Spatial Data in the North Country

Hi all, 

    The ARGIS Web Portal is no longer being maintained due to lack of funds and personnel (I am no longer working on the APR-GIS project).  It will remain 'live' as a proof of concept, and will serve as a snapshot in time, but no further updates to the site are planned until funding for the project is procured.  I will keep the site up and running as I have time-- if you find the site is down (this happens occasionally) please let me know and I can restart it.  Feel free to contact me with any other concerns:

Steve Signell

Frontier Spatial, L.L.C.
536 Deerland Rd.
Long Lake, NY 12847
518-624-2002
frontierspatial.com
steve@frontierspatial.com

We have added the DEC campsites layer to the ARGIS interactive map.  This data is a work in progress- let us know if you find errors! 

We are moving our APR-GIS and ARGIS interactive map sites to a new server, so there may be an interruption of service for a couple hours today (Monday 6/18/2012).  Our original virtual private server (VPS) was getting dated, and the older versions of CentOS, PostgreSQL, PostGIS and Geoserver were starting to limit our capabilities.

Our new configuration:

• OS: Ubuntu 11.10-- much easier to manage than CentOS!
• Database: PostgreSQL 9.1.4-- lots of new functionality.
• Spatial Extension: PostGIS 2.0-- raster support YAY!!!!  Can't wait to try it out.
• Renderer: Geoserver 2.1.4 -- lots of new functionality including cascading WMS.

We have also re-organized our database and hope to add the following layers shortly:

• boat launches
• parking areas
• campsites

We switched the default ARGIS basemap from OpenStreetMap (free, open-source) to Microsoft's Bing maps because we were geting some compaints about missing information (lakes, management units, etc.) on the OpenStreetMap layer.  We had switched from Google Terrain to OpenStreetMap because 1) OpenStreetMap is free for any application, 2) the Google layer wouldn't redraw correctly when zoomed in past 1:12,000, and 3) OpenStreetMap is editable, similar to Wikepedia.  It is very difficult to get changes made to propietary maps like Google & Bing, so this was a big advantage for OpenStreetMap.  However, there is a lot of work needed in the Adirondacks before OpenStreetMap will be of high enough quality for use in applications like ARGIS.  You can still access the OpenStreetMap, Google and other basemap layers by scrolling down in the ARGIS layer table of contents.  We plan to switch back to OpenStreetMap once it's up to snuff.

We fixed a bug that was causing the ARGIS interactive map to hang while loading in Internet Explorer.  The culprit?  The TRAILING COMMA OF DEATH!

Bryan McBride has updated the ARGIS interactive map to correct some known issues and improve the user interface.  Some of the new features:

• Legend moved to be viewable alongside the table of contents
• Basemap layers moved to table of contents
• Identify  is now the default tool.
• Greater variety of basemap layers (Bing, Google, USGS, OpenStreetMaps)
• OpenStreetMaps is the default background, eliminating the zoom problem with Google Terrain at large scales (>1:10,000)
• Improved map scale tools, e.g. ability to switch between UTM, Decimal Degrees
• Addition of NOAA real-time radar, precip, temperature and wind data. 

We have added the NY USGS stream gage stations to the ARGIS interactive map under the "Hydrology" tab.  Use the   identify tool  to get details and graphs directly from the USGS website.  In order to make the real-time connection, we set up a script that runs hourly and pulls the data from the USGS National Water Information System.  Here's how the script works:

1) The latest data is downloaded as a comma-separated file (CSV)
2) The old data is deleted from the table in our PostgreSQL database
3) The new data is loaded into the table
4) The lastupdated field is updated to reflect the latest download
5) Points are constructed using the lat/lon contained in the CSV
6) Geoserver renders the points and associated info onto the map

Voila!

The latest DEC trails layer has been uploaded to the ARGIS interactive map.  Some notable additions are the newly official trails to Esther Mt., and in the Macomb-E. Dix-Hough region of the Dix Mt. Wilderness (pictured).