FEMA Inventory of High Resolution Elevation Data (excerpt)

3.9. Region IX (AZ, CA, NV, HI, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands)
The RSC [Regional Support Center] was able to obtain information about the data holdings within each state in the Region. A summary of the findings is provided below.

Arizona – Countywide high-quality topographic data is available for the counties of Santa Cruz (LiDAR) and Maricopa (photogrammetric). Pima County has also been actively pursuing development of LiDAR data for areas with high population and identified flood risk. LiDAR coverage for the rest of the state remains spotty.

California – Countywide LiDAR data is available for at least 5 of the 9 Bay Area counties in Northern California. USACE and CA DWR have contributed to several LiDAR collection projects for the Central Valley, while FEMA has funded LiDAR development in the coastal portion of the Bay Area. In Southern California, countywide high-quality topographic data is less prevalent, although the majority of LA County and Ventura County have good LiDAR coverage.
Nevada – State has LiDAR coverage for part of the Carson River Watershed and the populated areas of Clark County. Countywide high-quality topographic data has not been discovered through this inventory effort.

Hawaii – Of the 4 Hawaiian Islands, Oahu and Maui have good countywide LiDAR coverage. Some shorelines of Kauai is also known to have LiDAR projects completed as part of FEMA coastal studies, but exact data extent has not been determined through this inventory effort.

American Samoa – American Samoa has countywide topographic data that supports 5-ft contours, although the data was from the 1970s.

Northern Mariana Islands – Northern Mariana Islands has 4-ft contour coverage for 3 of its islands funded by USACE in 2000.

To download or view the full report click here.

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National Hydrography Dataset updates from USGS

New releases of the National Hydrography Database (high resolution) for Hawaii have been distributed by the USGS. New releases include:

    Subregion 2006 (Oahu) - distribution date: July 28, 2010
    Subregion 2005 (Molokai) – distribution date: July 13, 2010
    Subregion 2004 (Lanai) - distribution date: July 13, 2010
    Subregion 2001 (Hawaii Island) – distribution date: July 1, 2010
    Subregion 2008 (Niihau) – distributed June 23, 2010
    Subregion 2003 (Kahoolawe) – distributed June 12, 2010

The subregion data are available for download from the NHD data download VIEWER in data model 2.0:

    http://nhdgeo.usgs.gov/viewer.htm

(All islands are now available in data model 2.0 which incorporates many enhancements to the previous 1.06 model. Attached is NHD Release Notes on Model 2.0 for those interested. Most notably, model 2.0 incorporates the Watershed Boundary Dataset in the database.)

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NEW Mailing Address

After many years of maintaining a post office box in Kahala. HIGICC is "moving" to town!  The new mailing address is:

    P.O. Box 1174
    Honolulu, Hawaii 96807-1174

This change takes effect immediately.

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Imagery Workshop, Annual Meeting and 10th Anniversary Wrap-up

10am-3:30pm. Imagery Workshop.
This workshop was well attended with almost all of the 40 attendees present at Dave & Buster's by 10am. Representatives from federal, state, county and private sectors met to discuss the results of an imagery survey that had been sent out to stakeholders throughout the state. Topics included types of imagery, resolution, accuracy, budgets, licensing/data sharing, metadata, and distribution.  The survey and workshop results will be compiled and a report
issued later this year. [Click here to view the Powerpoint presentation from the Workshop.]

3:30pm-5:00pm. Annual Meeting.
Attendees heard reports summarizing the activities and finances of the Council this past year as well as "lightning" reports from each of the county representatives. The results of the election were also announced; newly elected Board members are: Jamie Carter, NOAA [Federal]; Joan Delos Santos, DBEDT, Office of Planning [State], Isla Young, Maui Economic Development Board [At Large], Royce Jones, ESRI [At Large], and Alexa Jacroux Biggs, Akimeka [Other]. A county representative will be announced at a later date.  We were pleased to have Dr. Joan Baker and Shane Ring of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) talk about how JPAC uses GIS in their work. We hope to get this fascinating presentation as well as those from the county coordinators on our website soon. [Below left: Jamie Carter (NOAA); below right: Isla Young (MEDB)]

5:00pm-8:00pm. 10th Anniversary.
A wonderful mix of old and new friends, terrific views, great weather, and delicious food (including a "birthday" cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday) highlighted this celebration on the rooftop of Dave & Buster's.

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HIGICC is a private non-profit organization of professionals and students from the federal, state, county, education, and private sectors of Hawai'i's GIS community. Our goal is to provide coordination of GIS activities among a wide range of GIS users in order to avoid duplication of effort, promote data sharing, and maintain data standards throughout the state.

HIGICC strives to bring together and continue to build the geographic community into a cohesive, recognized coordinating body that facilitates the use, development, sharing, and management of geographic data and communicates the value of geographic information to citizens and decision-makers. In the State of Hawaii, GIS is recognized and effectively used as an invaluable tool by the government, business and the citizens for understanding and managing our aina (environment). The Hawaii GICC is a shared mechanism for the diverse community to identify, explore, and solve problems using geospatial technology and information.