Expired Solicitation - Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) FY17/18 Awards

The U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program awards resulting from the USGS Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), initially issued on August 16, 2017.

In 2018, the 3DEP program offered partnership funding to 25 proposals in 19 States and Territories.

Click on an individual "Project Name" for a full description

Project Descriptions

AK - Prince of Wales Island Phase II QL1 Lidar Project: 

Southeast Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island is a region dominated by closed-canopy, coniferous forest and steep slopes which challenges the utility of coarse-resolution IfSAR and QL2 lidar for multiple data analysis needs and planned applications. The need for QL1 lidar has been recognized in order to assist ongoing USFS land management programs, measure current and future timber availability, support derivative mapping such as NHD and WBD updates, aid in economically critical fish management studies, evaluate transportation infrastructure, detect geologic hazards, and characterize cultural heritage and mining sites. This collaborative endeavor marks Phase 2 of continued collection of QL1 lidar data over Prince of Wales and neighboring islands.

AK - North Slope Borough LiDAR Acquisition Plan:

The North Slope Borough on Alaska’s Arctic coast is subject to increasing coastal erosion, flooding and subsidence that has been exacerbated in recent years by permafrost melting and and sea ice retreat. The North Slope Borough is home to 8 communities, 6 of which are in coastal areas highly vulnerable to erosion, flooding and permafrost degradation caused by storm surges over shallow coastal bathymetry and low tundra relief. New elevation data will provide a crucial baseline for monitoring impacts to infrastructure due to coastal erosion and subsidence. Other benefits will include emergency response and assessment of gravel resources for infrastructure projects.

AZ - Arizona South Kaibab National Forest: 

The Kaibab National Forest will capture QL1 lidar data for the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts. Currently there is minimal lidar data in the area and this project will provide district-wide lidar data. The data will be used to aid four Forest Restoration Initiative efforts as well as inform archaeology, timber, wildfire and forest planning efforts.

AZ - Arizona Lower Colorado River Vegetation Mapping: 

The Boulder Canyon Operations Office (BCOO) and the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) of the Lower Colorado Region of the US Bureau of Reclamation both have a need for updated vegetation mapping products along the lower Colorado River. BCOO uses vegetation mapping projects for calculating evapotranspiration estimates of agricultural and riparian vegetation along the lower Colorado River. The LCR MSCP uses vegetation mapping projects for several purposes including identification of survey areas for various wildlife monitoring projects, identification of potential areas for the habitat maintenance fund, and analysis of habitat use of LCR MSCP covered species. In addition to the vegetation mapping project that the lidar will be used for, the LCR MSCP has a need for high-resolution / high-accuracy topographic products for construction planning for the creation of habitat restoration sites. Other offices within the region also have a need for the same products for construction and operations/maintenance activities.

AZ - Arizona Verde River Area: 

The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service will capture QL2 (or better) lidar data for the following 6 watersheds: 1506020103 - 1506020108 to include Ash Fork Draw-Jumbo Tank, Upper Partridge Creek, Lower Partridge Creek, Middle Big Chino Wash, Williamson Valley Wash and Lower Big Chino Wash. The project will also capture lidar for the following 4 watersheds: 1506020201 - 1506020204 Granite Creek-Verde River, Hell Canyon, Sycamore Creek and Grindstone Wash-Verde River.

This area includes areas overlapping and adjacent to USDA-Forest Service interests with the Arizona Kaibab National Forest project.The lidar collected will support analysis and monitoring for many aspects of NRCS programs and projects. This is an area of invaded grassland and the data will provide a product showing encroached grassland, density of encroachment, and tree class sizes. The data will also improve hydrological modeling and flood risk. Furthermore, this data will assist in applying engineering projects related to conservation practices such as pipelines, livestock waters, and erosion control structures.

CO - Lidar Acquisition for Eastern Colorado: 

A multi-agency coalition, consisting of the CGS, CWCB, CO NRCS, DIA, and the Town of Castle Rock are using matching funds from the USGS 3D-Elevation Program (3DEP) to collect lidar over a large portion of eastern Colorado. These multiple agencies and partners will use the high-resolution data to support debris flow and flood hazard mapping, land management, forest and agricultural planning, infrastructure and development planning, and energy applications. The 3DEP matching funds will allow the single largest lidar collection ever completed in Colorado that will support efforts to provide critical natural hazard information for local governments to make better land use decisions and for state and federal agencies to design and planning purposes to the natural resources in Colorado.

FL - QL2 Lidar for the Florida Panhandle: 

The Northwest Florida Water Management District will be collecting QL2 lidar for all of Franklin, Liberty, Gadsden and Wakulla counties and the remaining sections of Jackson, Calhoun, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton that were not collected in Spring 2017. Also included is the section of Jefferson County which completes the NWFWMD Jurisdiction. This lidar data will complete the data collection of the Florida Panhandle and support the collection of statewide lidar. In addition, this new data collection will work seamlessly with the ongoing projects in northwest Florida such as Leon County, Lower Choctawatchee/St. Andrew Bay/St. Joseph Bay and Escambia/Santa Rosa counties.

FL - Florida Everglades National Park Continuation Lidar: 

Topobathymetric QL1 lidar will be flown over 749 sq miles of western coastal landscape in Everglades National Park (ENP). Landscape dynamics of Everglades coastal wetlands are sensitive to spatial patterns of microtopography and its influence on hydrology, nutrient transport, peat accumulation, fire and vegetation response. ENP coastal communities are particularly sensitive to restoration hydrologies and sea level rise because of its low topographic relief. Spatial patterning resulting from changing freshwater inflows, sea-level rise, storm-surge inundation, and saltwater intrusion are critical to a range of habitat resilience, coastal vulnerability, and sustainability issues within both the terrestrial and estuarine ENP environments. Lidar combined with other information layers will be particularly important in enhancing our ability to understand, detect and predict influences on hydrology, wildlife habitat and ecological processes at appropriate scales for species and landscape.

GA - State of Georgia FY18 3DEP Project: 

The Georgia lidar Program, led by the State Geospatial Information Office (GIO), has established a consortium of approximately 40 governmental entities (cities, counties, regional government, State and Federal agencies) as well as our first private partner to propose a cost-sharing partnership with the USGS to acquire highly accurate elevation data for 67 of the State’s 159 counties (25,000 sq mi out of 58,000). The acquisition will not only support local, regional and State government throughout Georgia, but has also been identified as a critical resource required by a significant number of federal partners who manage programs within the State. We are particularly interested in acquiring elevation data along the coast, which has experienced several natural disasters over the past few years that has altered shorelines and caused widespread flooding damage coastwide. The physical landscape has changed significantly and brought about an increased awareness of coastal vulnerability.

KS - Kansas USGS 3DEP Lidar: 

Current elevation data across the State of Kansas exists as a conglomeration of projects conducted over a period of time beginning in 2006 and culminating with the 2016 project. Quality levels range from QL3 to QL2 with early projects not necessarily meeting the USGS Lidar Base Specification. The proposed project will update all elevation data that does not meet the QL2 specifications. The acquisition will also include the collection of QL1 data for 2 counties in Kansas for demonstration, research and development of the value and utility of higher density lidar.

ME - Crown of Maine Lidar Acquisition: 

The Maine GeoLibrary and Maine office of GIS has assembled a diverse team of partners working towards the collective goal of acquiring lidar data at USGS QL2 specifications. The Crown of Maine project will acquire a total of 6,696 square miles of QL2 data and will complete the initial statewide coverage, a combination of of USGS QL2 and QL3 data.

MI - Charlevoix Michigan Lidar: 

Using the State of Michigan’s, Michigan Statewide Authoritative Imagery and Lidar (MiSAIL) program, lidar will be acquired for Charlevoix County Michigan. Charlevoix County is part of the Lake Michigan shoreline and includes the Beaver Island Archipelago. The Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians has a high level of interest in the archaeological assets of the Archipelago.

MS - NRCS Mississippi Delta QL2 Lidar: 

NRCS Mississippi has the goal to acquire Quality Level 2 lidar for the entire state. For the past six years, NRCS has been working toward this goal and have utilized the USGS GPSC vehicle to facilitate our objectives. NRCS has been working closely with the USGS to optimize the cost benefit ratio for our Quality Level 2 (QL2) products. This project consist of updating existing lower quality lidar (QL3), mostly older than 8 years (collected in 2009-2010).

NJ - Southern New Jersey 4 County Lidar Collection: 

This project will acquire consistent QL2 level data (tide coordinated) for 4 southern New Jersey Counties (Salem, Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic). Existing data in these counties are 8-10 years old, are of varying quality, do not meet QL2 specifications, and, for most of the area, pre-date Superstorm Sandy. As such, existing data do not accurately represent the ground elevations for much of this coastal portion of New Jersey. The project will compliment a concurrent project undertaken by FEMA to acquire new data for Ocean County, New Jersey, which is adjacent to this proposed project area. With the completion of both projects, there will be QL2 level data for all of New Jersey, allowing for consistent and accurate elevation based analyses for the entire state.

NY - Cayuga and Oswego Counties Lidar: 

Lidar at USGS Quality Level 2 will be collected for Cayuga County and most of Oswego County in central New York State, covering nearly 1,800 square miles. This will update lidar coverage in both counties. The area is part of the drainage into Lake Ontario. The planned collection area has been designed to overlap existing lidar datasets, to complete coverage of Oswego County with an ongoing FEMA project, to maximize utility, and to prepare for future collections in adjacent areas.

OH - Clinton County 3DEP Acquisition: 

The 2018 Ohio Statewide Imagery Program 3DEP acquisition project will provide transformational data necessary to gain a better understanding of 412 terrestrial square miles covering all of Clinton County Ohio. The project addresses several mission-critical functions identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment supporting the efforts of the contributing partners to study and develop programs for natural resource conservation; agriculture and precision farming; flood risk management planning and response; water supply and quality; wildlife management; and river and stream resource management. The data developed and the information derived from this project will have far reaching benefits beyond those identified by the contributing partners.

OH - Delaware County 3DEP Acquisition: 

Ohio first obtained Statewide lidar in 2006 to support the rectification of orthophotography and in so doing established lidar as a critical component of many GIS programs at various levels of government. The 2018 Ohio Statewide Imagery Program 3DEP acquisition project will provide transformational data necessary to gain a better understanding of 457 terrestrial square miles within Delaware County. The project addresses several mission-critical functions identified in the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment supporting the efforts of the contributing partners to study and develop programs for natural resource conservation; agriculture and precision farming; flood risk management planning and response; water supply and quality; wildlife management; and river and stream resource management. The data developed and the information derived from this project will have far reaching benefits beyond those identified by the contributing partners.

OR - OLC Harney County 2018 3DEP: 

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) is requesting 3DEP funding in order to acquire 195 square miles of lidar in Harney County Oregon. This project will collect populated areas north and west of the city of Burns, Oregon. The lidar data will be used to conduct soil mapping and will be used by DOGAMI geologist for future USGS STATEMAP funded geologic studies. This lidar will also be combined with current lidar projects and previous collected lidar to build a complete hydrologic model of the Harney Sub-Basin in Harney County, Oregon.

PA - WVSA Impervious Area Development: 

As part of the design and implementation of a regional stormwater authority (one of the first and largest in Pennsylvania), Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority (WVSA) is utilizing lidar and remote sensing processes for the analysis, planning, development and implementation of various storm sewer and sanitary initiatives across a 36+ municipal region. This cutting edge regional approach provides an efficient and effective approach for the support of operations and maintenance of a stormwater authority dedicated to servicing the residents of the region while exceeding state and federal MS4 pollution reduction levels and ultimately assisting with the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay.

TN - 2018 Middle Tennessee Lidar Project: 

Tennessee has been selected for a 3DEP award to produce lidar data for 19 counties in middle Tennessee. Funding for this project is coming from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, USDA/NRCS, the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, along with Williamson and Rutherford counties. This project will benefit all levels of government in support of land management, flood plain mapping, forest inventory, economic development, transportation planning, ortho photography processing, and environmental management.

TX - Texas StratMap Coastal Region Acquisition: 

The Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS), a division of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is acquiring ~9,870 square miles of high quality lidar for the coastal Texas region through the Texas Strategic Mapping (StratMap) program and Contracts. Lidar acquired from this project will be used for floodplain management and planning, feature extraction, water quality modeling, stream restoration potential analysis, change detection, 911, wildfire mitigation, and habitat identification/modeling for endangered species. It will additionally aid in ongoing recovery efforts for regions in the project impacted by Hurricane Harvey. 9,159 sq miles of this project was awarded through a cooperative agreement, the remaining 704 sq miles was awarded through GPSC.

UT - 2018 State of Utah Lidar Acquisition Coalition: 

The State of Utah, Automated Geographic Reference Center (AGRC, http://gis.utah.gov/) proposed a multi‐agency, local, state, and federal collaborative effort to acquire over 8,914 square miles of 0.5 or 1 meter high-resolution Quality Level (QL) 1 and 2 lidar elevation data and derivative products covering portions of Utah, mainly in the Bear Lake, Cache Valley, San Rafael Swell, Sevier River Watershed, and Wasatch Mountains areas. This data will support land management and development; mapping (geology, hazards, flooding, and wetlands); and environmental management by a variety of governmental, industry, educational, and research organizations.

WI - 2018 Wisconsin Statewide Lidar: 

The Wisconsin Land Information Program (WLIP) in cooperation with 3DEP will acquire QL2 lidar data for six Wisconsin counties. The project area directly overlaps with USGS and FEMA high priority areas for data collection. The total project area for this cooperative agreement is 4,779 square miles.