"A Victory for Common Sense"

--State of Utah

On October 15, 1997, Utah's Governor Michael Leavitt, along with State or Regional Directors of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Utah Association of Soil Conservation Districts, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Utah Digital Spatial Data Sharing and Integration Project. It was recognized that federal, state, and substate agencies need and use similar data. This agreement provides a mechanism to cooperatively create and share impartial and credible digital spatial data. The agreement will help decrease the duplicated development of the same data and will generate standardized data. The agreement will also promote the exchange of data and foster communication between agencies in Utah. Significant aspects of the agreement include:

1. Creation of agency-specific data catalogs, all connected to the State Geographic Information Database

2. Adherence to the Federal Geographic Data Committee's Metadata Content Standard

3. Prioritization of 15 themes of data (geodetic control, digital ortho-imagery, elevation, transportation, hydrography, government units and boundaries, cadastral reference system and administrative ownership, demographics, wetlands, geology, wildlife habitat, climate, ground cover, land use, and soils) to create, integrate, and distribute through the State Geographic Information Database.

This agreement authorizes agency personnel to participate in cooperative data efforts. It expands existing regional agreements or agency-specific-agreements to a statewide level for the purpose of data coordination and sharing. As Governor Leavitt remarked at the signing ceremony, "It is a victory for common sense."

For additional information, please contact Dennis Goreham, (801) 538-3163.