2006 Governor's Commendation

Two Minnesota Governor's Commendation awards for GIS were presented at the GIS/LIS Conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota, October 6, 2006 to:

Firewise in the Classroom

Firewise in the Classroom helps students from grades 6-12 learn about GIS/GPS technology, while they assist their communities by assessing fire risk of homes and neighborhoods. In a three-phase process, the students:

1. use GIS and orthophotography to assess home proximity to surrounding trees,
2. conduct a ground assessment using GPS to pinpoint locations, and
3. prepare a community assessment.

Residents are provided necessary information about their risk and ways to reduce it. The community report assists firefighters and helps build a statewide database. Since the 2004-05 school year, this program has benefited over 100,000 homeowners, 400 communities and 1,500 students in 18 school districts. The program meets state and national educational criteria and recently received prestigious George F. Cram Awards from the National Council for Geographic Education.
Recognized organizations include:

• Minnesota DNR Firewise Program
• GIS 4 Schools
• Macalester College Department of Geography
• Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education

Preserving GLO Plat Maps

Plats of the original General Land Office (GLO) Public Land Survey serve as the fundamental legal records for all real estate in the state; all property titles and descriptions stem from them. These plats were created from 1848 to 1907 and are deteriorating from both age and use. This commendation awards a multi-agency effort to scan and preserve more than 3,600 of Minnesota’s original survey plat maps. These high-quality scanned plat maps are now online, readily accessible to surveyors and the GIS community, making their work easier and saving them countless hours in searching for this vital source material. These savings lower costs for citizens and governments across the state. The plat maps also serve as a rich source of information about the state’s physical geography prior to European settlement. Their inherent beauty has made them popular with citizens and copies hang on many home and office walls. More than 5,000 copies are viewed online or downloaded each month.
Recognized organizations include:

• Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State
• Minnesota Department of Transportation
• Minnesota Association of County Surveyors
• Land Management Information Center (now MnGeo)
• Minnesota Historical Society

More information about the online plat maps can be found at the GLO Historic Plat Map Retrieval System webpage.