timing its timber sales, responding to demand at its peak rather than harvesting timber on an inflexible state schedule. This requires that the state have access to remote sensing data to know quickly where the needed timber can be found to respond to volatile market demands.

Washington is planning to use Landsat 7 data for mapping, change detection, and obtaining information for the state’s fire protection program. It has commissioned development of a statewide mosaic of georeferenced, orthorectified Landsat 7 data from the EROS Data Center (EDC), a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The dataset will be created from images obtained in 1999 and 2000. In addition, one county in Washington is using commercial 1-meter-resolution data—given to it by the data provider for demonstration purposes—to create a new vegetation map. The data are currently being used in a pocket GIS system planned for foresters in the field. If funds become available, the state is planning to explore the use of these data in a transportation corridor analysis pilot project to be done in collaboration with the State Department of Transportation.

One of the strengths of the Washington use of remote sensing data is the Washington State Geographic Information Council (WAGIC). This Landsat 7 consortium has been established by a number of state agencies, including the DNR, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Health, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Assessor and Mapping, and the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation, as well as several other state and county offices. The consortium creates a community of remote sensing data users in the state that draw from the same baseline data and pool their resources to cover the cost of the data. WAGIC is procuring a mosaic of remote sensing data to be used for multiple purposes throughout the entire state.

Another advantage is that Washington is able to draw on the most appropriate data for its work regardless of the data source. This means that it can use low-resolution Landsat data for statewide fire protection and high-resolution multispectral commercial data for projects within a single county. The budgetary stringencies that affect the state of Washington, like so many public sector remote sensing data users, are eased by institutional innovations and partnerships like WAGIC and by obtaining private data to demonstrate applications.

Funding limitations that keep the state from taking full advantage of remote sensing technologies are a major problem in Washington. Planned pilot projects are being stripped to their essentials or postponed. The transition from manual black and white aerial photography to multispectral digital imagery can be difficult when there are funding limitations.

Front Matter (R1-R14)

Executive Summary (1-7)

1. Introduction (8-15)

2. Public Sector Applications of Remote Sensing Data (16-37)

3. Getting Started in Remote Sensing: Common Barriers and Bottlenecks (38-49)

4. Beyond State and Local Government (50-61)

5. Findings and Recommendations (62-70)

Appendix A: Transforming Remote Sensing Data into Information and Applications, Executive Summary (71-78)

Appendix B: Biographical Information on Steering Committee Members, Workshop Speakers, and Panelists (79-89)

Appendix C: Workshop Agenda and Participants (90-95)

Appendix D: Acronyms (96-97)