Interior honored for use of GIS

Geospatial One-Stop

The Interior Department received a major award from software company ESRI July 7, honoring the department's use of geographic information systems.

The 2003 President's Award was presented at the 23rd annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego. The company cited notable uses of GIS by Interior, including the Geospatial One-Stop Web site, which offers access to geospatial data from the federal government and other sources.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton told conference participants, "We will move aggressively to build a national system for integrating this data. We anticipate it will support economic development, environmental quality and homeland security."

In addition to its work with the Geospatial One-Stop, Interior also received recognition for the performance of the U.S. Geological Survey. As a part of Interior, USGS produces topographical maps and is working toward the creation of the electronically based National Map. The agency also operates Landsat satellites and provides estimates of energy supplies.