National Trails System GIS Network

About the Network

The National Trails System GIS Network was formed in 2011 and includes representatives from agencies that administer national trails as well as members of trail associations, scholars conducting trail research, and affiliates from educational institutions. Our mission is to connect the diverse array of staff and partners who use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and mapping products in their work as well as to facilitate the sharing of information and tools that help us do our jobs more efficiently and innovatively. The network is open to all who are interested.

More information on joining the National Trails System GIS Network
Find out about upcoming webinars and connect with National Trails System GIS Network members by joining the NTS GIS Network email list. Send us an e-mail at ntsgis@nps.gov to join. If you’d like to present or have a presentation topic suggestion, please let us know!

Quarterly Webinar Series

Join fellow GIS Professionals and Trail Advocates from across the country on our quarterly webinars hosted on the third Tuesday of the month.

October 2023

Presentation: Maggie Cawley, Executive Director, OpenStreetMap US.

OSM & Trails: New Collaborations for Responsible Recreation

Sparked by concerns about OpenStreetMap’s role in how the public accesses and recreates on protected lands, OpenStreetMap US volunteers, navigation app developers, national agencies and public land managers formed the OpenStreetMap US Trails Working Group in 2021. Bringing together a diversity of perspectives on trail mapping practices, trail safety, and protecting the environment, this group is working to address on-the-ground challenges, tagging schemes, authoritative data, and other topics related to mapping trails in OSM. Learn how this group is collaboratively developing solutions for responsible trail mapping in OpenStreetMap and the September launch of the Trails Stewardship Initiative.

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July 2023

Presentation: Kerry Shakarjian, NPS Alaska Region, GIS Specialist/Data Manager.

The Federal Trail GIS Schema – A Uniform Strategy

The Federal Trail GIS Schema Working Group, launched in June of 2018, has developed and made available to the public a geospatial template that provides a standardized framework for storing trail spatial data. The template can be utilized by all agencies and partners to establish a unifying and common trail GIS data structure. The Federal Trail GIS Schema is meant to be applied to trails of all kinds, including National Scenic Trails (NST) and National Historic Trails (NHT). The Federal Trail GIS Schema will make it achievable to have better GIS coordination and collaboration between agencies and partners for various trail projects, efficient sharing of authoritative trail data with the public, and better GIS decision making support for trails.

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May 2023

Presentation: Brian Deaton, GIS Coordinator for the National Trails, National Park Service and the University of Utah DIGIT Lab.

National Trails Visitor Use Experience Web Apps

The National Trails office (NTIR) continues working with partners in innovative ways using various GIS technologies to engage and inform the public of the National Historic Trails. Our office in collaboration with our partner the University of Utah DIGIT Lab developed Visitor Use Experience Web Apps to be a complement to the NPS Mobile App. These apps allow the public to have a better understanding of the visitor use opportunities along the National Historic Trails. The presentation will go over best practices and lessons learned (alternative text, arcade expressions, pop up windows, etc) developing Experience Builder apps for nine National Historic Trails.

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January 2023

Presentation: Ryan Abrahamsen, TERRAIN360.

Digital Preservation and & Immersive Mapping with The Lewis & Clark NHT

During this presentation, you will learn about how TERRAIN360 is working with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to digitize and preserve the Lewis and Clark Journey in an immersive interactive experience. In addition, learn about how the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail mapping project could translate to other National Trails or public lands. TERRAIN360 provides fully customizable surface-level image maps aimed at pushing the boundaries of interactive cartography and engaging users with a tool that inspires a love of the outdoors and serves as a valuable barometer of the challenges these precious spaces face on a daily basis.

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February 2022

Presentation: Brian Deaton, GIS Specialist for the National Trails, National Park Service along with contributions from other National Trails staff and the University of New Mexico Geography and Environmental Studies Department.

Collaborating with Partners to Create StoryMaps

The National Trails office (NTIR) continues working with partners in innovative ways using various GIS technologies to engage and inform the public of the National Historic Trails. Our office has begun to increase our use of the ArcGIS Online storymaps as an avenue to collaborate with our partners to reach new audiences and tell new stories of the National Historic Trails. Storymaps provide a relatively easy way to present dynamic and interactive information to the public. The presentation will go over best practices and lessons learned developing storymaps for El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail.

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September 2021

Presentation: Jen Larsen, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Biological Technician & GIS Specialist

An overview of KLGO’s multi-year project merging GIS and Facility Management Software Systems (FMSS) in Southeast Alaska

In partnership with the American Conservation Experience (ACE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Infrastructure Management Division is identifying, assessing, and updating every trail on 700+ National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, and National Wetland Management Districts. The third cycle of the FWS National Trails Inventory began in 2019 and, although still in progress, the teams at FWS and ACE have learned many lessons along the way. Between Covid-19, historic blizzards, and more snakes than you’d think, there is much to discuss! The presentation will cover the need for the trail inventory, progress, and how the team is using GIS tools to plan and conduct the inventory.

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April 2021

Presentation: Peter Tomczik, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Transportation Asset Management Coordinator and Katie Lyon, American Conservation Experience, USFWS National Trail Inventory Project Manager

Behind the Scenes of the FWS/ACE National Trail Inventory

In partnership with the American Conservation Experience (ACE), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Infrastructure Management Division is identifying, assessing, and updating every trail on 700+ National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, and National Wetland Management Districts. The third cycle of the FWS National Trails Inventory began in 2019 and, although still in progress, the teams at FWS and ACE have learned many lessons along the way. Between Covid-19, historic blizzards, and more snakes than you’d think, there is much to discuss! The presentation will cover the need for the trail inventory, progress, and how the team is using GIS tools to plan and conduct the inventory.

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March 2021

Presentation: Kerry Shakarjian, NPS Alaska Region, GIS Specialist/Data Manager

Introduction to the Federal Trail GIS Schema

The Federal Trail GIS Schema Working Group, launched in June of 2018, has developed a geospatial template that provides a standardized framework for storing trail spatial data. The template can be utilized by all agencies and partners to establish a unifying and common trail GIS data structure. The Federal Trail GIS Schema is meant to be applied to trails of all kinds, including National Scenic Trails (NST) and National Historic Trails (NHT). The Federal Trail GIS Schema will make it achievable to have better GIS coordination and collaboration between agencies and partners for various trail projects, efficient sharing of authoritative trail data with the public, and better GIS decision making support for trails.

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February 2021

Presentation: Elizabeth McCartney, USGS, Project Manager and Tatyana DiMascio, USGS, Senior Technical Lead

National Digital Trails Project Update and Demo

Trails are naturally inclusive, promote good health, provide economic benefits, and are an important part of our nation’s transportation system. The National Digital Trails (NDT) project was developed in support of the Department of Interior’s vision to promote access, connectivity, and the expansion of recreational opportunities over our Nation’s public lands. In partnership with National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey is leading the effort in the development of a web-based trail planning support tool and the aggregation of the nationwide trails geospatial dataset. Please join us for a project update and demo of the TRAILS planning support tool.

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October 2020

Presentation: Brian Deaton, GIS Specialist, and Sarah Rivera, GIS Specialist, National Park Service – National Trails

National Trails Survey123 National Historic Trails Asset Inventory

The National Park Service National Trails Office continues working with partners in innovative ways using various GIS technologies to engage, collaborate, and experience the trails. The National Trails Office released a new mobile application this summer enhancing collaboration between trail associations and our office for mapping directional and interpretive assets associated with the National Historic Trails (NHT). The mobile application utilizes the Survey123 app to answer questions concerning the number, condition, replacement needs, location, and areas lacking assets. These assets include interpretive waysides, trail markers, museum exhibits and National Historic Trail (NHT) road or pedestrian signs recorded using the partner’s own smart phone or tablet. The Survey123 NHT Asset Inventory enables partners who may not be familiar with global positioning system (GPS) technology through a user-friendly interface, similar to a fillable PDF, and only requires filling out prompted questions and taking site asset photos while the mobile device captures GPS location.

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April 2020

Presentation: Don Owen, Partnership for the National Trails System; Mitchel Hannon and Kristen Weil, Trust for Public Lands

A Corridor Protection Gap Analysis and Connectivity Assessment for National Trails Update

The Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS), in collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, will utilize an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to identify, map, and characterize trail protection opportunities throughout the National Trails System. This effort will result in two Interactive Maps of the National Trails System, with one providing a public view of the conserved components of the trails on top of a 3D Scene viewer and a second practitioner view that provides information for decision making related to the conservation of unprotected segments of each trail.

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February 2020

Presentation: Haden Macbeth, Florida National Scenic Trail, US Forest Service Southern Region, Florida State University Graduate Intern

Trail Gap Analysis – Using Priority Parcel Modeling

Haden presented on a GIS model that can be used to evaluate parcels within trail gaps based on reroute criteria established in the Florida National Scenic Trail Comprehensive Plan.

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January 2020

Presentation: Sarah E. Rivera and Brian Deaton, GIS Specialists for National Trails, National Park Service

National Trails Near Real-Time Mapping of the Pony Express Re-Ride

The National Trails office (NTIR) continues working with partners in innovative ways using various GIS technologies to engage and inform the public of the National Historic Trails. NTIR recently coordinated with the National Pony Express Association (NPEA) to redevelop the workflow and platform for displaying near real-time data for the Pony Express Re-Ride. This included utilizing the data interoperability extension for ESRI ArcGIS Pro and creating an ArcGIS Online web app to display the re-ride data. The annual commemorative re-ride conducted by members of NPEA along the Pony Express National Historic Trail recreates the 18 operational months of the Pony Express between April 1860 and October 1861. Beginning on June 10, 2019 in St. Joseph, Missouri, riders traveled more than 1,800 miles from station to station traversing eight states while carrying a SPOT GPS tracking device within a mochila saddlebag to allow the public to follow riders along the trail until their final station in Sacramento, CA.

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November 2019

Presentation: Taylor Willow, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and Geospatial Resource Assistant, USFS Rocky Mountain Regional Office

Spatially Tracking CDT Project Work to Improve Accountability and Identify Trends

Each year, the Continental Divide Trail Administrator allocates CDT funding to projects through an online proposal system. This process was
previously based in SharePoint and included no spatial component other than an optional shapefile or map attachment. The Trail
Administrator required the addition of spatial locations for projects to help track work on the CDT through time, and to improve
accountability for funding decisions.
In order to improve efficiency, we developed an integrated workflow using SharePoint to collect and store project proposal information,
Survey123 to collect and store spatial locations for projects, and ArcGIS Online web mapping to display the points and information together.
The web map is filterable by year and funding decision, enabling the Trail Administrator to view the distribution of the current year’s
proposals and to take a retrospective look at historical funding and notice any spatial patterns that may be emerging.

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October 2019

Presentation: Elizabeth McCartney, Project Manager, National Digital Trails, National Geospatial Program, U.S Geological Survey

National Digital Trails – Project Update

The National Digital Trails Network project was developed in response to the Department of Interior’s vision to
expand recreational opportunities on the Nation’s public lands.
Our Nation is home to a vast network of recreational trails traveled by millions of citizens. The trails are managed by
numerous organizations and jurisdictions and do not form a coherent, connected network. The overall goal of this
project is to provide the data and the tools to enable land managers to visualize opportunities to increase the
connectivity within this network.
Join us for a progress report on our three major goals: (1) create a decision support tool to assist land managers in
identifying connections between trails; (2) create a robust national digital trails network; and (3) develop a mobile
responsive editor for maintaining trails.

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September 2019

Presentation: Russell Hirschler, Executive Director of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance and Claire Polfus, Center for Community GIS

21st Century Way to Attract Trail Users: On-Line Trail Finder

We will share a new online trail database: Trail Finder – a cooperative, web-based database showing publicly accessible trails throughout New Hampshire and Vermont (with a separate, similar program in Maine). The project aims to connect people to publicly accessible trails, increasing the public’s access to healthy, outdoor recreational opportunities in their own communities.

Unlike other open source databases where any public information can be added, Trail Finder uses only information that is approved by the landowner and trail manager. Collaboration among conservation landowners, trail groups, and towns are contributing trails’ data, including landownership and allowable uses, in a single, GIS web-based platform. The project works with organizations, towns, and willing landowners to digitally map existing trails and record public access and allowable trail uses. Trail encourages people to get outside, be active, and connect with amazing conserved lands. We will explore the extra incentives and fun features in Trail Finder.

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August 2019

Presentation: Angie Southwould, NPS Alaska Region, Lead GIS Data Manager

Maintaining Trail Data in Alaska Region Parks

After working with Trail Specialists and Facility Managers in Alaska parks, the Alaska Region GIS Team designed a regional Trail Spatial Data Standard in 2013 intended to streamline field data collection and work as seamlessly as possible with the NPS Facilities Management Software System (FMSS). In the six years since initial implementation, we’ve learned many lessons that have helped us make continual improvements to the design and workflows surrounding data collection and maintenance. Please join us to learn more about this journey.

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July 2019

Presentation: Ryan Branciforte, OuterSpatial and Jeremy Wimpey, Applied Trails Research

GIS Support and Analyses along the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail

This session will review how researchers, stewards and land managers are leveraging GIS to help visualize visitor travel patterns along the PCT and AT and inform improved trail management and design to mitigate/minimize impacts to natural resources, and manage visitor use to achieve protection and access mandates. In addition, land managers are starting to leverage modern mobile apps to extend traditional GIS techniques and deepen the engagement of recreationists to inform and provide tools to improve visitor use management.

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OuterSpatial

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June 2019

Presentation: Matt Able, US Forest Service

Survey123 Trail Management Tools

How the Forest Service is developing electronic tools to quickly and efficiently monitor and manage trail conditions.  A practical approach that can be utilized by staff, volunteers, or even the general public to give the people responsible for trails accurate, up-to-date trail data to make better management decisions.

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May 2019

Presentation: Greg Matthews, COU Coordinator, User Engagement, US Geological Survey

Increase Access and Expand Recreational Opportunities on the Nation’s Public Lands by Connecting Trail Systems

Our Nation is home to a vast network of recreational trails traveled by millions of citizens. This trail network varies in age from hundreds of years old to brand new and varies in purpose from recreation to providing critical transportation routes. The trails also vary by managing organization. Because of this varied legacy, existing trails do not form a coherent, connected network. The overall objective of this project is to increase the connectivity within this network.

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April 2019

Presentation: Don Owen, Partnership for the National Trails System; Mitchel Hannon and Kristen Weil, Trust for Public Lands

A Corridor Protection Gap Analysis and Connectivity Assessment for National Trails

The Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS), in collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, will utilize an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to identify, map, and prioritize trail protection projects throughout the National Trails System. This effort will dovetail with the Interactive Map of the National Trails System, which utilizes the ArcGIS Online platform to create a single online map for all 30 National Scenic and National Historic Trails and their publicly available data.

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PNTS Gap Analysis Summary

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March 2019

Presentation: Ryan Abrahamsen, Terrain 360

Using Geospatially Referenced Machine Learning for Invasive Species Detection in a 360° Virtual Tour

This presentation will cover Terrain 360’s project utilizing Machine Learning to detect invasive species (Phragmites Australis) in geospatially referenced 360° images, crowd sourced imagery, and drone imagery. The presentation will also briefly showcase the 360° virtual tour of the Huron River, a national designated water trail.

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February 2019

No call

January 2019

No call

December 2018

No call

November 2018

Presentation: Peder Nelson, Instructor, Oregon State University

A new citizen science tool for mapping and monitoring the National Trail System with the GLOBE Observer mobile app

Citizen science is a great way to help trail users to connect with and learn about the environment while making useful contributions to science and land management. In this presentation, I will introduce the GLOBE Observer (GO) citizen science project and explore how it could be used for the mapping, measuring, and monitoring of the National Trail System.

What is GLOBE Observer (GO)?
With the free GLOBE Observer mobile app, recreationists use their smart phones to make observations with photos and text about the environment, wherever they find themselves.  These data are geographically linked to satellite images and provide more details of Earth’s surface than we tend to get from satellites. They can compare their observations to those of others around the world. Importantly, land managers can use the submitted data to improve their own geospatial data, outreach activities, or engage new trail users.  Scientists are using this data to improve maps of forest recovery after fires, tracking invasive species, and monitoring trail conditions.
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. It is sponsored by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of State. . The app is free from the App Store and Google Play. Once downloaded, data can be collected while offline. https://observer.globe.gov/

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October 2018

Presentation: Lisa Johnson, PAD-US Coordinator, Boise State University

The New and Improved PAD-US 2.0

The U.S. protected areas network, represented by PAD-US, is the largest and most diverse in the world.  Learn how the new PAD-US 2.0 database supports users by separating components such as fee owned parcels, overlapping designations, easements, Proclamation boundaries and marine areas for various applications.  This is a major update of federal lands, 30 states, and much more.

Hear about the progress of the FGDC Federal Lands Working Group in developing the federal estate for PAD-US 2.0, including updates from the Federal Recreation Council using PAD-US to help people find public land.  Learn about recommended guidance for base map developers and view summary reports for the nation, states, or by agency.  Discuss inventory completeness estimates, efforts to update database technology and complete PAD-US by 2020.  Ask questions or share feedback to improve your experience with PAD-US.

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September 2018

Presentation: Adam Calkins, U.S. Forest Service and Dr. Dale Hamilton, Northwest Nazarene University

Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Photogrammetrics, and Machine Learning to Record Archaeological Sites and Historic Trails.

Archaeologists have two goals, to record known sites and locate new ones. In 2018, the Boise National Forest began thinking outside the box to accomplish these objectives. We signed an agreement with Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) to begin using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS or drones) to record and find archaeological sites. Over the summer of 2018, we recorded over 2,000 acres of National Forest Land with a UAS. While most of the work was done on historic mining sites, we also recorded small sections of historic railroad grade. Sections of the Oregon Trail were recorded in 2017. In addition to recording sites, undergraduate students at NNU have developed Machine Learning algorithms to locate archaeological artifacts and features. One of these algorithms can locate historic metal fragments (cans, stoves, sheet metal, etc.), and another can locate linear features, such as roads and trails. The techniques of UAS data collection and Machine Learning algorithms, being developed by NNU and the Boise National Forest, will help federal agencies and private organizations locate, record, and manage archaeological sites and historic trails. Our presentation focuses on the genesis of this partnership, methods for data collection, and the results.

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August 2018

Presentation: Candace Bogart, Regional GIS Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service

Creating an Authoritative Data Source for the Arizona National Scenic Trail

This presentation will share the strategy developed under an Esri EAP agreement to create an authoritative data source for the entire AZ National Scenic Trail: its geography and associated attributes.  The workflow will allow partner agencies to submit proposed alignment changes via ArcGIS Server Feature Services.  Data governance is to be provided by USDA Forest Service Region 3 data stewards as described in the Arizona National Scenic Trail Alignment Data Governance.  Follow-up discussion reiterated Esri’s finding, “Although this geodatabase environment and workflows were designed for the AZNST alignment in mind, they could generally be used for any national trail. Standardizing the ways proposed updates are sent to the managing agency and the workflows that include data governance could be useful for other national trails or other kinds of projects where GIS data updates come from multiple sources.” Sharing the authoritative data is to be accomplished via a map service in ArcGIS Server with download capability enabled.

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July 2018

No call

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May 2018

Presentation: Sarah Rivera, GIS Specialist, NPS National Trails Intermountain Region

The National Trails Intermountain Region’s Sign Plan Program

We will explore how NTIR uses GIS to support the process of signing the 9 National Historic Trails. This is a multi-step process that involves our Design and Development team, GIS team and partners of the trails. ArcGIS Online and python play a key role in the sign plan program. ArcGIS Online serves an interactive interface for our partners and database for our signs while python automates organizing and extracting a plan from the online database. The final product is a sign installed on the ground representing a trail route.

April 2018

No call

March 2018

Presentation: Matt Robinson, GIS Specialist, Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Update on National Trails System Web Map and 50th Anniversary Map

An update and discussion on the present National Trails System web mapping effort and 50th Anniversary Map. Please review the web map and be ready to discuss and provide feedback. The web map can be viewed at: https://nps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d89951079a374f28ab4a3b9fc41025dd

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February 2018

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January 2018

Presentation: Rob Chohan, Mobile Architect, ?π Maps

Creating Mobile-first Offline Maps using Authoritative Trails Data

?π Maps are designed with mobile in mind from the beginning.  “Mobile-first” means that the customers experience is great once they download the app.  And if the application is backcountry or search and rescue, then the customer is ready to “go well prepared”. We build our maps using Authoritative Trails data from the US Forest Service and US Geologic Survey.  We take care to use shaded relief and 40 foot contours from the USGS.  We also adhere to the National Park Service iconography for a consistent experience.  We will also discuss some of the image compression and data reduction techniques that we use to fit the entire map fits in the mobile app.

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December 2017

No call

November 2017

Presentation: Guthrie Alexander, Conservation Program Manager, Continental Divide Trail Coalition; Slide Kelly, GIS/Conservation Seasonal Specialist, Continental Divide Trail Coalition

Producing Half Mile Scale Hiking Maps for the Continental Divide Trail

The CDTC has never produced a map set suitable for hiking the CDT that highlights the NST route. The existing 3rd party produced maps that have either a high cost to trail users or provided hiking information that is not always consistent with the intent or management direction of the CDT. Our goal was to produce a free community resource for the CDT using modern and authoritative data in a manner that was easy to maintain and update for the future.

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October 2017

Presentation: Brian Riordan, Customer Success Lead, Strava Metro

Big Data for Monitoring Trails and Recreation

This is presentation is an exploration of an app-based big data solution to see how groups have been using Strava to gain insights into bike/ped movements on trail networks. It looks at how big data is being used and why it is so key for this data to be used in new ways by groups with large regions of land and trail networks. We will dive into the growth of Strava, Geo functions around the company and how Strava Metro is being used now to monitor trail systems. We will also discuss the future of app technology and explore how to use the information to make the best planning and investment choices. Here is a chance to learn about a 5+ trillion point GPS database and get feedback to the top of Strava. Understand what is available now to help with mapping, editing, elevation and trail use.

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September 2017

Discussion: Sarah Quinn, External Renewable Energy Program Lead, National Park Service; Jill Jensen, Archaeologist, Old Spanish Trail, National Park Service

Balancing Public Data with Resource Protection

How can we create maps and provide data easily while protecting the resources of our National Trails? How can we best and responsibly represent trail resources? Join us for a discussion with representatives from the National Park Service’s Environmental Compliance, Renewable Energy, and Resource Protection on the benefits and risks of mapping and how better maps can lead to better resource conflict avoidance and protection.

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August 2017

No call

July 2017

Presentation: Chelsea Bodamer, Partnership for the National Trails Sytem

NPS ArcGIS Open Data

The Partnership for the National Trails System has recently developed a new online forum. Before its official release to the public, Chelsea would like to present the new interface, and open the discussion up for feedback and advice from the NTS GIS community.

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June 2017

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May 2017

Presentation: Paul Voris, National Park Service

NPS ArcGIS Open Data

NPS ArcGIS Open Data is a public facing website where data can be discovered and shared with users or referenced in IRMA and can be easily downloaded in a variety of formats. The site collects data from groups designated as Open Data within our organization and presents it to the public in an easy to use interface.  The data can be used directly from a service such as a hosted feature service or map service or it can be downloaded as a Shapefiles, File GeoDatabases, or accessed through the GeoJSON API.

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April 2017

Presentation: Lisa Johnson, Boise State University

America’s Public Parks and Protected Areas: Introducing the Improved Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)

America’s tremendous asset base of protected areas is critical for conservation planning, natural resource management, outdoor recreation, public health and more. These include national parks and forests, wildlife sanctuaries, state beaches and parks, county open space, city parks, land trust preserves, conservation easements, marine protected areas and more. Altogether, over 3 billion acres (with overlapping designations) are managed by thousands of public agencies and non-profit organizations that serve current and future generations. A complete and current database of these places is a critical tool to achieve organizational missions across jurisdictions. The 2016 PAD-US update (1.4), published by USGS, includes the best available geospatial representation of federal, state and other protected areas with descriptors like owner / manager name, designation type, unit name and other information useful for various applications. Join us to learn about America’s official inventory of protected areas, applications, relationships to National Trails data, our strategy to complete the inventory by 2020, viewers, tools and opportunities to engage.

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March 2017

Discussion: Matthew Rowbotham, North Country Trail Association

Developing a Web Forum for National Trails System GIS

Topics for discussion may include: included content, strategies for implementation, web hosting, and a discussion of examples. Your participation is welcomed and encouraged!

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February 2017

Discussion: Peter Bonsall, National Park Service

Developing a comprehensive National Trails System GIS data layer and web map

In September, a concerted effort was made to aggregate a National Trails System GIS layer for use in Argon National Laboratory’s energy corridor assessment tool. As a result, all of the National Trails System data is now aggregated in one location. The next step is to discuss how we can come to a consensus and make a public GIS layer, especially in light of the National Trails System Act 50th Anniversary. Topics for discussion may include 1) Strategy for implementation; 2) FTDS attributes; 3) Hosting the data; and 4) How to address sensitivity issues.

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January 2017

Presentation: Ryan Abrahamsen, Terrain 360

Virtually Touring the National Trails – Providing 360° Imagery and Interactive Panoramic Maps along National Trails and Waterways

Terrain360 has been commissioned to map the waterways of the Captain John Smith National Scenic Trail. We will discuss our process, data management, challenges for large scale projects and ways to use and incorporate and disseminate this data. We will also discuss other projects including using machine learning object detection in our imagery, crowd sourcing imagery and GIS data for hiking trails and possible partnership with REI (adventure projects) to map National scenic trails and national parks.

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Are you interested in being a presenter for the National Trails System GIS Network or do you have a topic to suggest? Send us an e-mail at ntsgis@nps.gov