Redlands, California-July 17, 2009-ESRI has launched a new user group specifically for its forestry and timberland management customers. The newly formed ESRI Forestry Group (EFG) will build opportunities for foresters to learn about business solutions, network with like-minded professionals, and develop professional growth.
"EFG will provide a valuable venue for the forestry GIS user community to engage in dialog for advancement," says ESRI's forestry solutions manager Peter Eredics. "Forestry professionals have unique concerns and experiences. The initiation of EFG will add a depth to geographic information system (GIS) applications that will open up greater business opportunities for these users."
The EFG 2009 startup plan includes a user group Web page at www.esri.com/efg; support for the 2009 ESRI International User Conference forestry track; a quarterly forestry solutions webinar; and an accessible information center for current GIS information, white papers, case studies, and more. EFG members can join the group at no cost and subscribe to the free newsletter Forestry GIS Journal.
"The ESRI GIS community has a long history of openness and willingness to help each other," says EFG president Mark Books. "I'm looking forward to working with EFG. The user group will deepen the strong sense of ESRI community support and strengthen the commitment to meeting forestry-related GIS challenges."
Books is a remote sensing/GIS forester for Colorado State University's Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands and is contracted to the U.S. Department of the Army at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. For more than 15 years, Books has used ESRI's GIS software. He has developed a decision support system incorporating growth and yield models, wildfire behavior, and 3D visualization.
"GIS has been liberating," notes Elizabeth Martinez, EFG vice president. "The explosion of data availability, interoperability, analysis options, and GIS products in recent years has made GIS for forestry much more interesting and challenging. I am happy to be working with EFG in our efforts to meet the specific GIS requirements of the forest industry. "
Martinez is the director of GIS and IT for the Forestland Group (TFG), a timberland investment management organization (TIMO) specializing in naturally regenerating hardwood. She uses GIS daily for a wide variety of purposes including pulling data together for acquisitions, validating legal descriptions, ordering aerial photography, assessing imagery options for change detection, integrating GIS updates with a third-party timber audit database, solving problems for field operations and property consultants, and developing new methods for data collection and analysis.
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Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
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