classes will take place this fall, and are scheduled in Milwaukee, WI; Atlanta, GA; Portland, OR; and Sacramento, CA.
Aug/2008 The US Forest Service GSTC has tasked IGIST to upgrade its PLTS course from 9.1 to 9.2.
Originally developed by IGIST in 2006, the revised course will be called Data Editing and Workflow Management Using PLTS in the Forest Service. A new chapter will be added to the manual addressing JTX (Job Tracking for ArcGIS). The portion of the course involving the GIS Data ReViewer will be updated to address the many revisions that have affected this part of the PLTS extension.
July/2008 IGIST has been awarded a contract by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to revise the Realty Tools ArcView Extension.
These tools were originally developed in ArcView, and they provide FWS users with the ability to create standardized maps easily, and to access and integrate ancillary data from the prairie pothole regions (e.g. fee-title and easement lands, landcover layer, and a variety of other cartographic layers). IGIST has been hired to rewrite this tool in an ArcGIS environment. Much of the capabilities from the current ArcView extension now reside natively in ArcGIS, and the single function that needs to be developed is the Easement Digitizing button, which allows easements to be digitized from either paper maps or existing NAIP imagery. Some simple enhancements will be programmed, and the data from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana will all be incorporated into a single geodatabase and delivered to FWS.
June/2008 IGIST is developing eLearning content for the Geospatial Technology (GST) Program at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA, to be provided in 3 modules over a 3 year span.
Southwestern College has been awarded an NSF (National Science Foundation) grant to purchase equipment and develop curriculum in support of its Geospatial Technology Program. IGIST has been tasked to develop 3 web-based training modules that will augment existing courses and tutorials. The first module will address remote sensing concepts, the second module will address image processing and interpretation, and the final module will address a variety of image-based applications.
June/2008 IGIST’s contract with the San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) has been renewed for another year.
IGIST continues to provide onsite GIS expertise to LAFCO. LAFCO relies on IGIST to handle various day-to-day map requests, GIS analysis for special projects, parcel inquiries, and website support. IGIST has an employee that works onsite at LAFCO for approximately 1,300 hours per year.
June/2008 IGIST has been awarded a contract by the US Forest Service GSTC to develop training curriculum for producing accurate and effective Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM).
IGIST will be developing curriculum content for the MVUM program, which has been in place since 2005. Both ILT (instructor-led training) and webcast course content will be created. The curriculum will address four main areas of the MVUM map producers: 1) improve cartographic skills and the ensure the appropriate use of templates, 2) understand and interpret business rules so that maps correctly reflect policies, 3) clarify NEPA rules that affect map outputs, and 4) ensure that USFS rules and regulations are reflected in the MVUMs, and not rules or data that come from other agencies. A pilot ILT course and webcast will be offered at the end of course development, and USFS feedback from these courses will be incorporated into the final delivered curriculum.
June/2008 The US Forest Service GSTC has contracted with IGIST to enhance the Advanced Cartographic Concepts course, and to teach 2 instances of the 4 day class.
The Advanced Cartographic Concepts course, which was developed 2 years ago for the GSTC, is being enhanced to include two more topics. One topic is Data Mining, and it shows GIS Analysts how to incorporate geospatial data from the Internet into the cartographic products they create. This includes both the downloading of data from common websites and also the use of various web services to access data directly from ArcCatalog. The other topic addresses the use of Maplex to improve the labeling process when creating maps. Once the course has been revised, IGIST will send a trainer on-site to teach 2 sessions of the class to USFS GIS specialists.
June/2008 IGIST has been awarded a contract to enhance and revise the RLGIS (Refuge Lands GIS) application for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
RLGIS was originally developed under ArcView 3.x, as an effort by FWS Region 6 to tailor a GIS application that directly addressed the geospatial needs of the FWS Refuges. It has since been rewritten (by ESRI) for ArcGIS, and after considerable use by several FWS regions, a list of application enhancements and data model revisions have been identified. The enhancements and revisions will affect both the ArcMap application and the ArcPad application portions of RLGIS.
May/2008 The US Forest Service GSTC has tasked IGIST to convert an existing Spatial Modeling course from a traditional ILT (instructor-led training) format to a web-based eLearning module.
IGIST developed a course titled Model Builder Tools for Natural Resources Applications for the Bureau of Land Management in 2006. The USFS requested to have this course updated, and converted to an online format. The course is to be redesigned and rewritten in an eLearning format, and then published out to a set of Flash files. Once this has been accomplished, all USFS personnel will have access to the course content via a web browser, providing a cost effective and convenient way of training GIS users within the USFS.
Mar/2008 IGIST was hired as a subcontractor to PSOMAS to provide programming services for the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ.
IGIST was hired to work on two specific parts of a contract that PSOMAS has in place with the airport. Using ArcGIS Server, a web application is being developed to interact with a database in order to visualize and review a community noise reduction plan. Another task involves mapping and analysis in support of a proposed train system that will link the airport with the Phoenix trolley system.
Jan/2008 CALIBRE has hired IGIST to customize and webcast a GIS course in spatial modeling to its employees situated at a number of different Army bases throughout the country.
IGIST is adapting portions of an existing course developed in 2006, so that it can be delivered as a webcast using phone conferencing and desktop sharing software. Lectures with PowerPoint slides will be delivered during two four hour sessions for the students. The students will perform hands-on exercises using locally installed versions of ArcGIS Desktop software, manipulating data that they download from an IGIST server.
Jan/2008 The US Forest Service GSTC tasked IGIST to teach a class at the Eastern Southern Regional University (ESRU).
Every year Region 8 and Region 9 of the USFS meet for two weeks of training in Columbus, OH. At this two week event, USFS personnel receive training in a wide-ranging variety of subjects. IGIST taught at the 2007 ESRU event, and this year was invited to return to offer a 5 day course in Cartography.
Jan/2008 A series of awards have been made to IGIST by the BLM National Training Center in Phoenix, AZ, to provide onsite training for the BLM region that includes Montana and the Dakotas.
As the BLM in Montana/Dakotas moves towards a more centralized approach to GIS, IGIST has been tasked to provide multiple onsite classes to this region through September 2008. Course include, but are not limited to, Advanced Cartographic Concepts, Introduction to ArcGIS 9.2, Agency Migration to the Geodatabase, Model Builder Tools for Natural Resource Applications, Geodatabase Editing and Quality Control Using PLTS, Editing in the Geodatabase Environment, and courses addressing the use of ArcSDE in accessing BLM data from centralized servers.
