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Delaware Unveils New Web-Based Mapping System

The state's efforts could serve as the prototype for a national map.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -- Gov. Ruth Ann Minner introduced a new Web-based mapping tool this week that will give Delaware citizens easy access to data used in the state's land-use and natural-resource planning and policy decisions.

The Delaware DataMIL, developed by the University of Delaware, the Delaware Geological Survey, the Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination and the U.S. Geological Survey, is an online collaboration laboratory developed to facilitate collection, integration, maintenance, distribution and mapping of Delaware's geographic data.

State officials said the map is being considered as a prototype for The National Map, a national, Internet-based service being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Officials also said it is the only national map pilot having statewide coverage and complete, functioning Web-based implementation.

The Web maps are displayed in a series of layers, each presenting a different area of information, such as transportation, elevation, aerial photography, land use/land cover, water, boundaries, man-made structures and more.

"Accurate data and information are part of the shared knowledge infrastructure we need at all levels of government," Gov. Minner said. "Our Delaware GIS community has taken an important step forward, creating a new tool to ensure that Delawareans have access to the best possible data and information."

For academic users, the DataMIL is a resource for classes and research across a wide range of disciplines and at all levels of sophistication. For municipal, county, state and federal agencies, the system provides access to a common set of basic geographic data and reduces duplication of efforts and inefficient data sharing.

The system will also allow residents to communicate directly with state officials if they have questions about the underlying digital mapping data and give state residents a role in updating and maintaining the framework of geographic data used at all levels of government.

The system's Map Production Laboratory will also allow Web users to create and download maps of any part of the state, and the system's discussion forums are designed to facilitate public dialog with agencies responsible for updating the geographic data.

Another function, the Delaware Metadata Explorer, is a Web-based search engine connected to Delaware's portion of the National Spatial Data Clearinghouse maintained by the University for Delaware's GIS community who use the information for analysis and planning.

Office of Governor Ruth Ann Minner