The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting North Dakota's economy

Introduction 

As the northernmost Great Plains State encompassing two geomorphological areas divided by the Missouri River, North Dakota has varied needs for high-resolution elevation data. The top industry in North Dakota is agriculture and related products, and the fastest growing sector is natural resources led by oil and gas extraction and mining, all of which contribute to the State’s economy (U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024b). Critical applications that meet the State’s management needs depend on light detection and ranging (lidar) data that provide a highly detailed three-dimensional (3D) model of the Earth’s surface and aboveground features.

The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP; refer to sidebar) is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with Federal, State, Tribal, U.S. territorial, and local agencies to acquire consistent lidar coverage at quality level 2 or better (table 1) to meet the many needs of the Nation and North Dakota. The status of available and in-progress 3DEP baseline lidar data in North Dakota is shown in figure 1. 3DEP baseline lidar data include quality level 2 or better, 1-meter or better digital elevation models, and lidar point clouds, and must meet the Lidar Base Specification 2025 Rev. A (https://www.usgs.gov/3dep/lidarspec) or newer requirements. The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (Dewberry, 2012) identified user requirements and conservatively estimated that availability of lidar data would result in at least \$12.39 million in new benefits annually to the State. The top nine North Dakota business uses for 3D elevation data, which are based on the estimated annual conservative benefits of 3DEP, are shown in table 2.