First Round of Lidar BAA Awards Released

The U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program is pleased to announce the first round of awards resulting from the USGS Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), initially issued on July 18, 2014. (Solicitation Number: G14PS00574).

The BAA is a publicly accessible process to develop partnerships for the collection of lidar and derived elevation data for 3DEP.  The primary goal of 3DEP is to systematically collect nationwide lidar coverage (ifsar in Alaska) over an 8-year period to provide more than $690 million annually in new benefits to government entities, the private sector and citizens.

3DEP presents a unique opportunity for collaboration between all levels of government to leverage the services and expertise of private sector mapping firms that acquire the data, and to create jobs now and in the future. The USGS, along with other federal, state, local and private agencies, is establishing the collection program to respond to the growing needs for high-quality, three-dimensional mapping data of the United States.

 “We are very excited about the high level interest in the BAA as demonstrated by the number and dollar value of the proposals we received,” said Kevin Gallagher, USGS Associate Director for Core Science Systems.

Current and accurate 3D elevation data are essential to help communities cope with natural hazards and disasters such as floods and landslides, support infrastructure, ensure agricultural success, strengthen environmental decision-making and bolster national security. Lidar, short for light detection and ranging, is a remote sensing detection system that works on the principle of radar, but uses light from a laser. Similarly, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (ifsar) is used to collect data over Alaska.

Federal funds to support this opportunity were provided by the USGS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and theNatural Resources Conservation Service. The USGS is acting in a management role to facilitate planning and acquisition for the broader community, through the use of government contracts and partnership agreements.

The Fiscal Year 2015 Awards offered partnership funding to 29 proposals in 25 States and Territories. The FY15 body of work is expected to result in the influx of more than 95,000 square miles of public domain lidar point cloud data and derived elevation products into the 3DEP program.

More information about 3DEP including updates on current and future 3DEP partnership opportunities is available online.

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