The National Map

The National Map is an effort by the USGS to ensure that the Nation has access to current, accurate, nationally consistent digital data and topographic maps derived from the data. The National Map initiative is a seamless, continuously maintained set of public domain geographic base information intended to serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. The National Map depends on local level government contributions to keep the data up-to-date.

Through National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) grants, CGIS is Maryland’s portal to the National Map. The CGIS role is to help organizations in Maryland publish data to The National Map. CGIS provides assistance with two main concerns that organizations may have with sharing data. The first is political, relating to conflicting policies at various levels of government that impede contributions to The National Map. The second issue is technical, where hardware, software, and other technical requirements may hinder contributions to The National Map.

In partnership with MSGIC and other stakeholders, CGIS completed the following CAP projects for The National Map.

• Maryland Centerline Data for the National Map (2005)
• Maryland Large-Scale Digital Orthophoto Data for The National Map (2006)
• Structures Data Themes for Maryland and the National Capital Region (2008-2009)

In partnership with Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, CGIS is currently working on Transportation Data Themes for Maryland and the National Capital Region (2008-2009).

For more information about FGDC/NSDI projects, visit http://www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/nsdi.html.