~The Rocky Mountain Compiler~

The 14th Annual "GIS in the Rockies" Conference will meet September 18-20, 2001 at Plaza at the Mart, Denver, Colorado. Sponsored by ACSM, ASPRS, GITA, PLSC, and URISA, this meeting will feature one day of workshops and two days of exhibits and concurrent technical sessions on the theme "Convergence of Information & Geography for Everyone."

The Tuesday workshop program has been finalized and includes 12 workshops, designed for people at beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels as shown. These six will be in the morning:

• GIS Modeling In Education: Approaches and Materials for Instructors -- Intermediate
• Basics of GPS Data Collection -- Beginner
• Customizing ArcMAP with VBA and Visual Basic -- Intermediate
• Boundary Law for Non-Surveyors in GIS -- Beginner
• Get More Mileage from Your Digital Design Data: Create and Publish, the Transition from CAD to GIS -- Intermediate
• Digital Convergence: The Integration of GIS, Remote Sensing and Cartography -- Beginner

These six will be in the afternoon:

• Using the GeoDatabase -- Beginner to Intermediate
• Advanced Applications of GPS Data Collection -- Advanced
• Customizing ArcIMS via Server Side Scripting -- Beginner to Intermediate
• Photogrammetry for GIS -- Intermediate to Advanced
• Get More Mileage from Your Digital Design Data: Publish and Mobilize, from the Web to the Field -- Intermediate
• Expand Beyond Pixels: Introduction to eCognition: Object Oriented Image Analysis -- Intermediate.

The Tuesday luncheon speaker will be Dr. Robert Feingold, Colorado Chief Information Officer. He will speak on "The Strengthening of GIS in State Government: A Vision for the Future."

Wednesday will open with a keynote address by Karen Siderelis, Geographic Information Officer of the US Geological Survey. Exhibits will open following the keynote. 73 commercial booths will offer you the opportunity to see what's new and get your questions answered.

Five concurrent application tracks are available both Wednesday and Thursday. Session formats include presentations and panel discussions. Wednesday tracks include the following:

• Introduction to GIS
• Remote Sensing & GIS
• Internet GIS Technology
• Natural Resources
• Innovative Solutions in Enterprise GIS

Thursday tracks include the following:

• GIS in Business
• Surveying, GPS, Data Collection
• Utilities, Roadways and Emergency Services
• Water Resources
• Colorado GIS User Community - Locally and Regionally

The social will be from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Wednesday. During this time you can see product demonstrations, renew acquaintances and meet newcomers to the industry.

For additional information and to register, go to the web site at www.GISintheRockies.org.

To help spread the word, we encourage you to print copies of this flyer. Please post it wherever appropriate at your office: near the coffee pot and the copier, in the elevator, over your desk and in the lunch room. And send the URL (http://www.GISintheRockies.org/flyer.pdf) to any colleagues you think might be interested.

Following the "GIS in the Rockies" Conference, the next ASPRS-RMR Technical Tour will be held at Merrick & Co. in Aurora, CO on Friday, September 21 from 2-3:30 pm. Merrick & Company is a nationally recognized GIS mapping firm that provides comprehensive, client-focused land information services, including image acquisition (aerial and satellite), GPS Surveying, digital photogrammetry, digital orthophotography processing, LiDAR acquisition and post-processing, cadastral mapping, utility network automation, GIS database design and application programming. The tour will demonstrate the acquisition of GIS vector databases with the use of soft-copy and analytical photogrammetric equipment, production of digital orthophotography and the use of GIS applications to provide land-based solutions. Any questions about Merrick should be directed to Gary Outlaw at 303-751-0741, ext. 4126. Reservations are required for this tour. To RSVP for the tour, call Nicole von Griffyn at 303-751-5322, ext. 4120, or send an e-mail to Gary.Outlaw@Merrick.com and include the following information in your message: Your name, affiliation, phone no., fax no., e-mail address, and whether or not you are an ASPRS member.

The Rocky Mountain Region is pleased to announce the offering of two academic scholarships in the Fall of 2001. This is an increase from 2000 when only one scholarship was awarded. The monetary value of the scholarships will be $750 each. The scholarships are intended for students demonstrating excellence in photogrammetry, remote sensing, or GIS. Both undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing careers in these disciplines are eligible for the awards. Official announcements will be sent out in September and the winners will be announced in December in the Winter newsletter issue. Awards will be presented at the Annual Dinner Meeting in January 2002. For more information, contact John Parker at 303-682-3814 or parker@lh-systems.com.

-John Parker, Board of Directors

ASPRS headquarters offers five scholarship awards totalling more than $11,000. Available to both undergraduate and graduate student-members of ASPRS, these resources have been allocated with the intention of advancing academic and professional goals within the fields of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. ASPRS recognizes that you are the future of this rapidly evolving field and hopes you will consider taking advantage of these unique opportunities. The five awards are as follows:

1. Robert E. Altenhofen Memorial Scholarship for theoretical photogrammetry ($2000);
2. William A. Fischer Memorial Scholarship for graduate students for innovative uses of remote sensing data/techniques ($2000)
3. The LH Systems Internship for graduate students for an independent research project or project with an LH Systems team ($2,500 plus expenses)
4. Space Imaging Award for Application of Digital Landsat TM Data to support remote sensing education and stimulate Landsat TM data applications (data worth $4,000)
5. The Ta Liang Memorial Award for graduate students to facilitate remote sensing research ($500 travel grant).

Application deadline for all five awards is December 3, 2001. For application forms and further details on these national awards please visit www.asprs.org/asprs/membership/scholar_frame.html

(Excerpted from an article by Greg Langlois in the July 10 issue of Federal Computer Week.)
Landsat 5, an Earth observation satellite scheduled for decommissioning June 30, has been spared for at least several months. Several large orders for imagery from USDA, NASA, universities and private individuals have provided the $750,000 that USGS needs to keep the satellite flying through the end of fiscal year 2001, which ends Sept. 30. Congress had not appropriated any funding to support Landsat 5 in 2001 or 2002 because it was commercially operated. But in May, Space Imaging notified USGS that it could no longer run the program profitably. The marketing rights expired July 1 and Landsat 5 data is now available for unrestricted use.

Currently, Landsat 5 and 7 are in orbit and providing data, and are being operated by USGS. (Landsat 6 failed to reach orbit during its launch in 1993.) NASA and USGS are collaborating to provide a successor to Landsat 7 by 2005 that will be built and run by the private sector.

The RMR is excited to announce a joint program with ASPRS for member contributions to the ASPRS headquarters building in Bethesda, Maryland. Contributions will be used to reduce the principle on the mortgage, allowing more funds to be used for programs to benefit the general membership, rather than servicing the debt.

Here is how it works: RMR will match any ASPRS-RMR member contribution to the ASPRS Building Fund, up to $1,500, cumulative. ASPRS will then match the increased contribution. For example, a $100 RMR member contribution to the Building Fund will be matched by RMR, resulting in a $200 contribution to ASPRS. ASPRS will then match the $200 contribution, culminating in a total contribution to the ASPRS Building fund of $400. The net result is a quadrupling of your contribution! And remember, your contribution to the Building Fund is tax deductible. The RMR will work with ASPRS to ensure that your contribution to the Building Fund is properly tracked and attributed to you.

Please make checks payable to the ASPRS Building Fund and mail them to:
ASPRS-RMR
P.O. Box 280834
Lakewood, CO 80228

Fall is a busy time for the ASPRS Rocky Mountain Region. We kick off the Autumnal Equinox with "GIS in the Rockies" (September 18-20), which promises to exceed last year's successful conference in terms of attendees and exhibitors. ASPRS-RMR is sponsoring the conference together with ACSM, GITA, URISA and PLSC to provide all participants an engaging and professional forum in which to learn, express ideas and convey information. "GIS in the Rockies" is the premier event in the region, the venue where ASPRS-RMR members across the region get together for the year to renew old acquaintances, establish new contacts, and learn the latest developments in the geo-technologies and the region. This conference also attracts participants across North America and internationally due to the caliber of the conference and wide variety of government, commercial, and academic organizations represented throughout the region. The ASPRS-RMR Board of Directors will be in attendance; please do not hesitate to discuss any issues with us directly.

The Fall season also means "Back to School," and ASPRS-RMR has sent out scholarship announcements to the many colleges and universities in the region. If you are a student or faculty member in the geo-technology disciplines, please contact John Parker parker@lh-systems.com for scholarship information. More details are contained in this issue about nationally and regionally sponsored scholarships.

During the July ASPRS-RMR Board meeting, a budget was established to support many initiatives in the Rocky Mountain Region. A budget was created to help set up, and continue to support, the establishment of satellite (student or local) chapters throughout the Region. We met with Dr. Stan Morain and Dr. Amelia Budge from New Mexico, and developed a plan to initiate a general member chapter in Albuquerque, with the proposed inaugural meeting slated for October. If you are interested in participating in a local ASPRS-RMR chapter in New Mexico, please contact John Parker. Activities are also underway to establish a chapter in Montana; the likely location is in Missoula. If you are interested in participating in a local ASPRS-RMR chapter in Montana or Wyoming, please contact Jeff Liedtke (jliedtke@digitalglobe.com) or Leanne Hanson (leanne_hanson@usgs.gov). More information about ASPRS-RMR local chapters will be conveyed in the next newsletter.

I am looking forward to meeting you at the "GIS in the Rockies" conference and/or the technical tour at Merrick & Co. on Friday after the conference.

Jeff Liedtke, President ASPRS-RMR
303-682-4983
jliedtke@digitalglobe.com

This is shaping up to be a busy year, both for ASPRS nationally as well as for the Rocky Mountain Region.

• The ASPRS Annual Conference was held in St. Louis April 23-27, and was an excellent meeting, with a strong technical program and plenty of opportunity to interact with professional peers. At the awards banquet, I was pleased and proud to accept awards to the Rocky Mountain Region for "Newsletter of the Year" and "First Honorable Mention as Region of the Year."
• We are well into planning for Pecora 15/ISPRS Commission I (Sensors, Platforms and Imagery) Symposium/Land Satellite Information IV. This combined conference will be held at the Denver Adam's Mark Hotel November 8-15, 2002. This will be a unique and exciting conference, building on the highly successful experience of the 1999 meeting held in Denver.
• Building on the 2002 experience, the ASPRS Annual Conference will be held in the same venue in Spring 2004. We are in the initial stages of planning for this conference, and welcome anyone with ideas and willing hands!
• The ASPRS Building Fund Drive continues to build momentum, with some recent gifts from ESRI and LH Systems. The Rocky Mountain Region has an excellent matching fund drive in place, so it is an excellent time to help out your favorite professional society!

-Allen Cook, National Director