Committee Co-Chairs

• Department of Commerce, assignment pending with new Administration appointees
• Department of Interior, assignment pending with new Administration appointees

Meeting Information

• The most recent meeting was held virtually on Thursday, October 22, 2020. Highlights included:
  • Significant recent accomplishments were recognized including organization of the Alaska Coastal Mapping Subcommittee, acquisition of a statewide imagery mosaic, and completion of statewide IfSAR elevation data coverage.
  • Status of hydrography, imagery, GRAV-D, shorelines, coastal bathymetry, and terrestrial hydrography was presented.
  • Requirements for mapping wetlands, vegetation, high resolution elevation, and geophysical survey data were presented. 
  • State and Federal collaboration to acquire critical map layers required to monitor the Barry Arm and other potential landslides in Alaska was emphasized.
  • A request was made for the AMEC Technical Subcommittee to review and provide a recommendation regarding adding wetlands as a monitored theme. A recommendation to add wetlands was subsequently made by the Technical Subcommittee and approved virtually by AMEC executives. 
• The next meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on April 28, 2021.

18-Month Tactical Plan

• AMEC uses 18-month tactical plans to guide its coordination activities. The plans provide details regarding anticipated data acquisition, communication, and outreach objectives.
  • A new 18-month tactical plan has been requested by the Committee to reflect recent changes to the themes tracked by AMEC.
  • AMEC's Alaska Mapping Technical Committee is drafting an updated Plan for the Committee that will be in effect from April 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021.
  • The draft will be sent to Committee executives for review and approval in March 2021.
  • The most recent previous plan is past its effective date but is included here as a reference. 

                                                              Alaska Mapping 18-month Tactical Plan II

This plan proposes the actions that are planned for April 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019 to advance the mapping efforts of the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee in coordination with the Alaska Geospatial Council and various Alaska Federal Regional Executives.

• Complete IfSAR elevation data coverage of the mainland of Alaska and other priority locations; identify and secure additional funding from AMEC partners
  • Complete IfSAR coverage for the Alaska Peninsula in this 18-month cycle.
  • Complete elevation for Kodiak Island, Aleutians, or Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in this 18-month cycle, depending on partner contributions. A subset of AMEC members is considering higher resolution lidar acquisition in some areas.
  • Coordinate with the Bureau of Land Management on the re-collection of IfSAR coverage for the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPRA). Legacy IfSAR does not meet current specifications and deliverables. AMEC approved recollection of this area at the April 4, 2017 AMEC meeting.

• Accelerate US Topo and Alaska National Hydrography Dataset production
  • Alaska Hydrography Technical Working Group (AHTWG) will assess funding requirements for continuing base NHD update work through FY2019.
  • Seek funding to begin full 1:24K NHD editing of next critical sub-basin(s).
  • Achieve 70% US Topo coverage.

• NOAA GRAV-D, control and coastal mapping goals
  • NOAA NGS continue progress towards the completion of GRAV-D over priority areas in Alaska from FY18 to FY21 and continually evaluate options to improve gravity collections over outlying areas.
  • AMEC Technical Subcommittee and the AGC Geodetic Control Working Group to discuss coordinated strategies to preserve a CORS network, inclusive of Plate Boundary Observatory stations, for active geodetic control across Alaska.
  • Hire specialist to compile coastal and nearshore mapping requirements and ongoing activities in Alaska by location, quality-level, partner, capacity, feasibility, and refresh-rate; with the overall objective of developing a long-term strategy for prioritizing coastal mapping activities in the region.
  • Maintain progress on Alaska shoreline mapping updates and work within AMEC Technical Subcommittee to seek ways of reducing the average age of the shoreline vector product and meet regional mapping requirements and develop a more appropriate metric for shoreline mapping progress.

• Evaluate alternatives for elevation data acquisition over the Aleutian Islands and implement a program plan for acquisition
  • Continue to review options for elevation coverage for the western Aleutian Islands and six isolated islands including St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, St. Paul, St. George, Chirikof Island, and Middleton Island. WorldDEM, Polar Geospatial ArcticDEM, airborne IfSAR Class II and Class III options, and other new technologies can be considered. Provide recommendation for acquisition to AMEC.

• Establish an acquisition strategy for high-resolution lidar elevation data for select areas in Alaska (coastlines, environmentally sensitive areas, etc.)
  • Advertise availability of USGS Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for 3DEP lidar data acquisition to Alaska partners to include regional Federal agencies, state agencies, and others; encourage submission of lidar project proposals as part of FY 2018 and FY2019 BAA processes.
  • AMEC Technical Subcommittee support 3DEP/NSGIC/AGC establishment of an Alaska lidar plan for Alaska, focused on priority acquisition areas of interest.
  • Align Alaska lidar acquisition activities with the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping (IWG-OCM) National Coastal Mapping Strategy components on coordination and standards:
    • Promote use of the U.S. Federal Mapping Coordination site for Alaska lidar elevation data acquisition planning (topographic, bathymetric, related acquisitions) in support of the Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping Initiative to “Map Once, Use Many Times”.
    • Promote use of 3DEP and Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping Quality Levels for topographic and bathymetric lidar.

• Identify a methodology, and develop a technical and program plan for next-generation high-resolution imagery data in Alaska
  • AMEC Technical Subcommittee members support AGC Imagery Working Group in updating Alaska imagery plan.
  • Seek acquisition of 1-m resolution or finer digital orthoimagery for the Aleutians to fill the known gap in statewide imagery.
  • AMEC agencies seek opportunities to collaborate on updated high-resolution imagery acquisition, licensing and delivery over common areas of interest using the NGA EnhancedView contract where appropriate and desired.  A BLM requirement for statewide Digital Globe imagery tasking was approved by NGA and will aid in any future acquisitions.
• Prepare communication materials and establish meetings and mechanisms to transfer knowledge of AMEC objectives and activities to broad array of political, federal, and citizen representation
  • Continue to pursue executive-level representation from all AMEC member agencies, specifically individuals who can commit agency resources and funding.
  • Complete USGS Alaska Mapping circular (FY2019).
  • Publish official USGS Alaska Mapping fact sheet (FY2019).
  • Prepare to appoint new officers to AMEC as necessary.

• Renew the priorities of the AMEC
  • As the current priority mapping efforts near completion, Identify the next priority mapping themes.