The Governor’s Geospatial Certificate was presented to the NRRI project team on October 13 at the 32nd annual conference of the Minnesota Geographical Information System (GIS)/Land Information System (LIS) Consortium in Bemidji. It recognizes activities that exemplify a commitment to coordinated, affordable, reliable, and effective use of GIS to improve services within Minnesota.
The Atlas project was funded by a legislative appropriation, the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the University of Minnesota and the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation.
“The award honors organizations that have gone the extra mile to deliver products and services, improve government responsiveness, promote public access to information, and demonstrate the benefits of collaboration that encourage, by example, others to do the same,” according to the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council website.
NRRI’s Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas makes Minnesota’s spatial data accessible to everyone, regardless of experience. This free, online interactive mapping tool is paired with more than 500 multi-disciplinary data layers covering ten categories, including natural resources, infrastructure and social environments, imagery and landcover. Users can view multiple data layers simultaneously, perform measurements, access data attributes, summarize data within a boundary unit, and print or share the maps they create. It can be accessed at mnatlas.org.
The mission of the Natural Resources Research Institute, at the University of Minnesota Duluth, is to deliver integrated research solutions that value our resources, environment and economy for a sustainable and resilient future.
PHOTO ABOVE: Presenting the award (left to right) Cory Richter, MNGAC Chair, and receiving the award for NRRI, Will Bartsch, Kris Johnson, Megan Quade, and John Zmyslony.