Our Stories

North Country Trail GIS Wins Award

Categories: Uncategorized

 

WE ARE

 

We are pleased to announce that IMAGIN (Improving Michigan’s Access to Geographic information Networks) has awarded the North Country Trail Association their Innovation in GIS (Geographic Information System) Award for 2015!

IMAGIN_AwardThe criteria for this award is:

The GIS Innovation Award is presented to an organization that finds innovative ways to use geospatial solutions to enhance workflow processes.  Candidates for this award should have successfully implemented a geospatial technology, service, or application that is new and innovative to their organization.  Applicants will be judged on collaborative efforts, contribution to the workflow, and original ideas.

The award was the result of the way we’ve implemented ArcGIS Online, as well as integrating Geospatial PDFs as supporting downloads for many of our maps. Special recognition goes to Matt Rowbotham, our GIS coordinator, who has kept the North Country Trail Association on the cutting edge of new mapping technology.

North Country Trail Association wins GIS award
Matt Rowbotham accepting the Innovation in GIS Award from IMAGIN

In recent months, we’ve launched new efforts for how we share our trail information. We’ve enriched our maps with things like the “half-mile” waypoints and have provided digital versions of maps that become geo-spatially aware on smart phones and tablets.  Additionally, ArcGIS Online has allowed us to provide users direct access to our trail data, seamlessly across desktop and mobile platforms. All of these tools enhance and improve the experiences of our hikers and volunteers.

You can always view all of our map and trail data on our Maps and Trail Data page. We also created a new video tutorial explaining how to use ArcGIS to plan your adventures on the North Country Trail. For examples of our geospatial PDF maps, you can download trail maps for Lowell, MI; the Fife Lake, MI Loop; and the Laurentian Lakes Chapter (in MN) Map. Our printed maps are also available in our Trail Shop.

 

Thank you for your support for the North Country Trail Association. These new tools wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our donors!