SpatialNews Press Release

Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Special Announcement - Lewis and Clark Special Interest Group Meeting

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The EOS Education Project, The National Lewis and Clark Education Center and ESRI would like to invite all interested parties to attend the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting to be held during the ESRI International User's Conference. The meeting will be held Tuesday, July 10th, 2001, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Del Mar Room, Marriot Hotel, San Diego, CA.

Web Address: gis.esri.com/uc2001/agenda/index.cfm?fuseaction=Detail&SessionID=1019

As a follow-up to last year's first Lewis and Clark SIG, this year's event will highlight efforts over the past year to develop partnerships among private and public sector entities interested in Lewis and Clark geospatial questions and research, and progress toward data sharing for the development of a National Lewis and Clark Data Infrastructure. In addition, a working prototype of the "Lewis and Clark Information System" will be shown for the first time, incorporating a variety of new technologies for interactive web-based delivery of Lewis and Clark geographical and multimedia information. Of particular interest will be new demonstrations of Skyline Software's Terrabuilder animated fly-throughs for portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail, and the use of ERDAS Imagine software for image processing related to remotely sensed imagery of the trail (Terra MODIS, Landsat 7 ETM+, IRS 5 meter, and IKONOS 1 and 4 meter data products).

The primary goal of this year's Lewis and Clark SIG is to bring together representatives from the private and public sectors that are interested in contributing unique data sets that reflect the historical and contemporary geographical characteristics of the Lewis and Clark trail and its environmental context. The challenge remains to identify known and unknown data resources, continue the process of collecting these resources, and work to convert such resources into a digital format.

Representative data may include botanical, hydrological, climatological, cartographical, meteorological, zoological, geological, cultural, political, contextual, demographical, and general geographical-historical information that could be aggregated, digitized and georeferenced for dissemination through interactive Web-based applications, a potential Lewis and Clark Geography Network (g.net) Node, and other mechanisms. The Lewis and Clark Information System will highlight representative data from a number of these fields and a scalable methodology for data management and sharing.

In addition, discussion will follow regarding key data sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with the United States Geological Survey, United States Forest Service, National Park Service, and the United State Fish and Wildlife Service (pending), as well as technological developments and data contributions.

One of the proposed outcomes from this meeting will be to determine a location and date for a National Lewis and Clark Data Consortium conference to be held within the coming year. With less than two years before the launch of the Bicentennial (2003), it is necessary to expand the opportunity for exchange and dialogue regarding Lewis and Clark geographical questions involving geospatial data and related technologies. Also during the User's Conference, LizardTech and Space Imaging will be highlighting their involvement in the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial through separate presentations to be held during the conference week.

For those specifically interested in K-12 Lewis and Clark education opportunities, please see John Kuglin's closing plenary keynote address during the ESRI Education User's Conference, Sunday, July 8th, 1:30 p.m. - to 3:00 p.m., Hyatt Regency, San Diego, CA. The efforts of NASA's EOS Education Project's National Lewis and Clark Education Center will be highlighted during this event.

Web Address: http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/gisedcon.html

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Alex Philp, Director, The National Lewis and Clark Education Center, The University of Montana. 406-243-6469 (work); 406-243-2047 (fax); aphilp@eoscenter.com; http://www.lewisandclarkeducationcenter.com.

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