In the digital information age, new technologies and analytical tools make it easier to access and organize geographic information in a way that is useful to citizens, industry, and the government. Today, a state- of-the-art digital atlas of the Greater Yellowstone area is being released that will serve as a powerful information resource for many users in the Yellowstone ecosystem and nationwide.
The Digital Atlas is designed to assist managers, planners, scientists, teachers and the public in making effective use of the vast amount of information about the Greater Yellowstone area in order to guide resource management and to better understand the region as a whole. Available to the public at no charge on dual compact discs (CDs), the atlas contains 275 unique mapped information layers of the Greater Yellowstone area, an area that includes parts of the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Mapped information includes the region's topography, geology, water resources, wildlife species and their habitats, roads and trails, demographic and economic information, aerial photography and many other layers of thematic information.
In addition to broad regional coverage, the CD features selected data from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Gallatin County, and the City of Bozeman. The CD also includes special features, such as an animation of the spread of the 1988 Yellowstone Fire.
The Atlas also includes ArcViewTM Data Publisher Software (a limited use version of ArcView 3.1), a Geographic Information System (GIS) software tool that enables users to create new views of the region based on the mapped thematic data layers selected.
The CD is the result of collaborative efforts among a number of interagency and public-private partnerships:
- The data and information contained on the dual CD Atlas were contributed
by the partners in the Greater Yellowstone Area Data Clearinghouse, a public-
private partnership set up through a grant from the Federal Geographic
Data Committee to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and dissemination
of geospatial data on a national basis: Montana State University, the
University of Wyoming, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service,
the National Park Service, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI),
and others.
- The City of Bozeman, MT, and Gallatin County, MT, portions of the atlas
are a product of their participation in the National Spatial Data Infrastructure
Community Demonstration Project of the National Performance Review.
- The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with ESRI, produced the Atlas through the Aurora Partnership, a public-private collaboration whose goal is to stimulate the development and application of the next generation of tools, systems, and services for place-based decision making. The Digital Atlas is a demonstration of the latest in geographically-based CD technology and information storage techniques.
Free copies of the Atlas are available from: Greater Yellowstone Area Data Clearinghouse c/o Geographic Information and Analysis Center, Room 209, AJM Johnson Hall, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3495 (Tel: 406-994-2374). Information about the Atlas can be obtained and individual data layers may be downloaded at the Clearinghouse web site: www.giac.montana.edu/gyadc.
Some selected statements by partners who contributed to the development of the Digital Atlas:
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"Gallatin County welcomes the GYA Atlas as a valuable information source
for better decision making."
William A. Murdock, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners.
"The Atlas promotes better understanding of critical environmental issues
which affect our planning options for the future."
R. Dale Beland AIA, AICP; Gallatin County Planning Director.
"It is difficult to place a price tag on the massive amounts of information
etched onto these two plastic discs. If geographic information is priceless
anywhere in the West, it is in the Greater Yellowstone."
Mark Schaefer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S.
Department of the Interior
"There is a crucial need in the Greater Yellowstone to be able to understand
changes and events that occur across administrative boundaries. Managers
are hampered by too little cross-boundary mapping and compiled resource
themes that are based on ecological principles. The new GYA CD's represents
a long awaited step in the right direction."
Mike Finley, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
"These CDs offer an unprecedented opportunity for individuals to explore the
geography of one of the most outstanding environments in the world. The
CDs will be particularly useful for schools and others wishing to learn about
the interaction of the natural world and human societies. The CD¹s will
also facilitate a greater appreciation of the role of geographical knowledge
in resource management and society."
Richard Aspinall, Director, Geographic Information and Analysis Center,
Montana State University
Note to editors: The Digital Atlas is being released on November 19, 1999, in conjunction with the GIS Day celebration at Montana State University, the location of the Greater Yellowstone Area Data Clearinghouse. The Atlas will be used to help introduce more than 1.8 million children and adults to the power of GIS when the National Geographic Society highlights the Atlas during its live web broadcast on GIS Day.