MAPPS Federal Programs Conference Features Congressional Geospatial Exhibition

The 2007 MAPPS Federal Programs Conference will feature a Geospatial Technology Exhibition held on March 21 in the U.S. Capitol for Members of Congress, their staffs, and Capitol Hill media. This second annual, one-of-a-kind exhibition will demonstrate practical applications of cutting-edge geospatial technologies by GeoEye, EarthData, I-Cubed, Aero-Metric and Photo Science.

“A primary objective of MAPPS is to promote geospatial technology among key decision makers in the United States,” said MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello. “The Geospatial Technology Exhibition will educate Members of Congress on the critical roles that geospatial applications play in matters relating to public policy, legislation and Federal programs in civil agencies, defense and homeland security.”

The exhibition will feature demonstrations of geospatial applications in:

-- flood mapping
-- land parcel inventory and cadastre systems
-- agriculture programs
-- ocean & coastal mapping

Scheduled March 19-21 in Washington, D.C., the MAPPS Federal Programs Conference is an annual event offering MAPPS members the chance to meet with government officials and learn about the status of federal programs that utilize geospatial products and services. The conference is also known for its Congressional office visits, where MAPPS members confer with the Members of Congress from their states to discuss issues of relevance to the geospatial profession.

“The MAPPS Federal Programs Conference is the only organized event that provides geospatial professionals with the opportunity to meet in person with Congressional members and their staffs,” said MAPPS President Kurt Allen.

The agenda for the 2007 MAPPS Federal Programs Conference follows:

Monday, March 19 – Federal Agency Briefings: Officials provide up-to-date information on budgets, programs, contracts and requirements for geospatial products and services in specific programs. Participating agencies will include USGS, NOAA, BLM, DHS, FEMA, USACE, DoT, and more. A luncheon will feature Tim Petty, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science, who will discuss the imaging and geospatial coordination and advocacy activities in the Department of the Interior, including the Future of Land Imaging initiative.

Tuesday, March 20 – MAPPS-Agency Liaison Committee Meetings: MAPPS members roll up their sleeves and participate in small groups with government officials to discuss issues affecting firms’ relationships with various agencies. A special presentation on the recent report of the National Academy of Sciences, “Successful Response Starts with a Map”, will be made by Dr. Michael Goodchild, of the University of California at Santa Barbara and the study panel chair. The luncheon speaker will be Rebecca Ferguson, Geospatial Lines of Business Manager at the Office of Management and Budget. Lunch will be followed by briefings on legislative issues in the afternoon. On Tuesday evening, members of the MAPPS Political Action Committee’s (MAPPS PAC) Inner Circle will be joined at dinner by Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut.

Wednesday, March 21 – Congressional Meetings and Evening Exhibition: MAPPS members will engage in meetings with congressional delegations from their home states. More than 100 MAPPS member firm principals will meet with more than 150 members of the House and Senate. Starting at 5 pm, there will be a Technology Exhibition of MAPPS technology in the U.S. Capitol building.

Visit the MAPPS web site at www.mapps.org for a more detailed agenda of meeting and social events.

About MAPPS
MAPPS was formed in 1982 by a small group of U.S. photogrammetry companies as the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors to represent the interests of private photogrammetric and aerial surveying firms. Since then, MAPPS has expanded in size and scope to become the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the spatial data and geographic information system field in the United States.

Current MAPPS membership spans the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in surveying, photogrammetry, satellite and airborne remote sensing, aerial photography, hydrography, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Members, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world.