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What's new @ MassGIS

The latest updates, news and events

News

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Data updates

  • USGS Color Ortho Imagery (2019)
    February 18, 2020 - These spring 2019 images are the highest resolution orthos ever made available for public use and distribution by MassGIS for the entire commonwealth. Web service and JPEG 2000 tiles may be used in a wide variety of software and apps.
  • Protected and Recreational Open Space
    February 5, 2020 - Energy and Environmental Affairs GIS staff have updated the Protected and Recreational OpenSpace layers (arcs and polygons), available from MassGIS. Since the last publication to the web, staff at EEA and its associated agencies performed edits that improved the boundaries and/or attributes to over 2,300 polygons of recreational areas and open spaces in 141 municipalities.

    New shapefile and file geodatabase downloads represent data updated as of 2/5/2020.

    The d    etails:
    • Updates involve adding or improving the boundaries of many types of recreational areas and protected open spaces. Twelve school athletic fields, 338 conservation areas, 32 cemeteries, 36 water supply lands, 50 parks, and 133 conservation restrictions, resulting in a net gain of more than 3,700 acres in the database.
    • The Department of Conservation and Recreation – Watershed performed edits in six municipalities, adding 300 acres to the database.
    • The Department of Fish and Game performed edits in six towns, adding more than 75 acres.
    • The Department of Conservation and Recreation - Parks performed edits in thirty municipalities for fiscal years 2019 and 2018, adding over 17,000 acres.
    • Completed additional digitizing for EEA-sponsored programs:
      • Three projects from EEA grants.
      • Fifteen acquisitions that involved the Conservation Land Tax Credit.
  • MassDEP data layers
    January 28, 2020 - The MassDEP GIS Group has updated the Chapter 21e Sites and AUL Sites data, available from MassGIS. Data are current as of 1/27/2020.
  • Standardized Assessors’ Parcel Mapping
    January 13, 2020 - 38 municipalities: Acushnet, Adams, Berkley, Beverly, Blackstone, Boxford, Braintree, Carver, Charlton, East Brookfield, Halifax, Hanover, Harvard, Kingston, Lakeville, Leominster, Lunenburg, Marion, Mashpee, Maynard, Merrimac, Millbury, New Salem, Oak Bluffs, Orange, Orleans, Oxford, Pembroke, Pepperell, Princeton, Salem, Sandwich, Shutesbury, Springfield, Stow, Swansea, West Springfield, and Whately.
  • MBTA Rapid Transit
    January 7, 2020 - Edits to some Silver Line routes and stops based on current imagery.
  • Hydrography data
    December 19, 2019 - MassGIS, working with MassDEP GIS Group, has renamed a small number of water bodies in the 25k Hydro, 100K Hydro, and Major Ponds data layers.
  • MassDEP data layers
    December 9, 2019 - The MassDEP GIS Group has updated the Public Water Supplies, wellhead (Zone II, Zone I, IWPA) protection areas and MassDEP Ground Water Discharge Permits data, available from MassGIS. Data are current as of 11/25/2019.
  • Places of Worship
    November 20, 2019 - New point data layer showing the locations of more than 2,000 churches, mosques and synagogues in Massachusetts.
  • Community Preservation Act (CPA) Towns
    November 12, 2019 - Update to include Lowell's adoption of the CPA.
    • Community Health Centers
      October 31, 2019 - Update to this point layer based on data from MA DPH as of spring 2018.
    • Two new DFS District Layers
      October 7, 2019 - State Fire Districts and State HazMat Districts, from the Dept. of Fire Services.
    • MA DFW Coldwater Fisheries Resources
      September 9, 2019 - One feature was added to the layer by the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, following a more extensive update in June.
    • Community Boundaries (Towns) from Survey Points
      September 3, 2019 - Two updates:
      • Fitchburg-Leominster border along a small stretch of Crawford Street, based on a 1964 scanned survey plan from the City of Fitchburg Dept. of Public Works.
      • Aquinnah-Chilmark border near Menemsha based on parcel data and surveyed plans from the towns.
    • Building Structures (2-D)
      August 28, 2019 - Comprehensive statewide refresh to a baseline of 2016, plus data for Boston from the city.
    • Inland Water Bathymetry (1:10,000)
      August 12, 2019 - Additional features were added to the layer by the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
      • MassDOT Highway Districts
        June 21, 2019 - New layer includes the six current districts.
      • MassDEP Water Quality Monitoring Stations
        June 20, 2019 - The latest update from MassDEP Division of Watershed Management, Watershed Planning Program to fulfill Federal Clean Water Act requirements.
      • DCR Mass Parks Regions
        June 17, 2019 - New layer representing the administrative and management units for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Mass Parks Division.
      • Schools (Pre-K through High School)
        June 6, 2019 - Statewide update based on Mass. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education school profiles database as of March 27, 2019.
      • Public School Districts
        June 6, 2019 - The districts are now split into two layers: (1) municipal and regional public school districts, and (2) charter, collaborative, superintendency union and vocational districts.
      • 2016 Land Cover/Land Use
        May 22, 2019 - This statewide dataset contains a combination of land cover mapping from 2016 aerial imagery and land use derived from standardized assessor parcel information for Massachusetts.
      • Long Term Care Residences
        May 7, 2019 - Update of the point data layer containing the locations of licensed nursing homes, rest homes and assisted living residences in Massachusetts.
      • EOHHS Regions
        March 14, 2019 - 2010 population values were added for each of the six regions.
      • Non-Potential Drinking Water Source Areas
        February 7, 2019 - MassDEP has made updates to this layer.
      • RMV Locations
        February 5, 2019 - MassGIS updated this layer to reflect recent changes to the locations of Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) service centers and AAA branch offices that provide many RMV services.
      • Wards and Precincts
        January 29, 2019 - New polygon data layer representing all municipal wards and precincts in Massachusetts.
      • Courthouses
        January 18, 2019 - New point data layer shows the location of all courthouses in Massachusetts.
      • Massachusetts Legislative Districts and Administrative Boundaries
        January 9, 2019 - MassGIS has updated the polygon attribute tables of the following legislative and administrative boundary data layers following the swearing in of newly elected officials from the November 2018 elections:
      • Prisons
        January 4, 2019 - MassGIS has updated this statewide layer.
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