Missoula County, Montana becomes the first county in the State and one of the first in the Nation to publish their Geospatial data to The National Map.

Missoula County, Montana becomes the first county in the State and one of the first in the Nation to publish their Geospatial data to The National Map.

The Missoula County Mapping System builds and / or maintains ownership, emergency response, planning, public safety and public works information and high-resolution imagery for the county.

This data has recently been incorporated into The National Map through a Technology Assistance Agreement (TAA) between GCS Research and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS). At the core of the TAA, GCS Research will work cooperatively with the USGS Mapping Partnership Office in Bozeman, MT and The USGS National Map team in Washington D.C. to develop of Web-based geospatial systems to support the participation of local Montana governments as an integral part of The National Map.

In building local government connections to The National Map, GCS Research is using ESRI and Microsoft .NET technology. Through this partnership other counties will join Missoula County as local government data providers and partners in The National Map.

The Missoula County, GCS Research and USGS cooperation and development provide viable models for local governments, which may seek to partner in and benefit from The National Map and supported geospatial applications.

“We are honored to be working with the USGS to help build the infrastructure for The National Map in Montana,” said Alex Philp, President, GCS Research. “Given our existing efforts with Montana local governments to deliver distributed geospatial systems, this partnership represents an ideal intersection of our core objectives and the long-standing, pioneering expertise of the USGS.”

"Building partnerships to access State, county and local government geographic data is a key component of The National Map. In doing so, USGS shares and affirms its dedication to refocusing and reinvigorating its efforts to meet the Nation’s needs for this critical information." Lance Clampitt, Chief of the USGS Mapping Partnership Office in Bozeman also stated that "GCS Research is a talented and dedicated partner that will assist USGS with our grass roots implementation needs of The National Map in Montana. It is our hope that Missoula County will be one of many local governments that will add valuable geospatial data to The National Map."

The Missoula County development follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding between the State of Montana and the USGS, which lead to the implementation of the State’s Natural Resource Information System map service and data link to The National Map. To view the USGS National Map program, please see: http://nationalmap.usgs.gov/

For More Information Contact GCS Research LLC at 406-532-3761 or and visit our website at http://www.gcs-research.com.

GCS Research specializes in geospatial information technology. Our business focuses upon the convergence of GIS and the Web. We provide an integrated range of products and services dedicated to geospatial Web services and networked applications. GCS Research builds the geographic data systems that allow your enterprise to transcend physical boundaries, connect interactively with your customers, and achieve your specific objectives.