The National Map Foreword
National Mapping Examined: An Introduction
By Charles E. Ogrosky

Introduction
Welcome to this special issue of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing on The National Map, the Nation’s base geographic information infrastructure for the 21st century. The geospatial community stands at the dawn of what has the potential to be a golden age of geographic science. We have at our disposal the tools and methods to provide access to and apply an ever-richer assemblage of base geographic information. We learn repeatedly and sometimes vividly the critical role that this foundation information plays in economic development, in land and environmental management, and especially in hazard and disaster response. We also face tests of our collective commitment: how do we cooperate to leverage limited resources through mutually beneficial relationships to produce a geographic information infrastructure that serves all users? Articles in this special issue from Federal agencies, States, the private sector, and other national mapping organizations examine this challenge.

The thousands of surveyors, photogrammetrists, cartographers, and others who labored for more than 33 million hours, using primarily manual processes, to complete the more than 55,000 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps covering the United States could not have foreseen the increasingly complex and accelerating pace of changes that impact our professions today. These changes now offer dramatic possibilities for meeting the increasingly sophisticated geospatial information demands of government, private industry, scientists, and the public more quickly, reliably, and efficiently. Within this context of change, The National Map (USGS, 2001) builds on the rich foundation of traditional topographic mapping to create and leverage new tools, methods, and relationship strategies to ensure the quantity, quality, content, and accessibility of base geographic information that is the foundation for geographic understanding.

In many respects, The National Map is not new. National series-based topographic mapping dates as far back as 1789 when the French completed a topographic map series consisting of 180 sheets at a scale of 1:86,400 (Brown, 1949, p. 254). Brown (1949, p. 255) relates that “the value of the map as a military and political asset of the utmost importance was immediately recognized…and revision of the work was begun without delay.” As USGS Director Charles Groat notes in his highlight article in this special issue, the USGS was founded in 1879 to institutionalize four Great Surveys of the American West. The second Director of the USGS, John Wesley Powell, aggressively pursued topographic mapping by promoting a nationally consistent map series with completion targeted for 1900 (Rabbitt, 1980, p. 109). The present 7.5- minute series of USGS topographic maps, mostly at 1:24,000 scale, was completed for all of the United States, except Alaska, in 1991. This graphic database and the digital data derived in large part from the maps have served the Nation well as the centerpiece of a national geospatial information infrastructure. These data are the origin of updated and expanded national geographic information resources, such as the Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) database and numerous private sector datasets. The national datasets provide core content to the Geospatial One-Stop portal that is part of President George W. Bush’s E-Government initiative to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and customer service throughout the Federal Government. The portal is intended to provide the geographic component for all Internet-based E-Government activities across local, State, tribal, and Federal governments.

The demand for readily available, consistent, accurate, complete, and current base geographic information continues to accelerate. As Director Groat notes, the sobering events of September 11, 2001, remind us once again that geographic information is the basis for disaster planning, mitigation, response, and recovery operations. A draft Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of the Interior and the newly established Department of Homeland Security provides for the “use of the framework data that are part of The National Map to serve as the domestic common operating picture for homeland security.” (DOI-DHS, 2003, p.3) At the same time, these data are essential for land and resource management, scientific investigation, a substantial portion of the Nation’s economic enterprise, infrastructure planning and management, and the efficient delivery of government services, such as public health and safety.

Given that geographic understanding is essential and that many data are already available, why pursue radically different business strategies for national coverage at this time? As John Kelmelis, et al., report in their article on geographic science at the USGS, the real value of geography is in the use of mapping and monitoring information to investigate and solve real-world issues. The application of geographic information system (GIS) and other analytical tools to understand and model spatial processes culminates in abilities to extrapolate from the current state to predict how these processes will affect our geographic context in the future. Clearly, this requires current and consistent data. A national series of topographic maps that are, on average, about 25 years old is neither current nor available on a medium that facilitates broad and immediate access and application.

Emerging technologies offer opportunities for better information that is readily and freely accessible, whereas the traditional tools and methods that culminated in the completion of once-over national mapping cannot satisfy the demand for current information. The tools of geographic science are widely available and more affordable than ever, and the diffusion of this underlying technology has radically changed business methods and relationships throughout the geographic information community. Once accessible primarily to large mapping agencies, hardware and software for spatial data capture, as well as maintenance are now readily available and affordable to all levels of government, the private sector, and the public. The coalescence of global positioning satellite technology, broadband wireless communications, the World Wide Web, and highly portable computers with mass data storage capacities means that capabilities to both access datasets and contribute updated and enhanced content to data stewards are becoming pervasive. Therefore, the challenges to the geospatial community are not as much in technology as they are in managing the quantity and quality of available information, synthesizing that information to ensure completeness and consistency, making this information readily available and interoperable, and – particularly – developing business models that stimulate data sharing and commitments to long-term information stewardship. The 14 articles in this special issue on The National Map offer diverse viewpoints and thought-provoking ideas about the concepts embedded in The National Map and how it might and ought to be implemented.

International Initiatives
The National Map focus on comprehensive geographic information is broadly endorsed in this special issue by articles from national mapping organizations in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Although their business strategies may differ, these agencies recognize that national objectives and changing relationships dictate a redefinition of roles and responsibilities to achieve a collective good that no organization is capable of achieving on its own.

From Canada, Bob Johnson and Jasdev Singh report that partnerships between Federal, Provincial, and Territorial agencies will supply data to the GeoBase portal. In turn, the portal will enable users to access comprehensive base coverage of these data. This is a direct parallel with the partnership strategy that pervades The National Map, with Web-based data access and delivery of mapping capabilities through The National Map Web site and data linkages to the Geospatial One-Stop portal.

The United Kingdom employs a very different business model, as related by Keith Murray and Duncan Shiell. Users of Ordnance Survey (OS) data pay the full license costs for access and use. The need for nationally current and available base geographic information and the flexibility of Web-based data delivery and mapping underlie the building of the OS Master Map, as does the recognition that partnerships between data producers and value-added product developers are essential to achieving the full benefit from a significant national investment in geospatial data.

Dan Paull and Marni Bower in Australia tell us that the Public Sector Mapping Agencies (PSMA) Australia, Limited, brings together agencies of the Federal, State, and regional or local governments to coordinate data needs and information availability. The contribution of base geographic information to national needs is made clear by the use of PSMA Australia digital data to conduct and tabulate the 1996 national census. By negotiating agreements with value-added reseller partners, PSMA Australia brings revenues to bear on maintaining and improving the national datasets and on supporting local datasets that contribute to the national infrastructure.

State Success Stories
In the United States, the Federal Government has traditionally been the producer of national topographic series maps and associated digital datasets, through either in-house production or contracts with the private sector. Recent years have witnessed profound changes in the geospatial information industry. Far more base geographic data about the United States are produced and maintained today by State, regional, and local governments than by the Federal sector. These governments have staff who are in constant contact with local landscape changes, whether by inspecting local road and structure development and use or by planning and operating public safety services.

By using a partnership model, Texas and Delaware are succeeding in bringing together local and county resources to coordinate data sharing, update, and delivery. In Texas, the Texas Natural Resources Information System is building on The National Map to provide access to statewide datasets for base feature content that mirrors USGS 1:24,000-scale maps and that offers opportunities to improve the currentness of this product both in printed form and through Web mapping services. Drew Decker’s account of the dramatic application of these datasets to the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia debris recovery operations is a clear reminder of the importance of having an infrastructure and sustained funding in place so that current data and mapping tools are readily available when a situation demands, not weeks or months afterwards. Michael Mahaffie describes Delaware’s DataMIL project, a real-world success story that reinforces how partnerships between State agencies, county and local governments, and the Federal government can bring together data content and leverage stewardship resources to produce a data environment that facilitates access and geographic awareness. The academic sector, represented by the University of Delaware, is a critical partnership component. By making locally provided data the foundation of the Delaware data infrastructure, supplemented by State and Federal contributions, the State has created relationships that speak to long-term ownership of the content and quality of the information. This is a clear and tangible endorsement of the basic concepts of The National Map.

Private Sector Perspectives
Partnerships with the private sector have long been a key element in the national mapping program. Ranging from services contracting for software development and aerial photography to contractor operation of photographic laboratories to cooperative research and development agreements, these partnerships have brought important capabilities and capacities to bear on map production and revision, geographic information tools development, and information archive and dissemination operations. Three articles representing different segments of private industry provide perspectives on what it will take to make The National Map successful, how the private sector can contribute to this success, and the institutional and business challenges that must be met in building partnerships that satisfy both public information needs and commercial objectives.

Representing geospatial data suppliers, Donald Cooke notes the interdependence between government and industry for base data and for maintaining and improving national datasets. Although data are the most costly component of a total GIS, the use of the data and of output derivative products is the system’s value component. All else are the costs of doing business. Cooke endorses the radical vision of The National Map for greatly improved currentness (the original “7-day” charge to the vision team) and the need for transactional maintenance strategies. He calls attention to issues that must be resolved for successful public-private partnerships, including data purchase and access and use license models that meet public information needs yet preserve the commercial viability of private investment in datasets.

Jack Dangermond and R. Clint Brown speak from the perspective of GIS technology innovators. Their article defines the systems base for efforts, such as The National Map, that rely on continuous data maintenance, efficient data management, and effective data access and applications services. Dangermond and Brown highlight two essential needs: (1) tools for data stewards to facilitate maintenance of high-quality data, and (2) interoperability commitments that make possible the widest applications of data to meet unique user requirements. They call attention to the fact that The National Map is technically feasible, although demanding of technology, but that cooperation and integration between partners is the critical challenge that must be met.

Finally, David DeLorme and James Peterson provide opinions that both endorse and challenge elements of The National Map. They note that private corporations have benefited from Federal data in developing enhanced products and stand to gain further from having a reliable source of national datasets that offer opportunities to create marketable products. In turn, these products reinforce the need for The National Map and contribute to the Nation’s geographic knowledge. However, the authors caution that the magnitude of The National Map calls for adequate funding, which will rely on leveraging the collective resources of perhaps thousands of partners. Creating the business methods and inducements that will stimulate and sustain long-term partnerships is a formidable institutional obstacle.

Federal Partnerships
Last, but certainly not least, The National Map depends heavily on continued cooperation between and among Federal agencies that have interests in providing, updating, and using base geographic information. There is a long history of Federal partnerships in topographic mapping and, more recently, in building national datasets. As the Nation’s lead civil mapping agency, the USGS has worked closely with defense agencies, including the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, to coordinate mapping that meets national security objectives. This includes recent initiatives to acquire and make available high-resolution orthoimagery and associated critical infrastructure information for the Nation’s largest urban areas in response to homeland security needs.

Through the Single Edition Program, the U.S. Forest Service annually updates more than 600 primary series topographic maps that cover National Forest lands. The National Aerial Photography Program has brought together Federal and State partners since 1987 to make aerial photography available. This eventually grew into the National Digital Orthophoto Program and the production of orthoimagery, including 1-meter ground resolution digital orthophoto quadrangles, a key component of The National Map. The partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency, the USGS, the U.S. Forest Service, and numerous States has resulted in the creation and now the ongoing high-resolution upgrade of the National Hydrography Dataset, which is the surface water component of The National Map. The John Kelmelis, et al., article on geographic science at the USGS acknowledges the importance of these and other partnerships.

In their article on Master Address File (MAF)/TIGER update and upgrades, Frederick Broome and Leslie Godwin from the U.S. Bureau of the Census remind us of the close ties between the USGS and the Census Bureau that resulted in the 1:100,000-scale USGS Digital Line Graph dataset and the TIGER database that became the spatial foundation for the 1990 Census of Population. These two datasets are the underpinnings of many value-added commercial products. The authors’ recounting of the critical role that partnerships play in maintaining the MAF/TIGER system to achieve stringent operational objectives for enumerator placement performance further emphasizes how cooperation is essential to achieving The National Map objectives. As the Census Bureau proceeds with the MAF/TIGER improvements, The National Map will benefit from access to improved street alignment and attribute information that, in turn, reflects data aggregated from local sources, just as the Census Bureau will benefit from access to the hydrologic, orthophoto, and other content of The National Map.

Other content of The National Map, including bathymetry and coastline delineations, depends on a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USGS. Margaret Davidson and Anne Hale Miglarese stress similarities between NOAA’s Digital Coast initiative and The National Map, including complementary data needs, the importance of partnerships, and the institutional challenges that must be met. The elevation component of The National Map will incorporate bathymetric data from NOAA and its partners; closer coordination between the agencies is intended to result in a merging of land cover mapping activities into one initiative. These positive steps speak to longterm cooperation and greater efficiencies in meeting the mission needs of both agencies and in satisfying community needs for better integrated information.

Speaking for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Anthony Lowe documents the opportunities to collaborate on projects that meet FEMA’s need to modernize flood maps and that simultaneously can take advantage of and contribute to the Nation’s geographic data holdings. By making updated and upgraded national flood hazard information available over the Internet, FEMA will expand opportunities for access and improve its utility. By committing to linkages to The National Map, FEMA will be able to concentrate on data that meet its mission-specific needs. No topic is more timely regarding the need for effective Federal cooperation and information sharing than hazards emergency management.

Hazards include both human-induced and natural disasters. Fast and effective response to hazards, as well as advance planning, mitigation, and recovery operations, depends on access to reliable information when it is needed. Barry Napier, representing the Interagency Geospatial Preparedness Team, confirms the importance of sharing information through initiatives such as The National Map to meet the needs of first responders. They require not only base geographic information, but enhanced feature content and rich attributes that go well beyond foundation information. This content, like the higher resolution and more complete datasets maintained by local governments and the private sector, can be related to and made accessible from The National Map.

Conclusion
Ultimately, data will make The National Map work. Building The National Map hinges on how well we can unite to improve and extend the Nation’s geographic information holdi