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What's New @ MassGIS
Fall 2009

What's New at MassGIS

Featured Items:

  • Now Available -- The Much-anticipated 2005 Land Use Data Layer - 6/5/09
    The 2005 Land Use data layer is a Massachusetts statewide, seamless digital dataset of land cover / land use, created using semi-automated methods, and interpreted from 0.5-meter resolution digital ortho imagery captured in April 2005. The classification scheme, comprising 33 land use codes, is based on the coding schema used for previous Massachusetts land use datasets, with modifications. Data may be downloaded as a statewide shapefile as well as by county-based tiles.

  • 2008 USGS Color Ortho Images Now Available - 2/26/2009
    • New 30cm and 15cm resolution ortho images from spring 2008 may be downloaded or ordered. See the 2008 USGS Color Ortho Images datalayer page for full details and samples.
     
  • USGS 2009 Ortho Imagery Planned for Worcester and Springfield Areas - 11/18/2008
    • In spring 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, as part of its 133 Cities Urban Area mapping program, has contracted for true-color imagery covering areas around the Cities of Worcester and Springfield. Massachusetts is seeking participation from municipal, state agency, and private sector partners on this project. The contractor will acquire digital images and use the imagery to produce ortho images with a pixel size (or ground surface distance) of 0.3 meters (~one foot). The horizontal accuracy specification is expected to be 0.6m RMSE. These images are expected to be publicly available late in calendar 2009; MassGIS will display and distribute this imagery via its web site. More ...
     
  • Massachusetts Conservation Mapping Assistance Partnership Program (MACMAPP) - 6/8/2006
    • Discounted software and training for conservation nonprofit organizations and municipal conservation commissions.
     
  • OLIVER - The MassGIS Online Data Viewer - Version 2.4 Released - 6/8/2005
    With this application you can:
    • Display and query nearly all of MassGIS' data
    • Download up-to-date shapefiles from our database, with legend files
    • Print maps, choosing from hundreds of themes
    ... All right over the Web! Give it a try!
     

  • Geographic Place Names Layers Updated - 10/30/2009
    • All three annotation feature classes (hydrography, hypsography, place name labels) have been reviewed and updated by MassDEP GIS Group. MassGIS is distributing them inside a personal geodatabase. Shapefiles representing the location, orientation and curvature of the annotation have been re-created and are available for those who cannot work with geodatabase annotation.
     
  • OpenSpace Updated - 10/22/2009
     The open space staff continues to append to and enhance the Protected and Recreational OpenSpace database with the large amount of data that have been received in the past year from municipalities, regional planning agencies, land trusts, and other state agencies. Since the last publication, work has been performed in more than 125 municipalities affecting more than 5,300 acres. Municipalities realizing the largest changes include Westborough, Granby, Northampton, Norton, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Douglas, Winchendon, Mattapoisett, and many others. A new shapefile and personal geodatabase have been placed on our ftp site, representing data updated as of 10/20/09.
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  • Ice Rinks Layer Updated - 10/22/2009
    • A few points had their positions and/or attributes modified and the Butler rink in Hyannis was added. In addition, the LEGIS, FACIL_STAT, and LABEL fields were added.
     
  • EOT-OTP Roads Updated - 10/16/2009
    • The Yearend 2008 release is now available for the EOT-OTP Roads datalayer. Also updated is the Major Roads layer.
     
  • Designated Shellfish Growing Areas Layer updated - 10/15/2009
    • The Mass. Department of Fish and Game has updated the DSGA layer, recoding several polygons and modifying the attribute table. Also, the line layer (DSAG_ARC) has been dropped.
     
  • Town boundary layers updated - 9/23/2009
    • The Towns, Towns from Survey Points and Boundaries polygon layers had their TYPE values changed to 'TC' (town with city form of government) for Braintree, Palmer, Randolph and Winthrop, based on information from the Massachusetts' Secretary of State's office.
     
  • NHESP Certified Vernal Pools Layer Updated - 8/31/2009
    • The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) has updated the Certified Vernal Pools layer. The update is effective beginning August 27, 2009.
     
  • Surficial Geology (1:24,000) Layer Updated - 8/28/2009
    • Data for "Area D" are now available. This area comprises nine quads and includes parts of Worcester, and extends south to Douglas and Uxbridge, and east to Wrentham and part of Attleboro. This data layer is part of a comprehensive study by the U.S. Geological Survey to produce a statewide digital map of the surficial geology at a 1:24,000-scale. This compilation of surficial geologic materials defines the areas of exposed bedrock, and the boundaries between glacial till, glacial stratified deposits, and overlying early-postglacial and postglacial deposits. All layers but the early-postglacial were updated in Area D.

  • Hospitals Layer now Acute Care Hospitals - 8/20/2009
    This point datalayer shows the location of 82 acute care hospitals in Massachusetts. Acute care hospitals are those licensed under MGL Chapter 111, section 51 and which contain a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric, and maternity beds, as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). The features in this layer are based on database information provided to MassGIS from the DPH, Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS). This August 2009 update limits the features to include only acute care hospitals (and removes other "specialty hospitals"); it replaces the layer formerly known as "Hospitals and Emergency Room Facilities." The layer now includes attributes for trauma center and teaching hospital status.

  • DCR Pools Updated - 8/11/2009
    An attribute edit was made to the Olsen Pool in Boston. This point datalayer contains the location of 45 pools in Massachusetts that are owned and/or operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Pool types include swimming, wading, diving and spray deck. The layer was developed by the DCR GIS Program and is based on DCR State and Urban Park pool listings as of July 31, 2009.

  • Updates to DEP Public Water Supply Layers - 7/16/2009
    The MassDEP GIS Group has updated the following layers:
  • Assessors' Parcels Data Updated - 6/26/2009
    • Level II parcels for Auburn have been replaced with a new submission from the town representing its FY 2010 data. Level 0 data have been added for Amesbury, Millbury, Southborough and Watertown. Additionally, Level 0 parcels have been updated with newer data for Ashland, Bourne, Dennis, Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and Yarmouth.
     
  • Ground Water Discharge Permits Layer Updated - 5/26/2009
    • MassDEP has updated the Ground Water Discharge Permits layer. All discharge locations in MassDEP Northeast Region were revised.
     
  • C21E Layer Updated - 5/26/2009
    • MassDEP has updated the Tier Classified Oil and/or Hazardous Material Sites (MGL c. 21E) layer. 106 sites were removed and 103 added.
     
  • Office of Fishing and Boating Access Sites Layer Updated - 5/12/2009
    • This point layer, formerly known as Public Access Board Sites, was updated (some fields added to the attribute table) by GIS staff at the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game (DFG).
     
  • Schools Layer Updated - 4/23/2009
    • This dataset, with points representing pre-kindergarten through secondary schools, has been updated based on MA Dept. of Education database listings as of February 2009. Along with the addition of new schools and the removal of closed facilities, MassGIS undertook an extensive review and adjusted the placement of many points based on 2005 and 2008 color ortho imagery.
     
  • Updates to DEP Public Water Supply Layers - 4/23/2009
    The MassDEP GIS Group has updated the following layers:

  • Ferry Routes Layer Updated - 4/21/2009
    • This layer, representing passenger and freight routes off the coast of Massachusetts has been updated (as of December 2008) by the Executive Office of Transportation.
     
  • Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Layer Updated - 4/16/2009
    • The polygon and arc datalayers have been updated to include the Three Mile River Watershed and the Upper Housatonic River ACECs.
     
  • C21E and AUL Point Layers Updated - 2/19/2009
    • MassDEP has updated the Tier Classified Oil and/or Hazardous Material Sites (MGL c. 21E) and Oil and/or Hazardous Material Sites with Activity and Use Limitations (AUL) layers. For the C21E layer, 208 sites were added and 601 were removed. For the AUL layer, 103 sites were added and 11 were removed.
     
  • 1:25,000 Hydrography Layers Enhanced - 2/18/2009
     The 1:25,000 USGS Hydrography layer is now known as "MassDEP Hydrography (1:25,000)", an enhanced version of the older dataset. The layer is a hybrid of data based on USGS Digital Line Graphs (DLGs), scanned mylar separates obtained from the USGS, digitized hydrographic features from paper USGS 1:25,000 Topographic Quadrangle maps and data extracted from the MassDEP Wetlands datalayer. Areas within many surface water supply watersheds have been enhanced by using higher resolution streams and lakes from the MassDEP Wetlands datalayer, and many areas have also been field verified. This layer is intended as an interim product that will be incorporated into the USGS’s National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) when funding and resources become available.
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  • Title 5 Layer Updated - 2/18/2009
    • The hydrologic data source was changed to the MassDEP Hydrography Datalayer and updates were made to the SWP Watersheds datalayer and new Title 5 buffers were generated. In addition, the wetlands from the 1999 MassGIS Land Use datalayer were removed from the buffered areas; wetlands features from the DEP Wetlands datalayer and MassDEP Hydrography are buffered.
     
  • Outstanding Resource Waters Layer Updated - 2/18/2009
     MassDEP updated the layer to include new ORW areas (polygons) representing the 2007 Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards. The ORW_ARC (line) layer was dropped.
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  • DEP BWP Major Facilities Layer Updated - 2/18/2009
     This update brought the total number of features to 1,552 and included updated classification information presented in the "major" fields: AIR, GWD, HWR, LQG_MA, LQG_RCRA, LQTU, TSDF, SWD.
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  • State House and Senate Districts Layers Updated - 1/29/2009
    • Attribute changes were made to the polygon layers based on the November 2008 elections.
     
  • New CZM Regions Layer - 1/14/2009
    • The CZM Regions layer represents boundaries used by the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Agency for planning and administrative purposes.
       

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