2026 WA GIS Conference: Full Schedule

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8:30am PDT

Hexagon Content Program – off-the-shelf aerial ortho imagery and elevation data

Thursday May 21, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am PDT

The HxGN Content Program, Hexagon’s aerial data program, offers the largest library of aerial imagery and elevation data across the United States. Hexagon designs and integrates airborne sensors, schedules and flies aerial missions, as well as processes the data using optimized software to the highest levels of photogrammetric and radiometric quality. This presentation provides highlights of the Content Program and focuses on some of the applications of the data.

Speakers

Rob Eadie

Partner Manager, Hexagon

Rob Eadie joined the Hexagon Content Program in 2021 as Partner Manager. Rob has spent his entire career in the geospatial industry working in the areas of aerial/satellite photogrammetry, satellite remote sensing, airborne LIDAR and IFSAR mapping, with a variety of roles in production... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am PDT
403

Sponsor, Imagery

9:00am PDT

‘My Job Would be Impossible Without GIS!’ GIS Makes the Impossible Possible

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT

403

In conducting various GIS return on investment studies, I utilize the ‘with versus without’ GIS ROI methodology developed by Professor Richard Zerbe of the University of Washington Evans School of Public Administration. With this methodology we ask GIS users to estimate how much time it would take them to do their job tasks without GIS. Although most users can conceptualize an answer to this question, with surprising frequence GIS users say that they cannot. They claim that ‘my job would be impossible without GIS.’
This presentation breaks down what this means and how indeed we can develop an answer to the question. GIS professionals should grasp both the underlying power of GIS and the powerful message that GIS-Power provides society. GIS makes the impossible possible!

Speakers

Greg Babinski, MA, GISP, EthicalGEO Fellow

GIS Management Consultant, GIS Management Consulting Services LLC

Greg Babinski is a GIS management consultant and founder of GIS Management Consulting Services LLC and the GIS Management Academy™, located in Edmonds, Washington. Between 1998 and 2021 he served as GIS Manager, GIS Finance Manager, and GIS Marketing & Business Development Manager... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT
403

Sponsor, Advocacy

9:30am PDT

A GIS Workflow for 3D Printing Topographic Models

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am PDT

403

Digital elevation models are primarily interacted with through a screen, but they can become powerful physical tools for visualization, teaching, and storytelling. This presentation explores the creation of tangible 3D printed topographic maps, transforming digital elevation data into physical models that make landscapes easier to interpret and engage with.

Building on a session presented at GIS in Action last year, this updated talk expands the workflow and lessons learned from additional experimentation and projects. We will walk through a practical pipeline for turning elevation data into printable terrain models, including sourcing DEM data, preparing and modifying terrain surfaces, exporting printable meshes, and producing final prints.

The workflow will demonstrate techniques using both ArcGIS Pro and QGIS, as well as web-based tools, to convert elevation rasters into printable geometry. The session will also introduce the fundamentals, including how printers operate, key components, and an overview of the current consumer printer landscape. Along the way we will discuss scale, vertical exaggeration, mesh resolution, printer limitations, and other design considerations that influence how terrain translates from raster data to physical form.

By the end of the session, attendees will understand the conceptual and technical steps required to move from DEM to printed object and will leave with practical knowledge for creating their own tactile terrain models.

Speakers

Noah Flick

Geospatial Mapping Hardware Representative, Frontier Precision

Noah Flick is a geospatial professional in the Pacific Northwest whose work focuses on the systems that transform satellite signals into usable spatial data. He works with Frontier Precision at the intersection of GIS, surveying, and GNSS, with a particular focus on field instrumentation... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
403

Sponsor, Topo

10:30am PDT

Celestial Infrastructure: The History, Science, and Future of Global Satellite Positioning

Thursday May 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT

403

In 1957, physicists at Johns Hopkins listened to Sputnik’s radio beacon and unintentionally laid the groundwork for satellite navigation. What followed was one of the most ambitious engineering efforts in modern history: a constellation of satellites, atomic clocks, control stations, and launch campaigns that has evolved for more than four decades.

This presentation traces the development of satellite positioning from its Cold War origins through the construction of GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou, examining how each constellation was architected, launched, and sustained in orbit, how military systems evolved into global civilian infrastructure, and how the underlying geometry, atomic timekeeping, and signal architecture combine to deliver the positions we depend on daily. It then explores the augmentation systems built on that foundation, including RTK, PPK, WAAS, and PPP, the technologies that push raw GNSS accuracy from meters to centimeters. Each is defined by its own tradeoffs, infrastructure requirements, and ideal applications.

Looking ahead, the session turns to what comes next: GPS III’s new civil signals, LEO-based augmentation that could upend the base station model, and the spoofing and jamming vulnerabilities of a system the modern world cannot function without. Together, these developments reveal GNSS not as a finished technology, but as an evolving global utility.

By understanding the history and architecture behind GNSS, geospatial professionals gain clearer insight into both the power and the limitations of the coordinates they collect, and a better sense of how positioning itself is being redesigned for the decades ahead.

Speakers

Noah Flick

Geospatial Mapping Hardware Representative, Frontier Precision

Thursday May 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
403

Sponsor, GPS

11:30am PDT

Connecting and Empowering Communities Through Map Guides to Inventory Trees Within Their Communities

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT

403

As cities try to mitigate the effects of rising urban heat due to climate change, many have turned to creating Urban Forestry Management Plans (UFMPs). However, UFMPs require extensive tree inventories that catalog trees to assess management costs, tree health concerns, and potential hazards. Creating tree inventories can be prohibitively expensive and a barrier for communities with fewer resources. Therefore, many municipalities have turned to volunteer-led community-based tree inventories, which can alleviate data collection costs. However, managing volunteers can be challenging over large spatial scales, requiring careful planning and resources for guiding participation. Proactively creating ‘neighborhood maps’ that guide volunteers would be helpful, but there is a lack of open-source documentation on how to plan and create such guides for volunteers to use during an urban tree inventory. Through the Grit City Tree Count project, we used ArcGIS Pro and created 24 neighborhood maps across Tacoma using accessible, cost-effective methods based on city published Right-of-Way (ROW) maps and Google Street View. Additional guidance and metrics were added to these maps, including highlighted streets to follow, hazards to avoid, meeting locations, known trees, street names, accessible restrooms, and any other vital information for volunteers conducting tree inventories. Sharing these methods for guiding volunteers will help city managers interested in delivering cost-effective alternatives for urban tree inventories and help empower communities to start their own tree planting initiatives or UFMPs.

Speakers

Nelson Pham

Research Technologist, WSU Urban Forest Health Lab

Nelson Pham is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences studying Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management. He works part-time as a Research Technologist at the Urban Forest Health Lab at Washington State... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
403

Sponsor, Advocacy

1:30pm PDT

ArcGIS for Real-Time Winter Weather and Street Sweeping Operations

Thursday May 21, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT

403

ArcGIS Street Sweeping and Winter Weather Operations empower public works agencies to monitor real-time service activity, measure performance, and keep communities informed. By tracking sweeper and snowplow routes, organizations can improve service levels, meet regulatory requirements, and optimize responses to storms and seasonal conditions. Sharing clear schedules and status updates increases transparency, supports resident planning, and strengthens public trust. Together, these solutions streamline operations, enhance roadway safety, and help agencies manage resources efficiently while maintaining cleaner, safer, and more resilient transportation networks.

Speakers

TJ Abbenhaus

Senior Solution Engineer, Esri, Inc

TJ Abbenhaus, Esri Solution Engineer: He is a Senior Solution Engineer specializing in imagery, remote sensing, and geospatial workflows across the ArcGIS platform. With deep experience helping government agencies modernize legacy imagery systems, TJ focuses on guiding organizations... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
403

Sponsor, Esri