Timely > Topic GIS: Centerline program maps all 75 counties
By Rachel Hood Arkansas GIS Staff Writer
Te Arkansas Centerline File (ACF) program
has reached its initial round of statewide com- pletion as of August 17, 2010, with the final counties’ road centerline files being uploaded to GeoStor, the state’s geospatial database. Te ACF program began in 2002 in response to state and local officials seeing the need for a common and accurate road file that would allow Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users to locate people, places and events with an address.
It has been a cooperative effort
between participating counties, some with pri- vate contractors maintaining their data, and the Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO). Eight years later, Newton County, the final county needed to complete the statewide file, has been uploaded to GeoStor. ACF data is used by E-9-1-1, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), county judges and as- sessors, school district officials, law enforce- ment, land surveyors, and many more in both the government and private sectors. Tere are several applications for the statewide file, espe- cially when it comes to emergency responses, severe weather monitoring, urban development and wildlife preservation. Te ACF is also used for base map references, Streamlined Sales and Use Tax collection, and home appraisals, just to name a few.
Te initial phase called for updated road cen- terline data from all of the counties based on a uniform standard developed by the AGIO and the Arkansas Geographic Information Systems
GIS Officer Shelby Johnson relates a quick history of the centerline file program for guests and report- ers attending an August 17 press conference to mark completion of the initial project, with the roads in all 75 counties now mapped using GIS technology.
Board (AGISB). Te next phase will be updat- ing the counties in cycles by dividing the state into four regions to be updated each year. Te United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been working with the AGIO to study the feasibility of the Office becoming the steward of the state’s GIS data. Te AGIO has been providing data to the federal agency to be in- corporated into the national map. With the completion of the ACF project, the AGIO and USGS will likely enter a stewardship agreement this year. “Te thing all Arkansans should be proud of
About Shelby Johnson: Arkansas Geographic Information Officer
Arkansas Geographic Information Office and reports directly to the Governor. He previously worked as a Research Specialist at the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas. He has over 18 years of experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He has served several leadership roles in Arkansas and was instru- mental in organizing the State Land Information Board which was later renamed the State GIS Board. Johnson is responsible for assisting
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adison County native Shelby Johnson serves as the State Geographic Information Officer of Arkansas. He directs the
is that everyone worked together to build this map, from Chicot County to Benton, Missis- sippi to Miller, and everywhere in between. Most of the counties did this without any incentive other than it was the right thing to do,” Johnson said. “Now we’ve got a map that is common across the state and can be shared. Te next time our state needs to respond to a tornado or ice storm… all of our people can operate off the same map.” Te AGIO currently has two full-time em-
ployees who work with individuals on the county level to train and assist them on in-
the State GIS Board in building a coordinated GIS system to meet the needs of the people of Arkansas. Johnson has been nationally recognized through serving on the
National States Geographic Information Council Board of Directors from 2001 to 2005. In 2001 he was selected to participate in the pres- tigious LeadAR program that grooms outstanding adults in Arkansas for future leadership roles. He was selected to serve on a research committee of the National Academy of Science developing a national vision for a land ownership database of the United States. In 2007 he was honored with a Life Time Achievement Award by the Arkansas GIS Users Forum for his contribution to the GIS community. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the Univer- sity of Arkansas.
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010
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