2012 MNGISLIS PANEL DISCUSSION SESSION 11: THURSDAY, OCT 4, 2:00-3:00pm LiDAR ACTIVITIES IN MINNESOTA

AGENDA: STATUS OF PROJECT TIM LOESCH MN.IT at DNR INFORMATION/OUTREACH NANCY RADER MN.IT at MNGEO EDUCATION SEAN VAUGHN MN.IT at DNR THE BIGGER PICTURE RON WENCL USGS

PROJECT STATUS TIM LOESCH MN.IT at DNR

INFORMATION AND DATA DOWNLOAD NANCY RADER MN.IT at MnGeo

INFORMATION Which areas are available?  LiDAR info page:  State status map  Hillshade status map  Lists of counties by project area  Facebook page for latest QA/QC status

INFORMATION What help is available?  Helpfiles on FTP site  Readme & Watch me  LAS & neutral format  Tile index maps  Facebook comments  Metadata  Flight lines & dates 

DATA DOWNLOAD – CURRENT OPTIONS MnGeo FTP  County zipfile: Geodatabase format  Tile folders  1/16 of USGS quad, grouped by county (likely will change to be grouped by 250k sheet)  Index maps show tile boundaries and filenames  Geodatabase or raw format (LAS/LAZ)  Checklist of products within gdb files

DATA DOWNLOAD – POTENTIAL FUTURE OPTIONS DRAFT options being considered by MnGeo and DNR  Interface in addition to FTP  Link to DNR’s viewer so users can see the data prior to download  Tailor download to layers and geography that the user needs  Download tiles by selected area e.g., city, watershed, user-specified polygon  Separate derived products so they can be downloaded individually  Based on user feedback and survey results

EDUCATION SEAN VAUGHN MN.IT at DNR

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT MODULEINSTRUCTOR Length No. sessions Basics of Using LiDAR DataJoel Nelson1 day10 Terrain AnalysisJoel Nelson Half day 9 Hydrologic ApplicationsSean Vaughn Half day 7 Engineering ApplicationsAnn Johnson1 day2 Forestry and Ecological Applications Andy Jenks Half day 2 Wetland MappingJoe Knight Half day 4

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT Hands-on workshops presented at GIS labs: UM-Duluth Cloquet Forestry Center UMN St. Paul Campus Mankato State University Winona State University St. Cloud State Univ. UM-Morris Northland Comm. and Tech. College, East Grand Forks Central Lakes College, Brainerd

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT Who attended?  Total attendance = 558  Unique participants = %Local Government 22%State Government 12%Federal Government 17%Private Sector 6%University

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT Post-workshop survey:  Evaluate workshops  Assess future needs  Results will be at z.umn.edu/lidar

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT Post-workshop Survey Results:  74% would join online discussion forum  Additional training needs (most frequent requests) :  Advanced hydrologic applications  Using LAS/LAZ/raw data  Preferred training formats:  Half or full day hands-on classroom  Tip sheets  Webinar  Video tips

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT Coming to z.umn.edu/lidar:  Workshop exercises, including  Step-by-step instructions  Practice data sets  Videos of key processes  Workshop lectures, including  Slides  Video  Additional learning resources

ENRTF-FUNDED LiDAR TRAINING PROJECT For more information:  Les Everett,  Ann Lewandowski,  z.umn.edu/lidar

3D ELEVATION PROGRAM (3DEP) A NATIONAL ELEVATION PROGRAM INITIATIVE RON WENCL, USGS The National Map

+ NATIONAL ELEVATION DATASET 18 A Rich History Lithographic Section preparing stone blocks used in the printing of topographic maps. USGS, 1917 Cartographer Yutaka Hamamoto working on a Wild A-7 stereoplanigraph. USGS, 1968

LiDAR IMPROVES DATA QUALITY Ten meter resolution Courtesy of NRCS Two meter resolution

+ NATIONAL ENHANCED ELEVATION ASSESSMENT Sponsored by the National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP) and funded by USGS, NGA,FEMA, NRCS and NOAA to: –Document national requirements for improved elevation data from technologies such as LiDAR and IfSAR –Estimate the benefits and costs of meeting these requirements –Evaluate multiple national enhanced program scenarios for government consideration 602 mission-critical activities that require enhanced elevation data were identified by: –34 Federal agencies and 50 states –A sampling of local governments, tribes, private and not ‐ for profit organizations A national program has the potential to generate $1.2 billion to $13 billion in new benefits each year At a Glance: 20

+ STATUS OF THE NATION’S ELEVATION DATA NEEA Inventory Results - September  28% coverage - 49 states  15% coverage – Alaska  30+ year replacement cycle  Program is well coordinated – less than 10% overlap of coverage  Data quality variable Why is this a problem?  Remaining 72% coverage is 30 or more years old.  Alaska – very poor quality  Meets 10% of reported needs  Current and emerging needs require higher quality data Map depicts public sources of LiDAR in all states plus IfSAR data in Alaska 21 An update will be available in late 2012

+ DATA QUALITY LEVELS Quality Level Horizontal Point Spacing (meters) Vertical Accuracy (centimeters) Description High accuracy and resolution LiDAR Medium-high accuracy and resolution LiDAR 31-2<18.5 Medium accuracy and resolution LiDAR – similar to USGS specification version 13 and most data collected to date Early or lower quality LiDAR and photogrammetric elevations produced from aerotriangulated NAIP imagery Lower accuracy and resolution, primarily from IfSAR 22 Developed for NEEA study

+ LiDAR AT THREE QUALITY LEVELS 23 Simulated Quality Levels based on resampled QL1 data 0.35 meter point spacing (QL1) 0.7 meter point spacing (QL2) 1.4 meter point spacing (QL3)

+ EXAMPLE BUSINESS USES Precision FarmingLand Navigation and Safety Geologic Resources and Hazards Mitigation Natural Resource Conservation Infrastructure Management Flood Risk Mitigation 24

+ NATIONAL PROGRAM RECOMMENDATION 25  LiDAR, Quality Level 2 for 49 states,  IfSAR, Quality Level 5 in Alaska  8 year acquisition  Average Annual Costs: $146 M  Average Annual Benefits: $690 M (B/C: 4.7:1)  Total Possible Benefits Satisfied: 58% Needs addressed vary with data quality and replacement cycle Existing program (QL3) on a 25 year cycle Highest quality level (QL1) on an annual cycle Recommended program (QL2) on an 8 year cycle

+ 3D ELEVATION PROGRAM (3DEP) The 3DEP program initiative implements one of the 10 program scenarios resulting from the NEEA study Key 3DEP goals: LiDAR data over conterminous United States, Hawaii, territories on 8-year cycle IfSAR data over Alaska –LiDAR point cloud data to be publically accessible –Multiple derivative products will be supported as services and will be freely available 3DEP is a program initiative the USGS is developing with a goal to implement an operational program by FY14 26 A new initiative to implement the recommendations of the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA)

+ PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY IN 3DEP TRANSITION Shift to higher quality data (QL2) and larger area projects –Cost gap between QL2 and QL3 is narrowing –Emphasis on cost-effective large-area or statewide projects Share project and funding plans farther in advance to better coordinate and expand interagency data collection Seek new Federal, State and other partners Increase coordination and planning with regional and state offices of Federal Agencies Prioritize Alaska IfSAR in 3DEP data collection plans 27 Initial Steps Towards 3DEP Goals:

+ 3DEP OUTREACH EFFORTS USGS Associate Director and National Geospatial Program Director conducting outreach to NRCS, USACE, DISDI, USGS, FEMA, EPA, USFS, FAA, NGA and NOAA –All understand need for better elevation –Interest in model initiative language and best practices to support transition towards 3DEP –Agency mandates to fund mission/project-specific acquisitions presents a challenge to achieving contiguous coverage FGDC - Briefings to the Executive Committee, Steering Committee, Coordination Group and National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC); NGAC has established a 3DEP sub-committee Broader outreach to States, select industries, associations NEEA website and fact sheets published 28

+ BUDGET STRATEGY Develop increased support from Federal agencies that benefit from 3DEP –NRCS, USACE, DISDI, USGS, NOAA, FEMA, EPA, USFS, FAA, and NGA –Funding mix and expectations will adjust with experience States / local governments as key funding partners Continue outreach to develop new 3DEP partners Facilitate partner participation –Develop new agreements to enable both long-term partnerships and event-driven opportunities –Share best practices to promote 3DEP-compatible data collection within partner and non-partner organizations –Provide model budget language for use by agencies 29 Expanding 3DEP resources:

+ INTERAGENCY ELEVATION INVENTORY 30 Ongoing NOAA, USGS, and FEMA collaboration to maintain the inventory and make the data accessible USGS Liaisons currently gathering data for FY12 update Inventory is critical to assessing progress towards 3DEP goals

+ 3DEP RESOURCES NEEA Report USGS Fact Sheets –NEEA at a glance –3D Elevation Program Resources in work –State information sheets –Journal articles –3DEP webpage 31

+ RECENT UPDATE INFORMATION 32 LiDAR Base Specifications Released:

TIM LOESCH MN.IT at DNR NANCY RADER MN.IT at MNGEO SEAN VAUGHN MN.IT at DNR RON WENCL USGS FOR MORE INFORMATION:

LIDAR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE