Public Service

The heart of CAST's home page shows many choices of access to information.

CAST receives a MidAmerica GIS Symposium Award. In May, an award was presented to CAST by the MidAmerica GIS Symposium Conference Planning Committee. CAST was selected for this award based on outstanding achievement by an Academic Institution in the field of Geographical Information Systems research. The award reads The MidAmerica GIS Consortium recognizes the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), University of Arkansas, for Exemplary Contributions in the Support and Advancement of Geographic Information Technologies.

Global Positioning System Base Station. CAST, through its cooperative agreement with Trimble Navigation Ltd., has maintained a community base station on an almost continuous basis since late 1992. This base station offers public access to end users within 300 miles, which includes large portions of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Access to base station data files is available via CAST’s website, anonymous ftp, and bulletin board. This community base network offers those who use GPS technologies an inexpensive, accurate, and easy to use tool.

Digital Data Archive. One of the most essential components of a GIS is digital data. CAST staff continues to upgrade the digital data archive. Initial efforts focused on acquiring digital data sets for Arkansas, but CAST also maintains an extensive library of global, continental, and regional data sets. Additional data are being acquired constantly, and staff members work closely with major federal, state, and local data providers. CAST also provides information on commercially available spatial data, though such data are not directly available through CAST. This year, CAST staff member responded and filled 65 requests for data. The available data are maintained on two server systems and are accessible via the net. CAST also maintains the Arkansas Digital Spatial Data Catalog containing a listing of the digital spatial data available at CAST for the State of Arkansas. Presently, there are over 150 listings of spatial data created by federal, state, local, and private agencies available for distribution, and listings will be added as additional spatial data are acquired. This catalog is available via the Internet or in hardcopy.

Arkansas GAP Analysis Project. The GAP Analysis project is a nationwide effort using GIS and remote sensing to develop wildlife habitat distribution maps and models. Maps are compared to public land ownership maps to detect gaps in management of environmentally sensitive areas. The GAP approach involves compiling a digital biodiversity database in a GIS. The principle layers are land-cover, animal species distribution, and land stewardship. A variety of GIS and remote sensing data sources including satellite imagery, soils maps, elevation maps, and many other data sets that provide much needed ground-truthing information have been utilized in the development of statewide land-cover and wildlife distribution maps. This project not only identified Arkansas’ biodiversity, but lead to the development of totally new digital data relevant to Arkansas and the region including a complete and uniform vegetation classification system and species-based wildlife habitat distribution models. Arkansas GAP project information is maintained on CAST’s website at ww.cast.uark.edu/gap/. In early 2000, the USGS released a CD version of the GAP report and data to be distributed to interested parties in the state and region.

The Aurora Partnership. The Aurora Partnership is a public/private collaboration to stimulate the development and application of decision support tools, services, and systems for natural resource and environmental management. It seeks to address the needs of policy makers, land and resource managers, and county and community leaders. CAST 's involvement in the program includes the hosting of the 1999 Aurora Partnership Conference at the Continuing Education Conference Center in Fayetteville in September. One hundred and thirty-two people from state, local, and federal government agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, and corporations participated in this conference. Participants included representatives from USGS, Intergraph Corporation, EPA, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, University of Arizona, University of Manitoba, Arkansas Department of Information Services, Arkansas Tech University, U.S. Department of Defense, National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, EAST Program, U.S. Department of the Interior, NOAA, ESRI, University of Wisconsin, Mitretek Systems, Columbia University, and many more.

Arkansas Interactive Mapper. The Arkansas Interactive Mapper is a real-time application that allows anyone with access to the web an opportunity to make a map of any area in Arkansas. Unlike a digital catalog, mapper accesses a GIS engine, and within a few minutes, generates a map from specifications defined by the user, such as information to be displayed (i.e. vegetation, soils data, streams, railroads, schools, airports), the area to map (i.e. county, USGS quad), and the desired size and format (i.e. GIF, Adobe or Postscript) for the output map. This project is sponsored by NASA as a demonstration effort to increase the usability and access to imaging-platform-based data, particularly by state and local agencies and by the general public. This mapper is available through CAST’s home page at www.cast.uark.edu. The mapper is very popular as a demonstration of on-line mapping but is also a very practical tool for students, hunters, and others throughout Arkansas who use it to make maps before doing research projects or going out into the field. There are some 1,000 different maps made each month by the system.

Anyone with access to the web can make their own map with CAST's interactive mapper via the CAST webpage.

Arkansas Land Information Board. During the 1997 legislative session, a bill was introduced to abolish the Arkansas Department of Computer Services, and to organize the Arkansas Department of Information Systems. A part of this legislation concerned the development of statewide GIS initiatives, one of which was the organization of the Arkansas Land Information Board. Two relevant changes regarded the addition of three Land Information Board members to represent institutions of higher learning and the option for the Department of Information Systems to utilize existing state resources for housing a statewide spatial data archive. This year, Governor Mike Huckabee appointed CAST’s Director Fred Limp to serve on the State Land Information Board. Various CAST staff members continue to play an important role in this program. This year, CAST hosted the May 2000 Arkansas Land Board Meetings at CAST facilities. Those attending represented the Arkansas Geological Commission, Arkansas Department of Information Services, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Wellsco Graphic Solutions, First Electric Cooperative, Arkansas Department of Arkansas Heritage, Benton County Assessor’s Office, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, City of Jacksonville, the Bureau of Environmental Health Services, and CAST.

Vision 2010: Preparing Arkansas Communities for the Twenty-First Century. Building the Capacity of Communities and Institutions in the Information Age. During FY 97-98, the Center hosted the Vision2010 Technology Seminar here on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus. Approximately 50 participants represent seven Arkansas counties who are participate in the Vision2010 program. The many events covering technology topics that benefit small and large communities can be used to compete in the global economy and provide information from technology experts on telecommunications, GIS, banking, and education. CAST staff continue to support and participate in this program.

The Rural America 2000 Program. Rural America 2000, a major program initiated in FY 94-95, continues to thrive. This program provides access to state-of-the-art systems and technical expertise for rural governmental units. The use of the lab is provided for a limited time at no cost to rural government groups to provide them with essential hands-on expertise in the use of such systems before they make critical decisions about purchase.

OpenGIS Specification (OGIS). According to many publications and industry pundits, the most prominent force in the geoprocessing marketplace today is the OpenGIS Consortium and the specification for interoperable geoprocessing that is being developed under their auspices. The membership of the consortium and the workhorse technical committee reads like a who’s who of information technology, GIS, and remote sensing. CAST has been instrumental in the consortium since before its inception. CAST staff (Farley and Limp) are counted among the founders of this organization that evolved from collaborative research work involving CAST, the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, and the President of OGIS, David Schell. Limp serves on the OGC Board of Directors, a position he has held since its founding.

Conferences, Demonstrations, and Meetings. CAST staff regularly participate in, sponsor, and lead demonstrations, tours, talks, workshops, etc. in GIS technologies, archaeology, forestry, biological sciences, architecture, and many others. Below are a few selected examples (see appendix B for extended listings).

• In April, Fred Limp presented a tour and demonstration to Arkansas’ new House Speaker, Shane Broadway. Several maps produced by CAST were also presented to him.

• In September, CAST staff members provided a presentation of the Smart Places program for local government officials. Officials from local planning agencies and the Bank of Fayetteville were invited to attend a presentation by Dr. Ralph Root of the USGS, Denver. Dr. Root demonstrated the Smart Places program, which is a place-based decision support system specifically oriented to planning-type issues. After showing some applications from other regions, as well as a demo using some local CADIS data, Dr. Root explained that the USGS was interested in sponsoring a trial usage of the software by interested parties in the area. CAST will also be involved with this effort, as well as a possible tie-in to the CADIS project.

• John Wilson gave a demonstration/tour in June for two groups of twenty 6^th – 7^th grade students from Educational Talent Search. Educational Talent Search is a grant program on the University of Arkansas campus that serves about one thousand 6^th – 12^th grade students from twenty-seven area schools. The goal of the program is to encourage these students to continue their education beyond the high school level. The students involved in the demonstration were first introduced to the concepts of Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, and Remote Sensing. They then participated in an interactive demonstration involving ArcView GIS Software that allowed each student to create a map of their hometown, or any other town in Arkansas, including roads, railroads, streams, lakes, city limits, and land-cover. They were then given an introduction to stereographic viewing through a demonstration of ImageStation, a 3D visualization and photogrammetry software.

• In April, Brian Culpepper presented a 30-minute overview of GIS to the Arkansas County Judges meeting in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Approximately 40 judges and local government staff members were in attendance.

• Bruce Gorham presented a demonstration of MAVA-LULC and BRIM projects for a Contingent from the republic of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz in August, 1999.

• Several CAST staff members participated in the first Arkansas Technology Summit in July. This meeting was primarily aimed at educating state legislators and other decision-makers in the many issues involved in moving Arkansas forward on the technology front. Fred Limp was a guest speaker at the first day's session and served on the Summit’s Steering Committee. CAST’s booth emphasized the recent delta land-use project, the Black River inundation mapping project, and our various support efforts with the EAST program.

• Malcolm Williamson participated in discussions in July about 911 data issues with the Benton County 911 administration. Benton County had recently supplied us with their 911 base map data for use with the CADIS project. This data is currently unprojected. He met with Tom Maringer and several others from the 911 office, as well as Bobby Fanning from the Planning Dept., to discuss geo-rectification of their data, as well as other GIS issues.

Use of CAST Facilities by University of Arkansas Departments. CAST’s state-of-art labs are regularly used by students from various University of Arkansas departments to complete graduate and undergraduate level projects. Groups of University of Arkansas students, faculty, and staff also benefit from the use of CAST’s labs. This year, among others, CAST’s large teaching lab was used for the Global Systems Institute, a science education project for Arkansas public school teachers, the GLOBE Program for public school students, the Geographic Institute, and University Day, a University of Arkansas program to expose public school children to the benefits of higher education. CAST computer-use accounts were issued to the following during this fiscal year.

• Graduate Student/Research accounts: 84.
• Fall 1999 Class accounts: 158.
• Spring 2000 Class accounts: 141.
• Faculty/Staff accounts: 9.
• Summer 2000 Class accounts: 6 .
• Summer 2000 Workshops/etc. (Globe, GSI, CADIS, Saudi visit): 59.
• Summer 1999 Workshops/etc.: 59.