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VICTORIA
– As part of government’s ongoing
long-term plan to deliver services where and when needed, Integrated Land
Management Bureau (ILMB) base map products and services are now available to
customers online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Minister of Agriculture and
Lands Pat Bell announced today.
“Until now, anyone
using the LandData BC services could only perform one transaction at a time,
and had to go to a government office or air photo agent to order their
materials,” said Bell. “Now people can fill a virtual shopping cart and order
materials online from the comfort of their home or office.”
ILMB’s Base
Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch gives customers access to the base map
products and services they require to accurately overlay geographic based
information such as vegetation cover, utilities and highway infrastructure, oil
and gas wells, water licenses, fire evacuation routes, land use plans and zoning.
“The new Base Map Online Store replaces
LandData BC and gives customers improved access to quality maps and images
vital to their business, that can be purchased over the Internet, using their
credit cards,” said Bell. “This is a huge benefit to the service industries
that use ILMB mapping and imaging services, such as the oil and gas sector,
forestry, mining, land and water management, and tourism.”
“We tested the
Online Store in December and then asked a few of our clients who wanted to order
some photographs to use the site,” said Cheri Stutz, GIS mapping manager,
Chartwell Consultants Ltd. “It was great, no one had to ask us for help
navigating through this process and they were also able to make a simple
customized map of their area. This gives our clients with just a little
computer skill a powerful tool and saves us a lot of time.”
Base maps are
composed of surface features such as roads and bridges, railways, pipelines and
power lines, streams, lakes, marshes, contours, place names, and other man-made
features, all accurately mapped to a common latitude, longitude and height
system. Base maps are used in all sectors of the economy, including tourism,
economic development, resource management, education, and health-care planning,
and are integral to value-added services provided by the geomatics industry and
other service providers.
Online products
such as Terrain Resource Information Management (TRIM) base maps are available
for downloading in a variety of formats. On placing an order, customers receive
an e-mail containing a link to their requested data. Digital orthophotos on
DVDs are usually shipped to the customer within two to five business days,
whereas hardcopy air photo prints are shipped within 15 to 20 business days.
Geographic data
and related products produced by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch
support many different business applications. During the devastating 2003
wildfires in the Town Creek/Lillooet area, the branch’s maps and images were
used by the Office of the Fire Commissioner to plan evacuations. The evacuation
map created listed all roads and addresses within the area and could also be
used to find a particular street or intersection that delineated the boundary
of the evacuation area.
Not only is the
Base Map Online Store part of government’s long-term plan to deliver services
where and when needed, it also contributes to fulfilling the Ministry of
Agriculture and Lands’ commitment to enhance the flow of knowledge.
Base Map Online Store Products and Services:
Map Data
·
TRIM Mapping
·
1:250,000 Base Mapping
·
TRIM Enhanced Base Map
(EBM)
·
TRIM Gridded Digital
Elevation Model (DEM)
·
Hillshaded Digital
Elevation Model (DEM)
Imagery
·
Hard Copy Air Photos
·
Air Photo Enlargements
·
TRIM AT Scan
·
TRIM Orthophotos
·
TRIM Orthophoto Mosaics
Geo-Spatial Reference
The geo-spatial reference
system is the basic foundation system of coordinates – latitudes, longitudes
and elevations -- which is used for accurately positioning oneself on the
Earth’s surface (or on base maps).
·
MASCOT Geodetic Control
Monuments
·
BCACS GPS Basestation
Data
For more information on the
products and services offered by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch,
visit: ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/bmgs/index.html
To access the Base Map Online
Store, visit:
ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/bmgs/ecommerce-intro.html
A downloadable sound clip of
Minister Bell talking about the Base Map Online Store is available, along with
photos, at www.mediaroom.gov.bc.ca//DisplayEventDetails.aspx?eventId=44.
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contact: |
Communications Director Ministry of Agriculture and Lands 250 356-2862 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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