2026 WA GIS Conference: Full Schedule

8:30am PDT

Real-Time GIS

Tuesday May 19, 2026 8:30am - 12:00pm PDT

Incorporating Real‑Time GIS into an organization’s operations workflow enables organizations to move from reactive response to proactive, data‑driven decision‑making. This workshop demonstrates how real‑time solutions such as Winter Weather Operations and Street Sweeping provide transparency for leadership and the public by visualizing live operational status, materials usage, and service coverage as events unfold. Participants will see how real‑time analytics transform streaming data into actionable metrics, allowing decision makers to track progress, measure performance, and manage resources such as salt, fuel, and labor with greater accountability. The session also highlights how big data analytics built on real‑time GIS can streamline workflows by automating data collection, reducing manual reporting, and integrating operations data into a single, authoritative operational picture. Concepts covered in this workshop are applicable to workflows beyond public works, such as emergency management and transportation. Designed for executive leadership, yet technical enough for GIS practitioners, this workshop focuses on how Real‑Time GIS drives operational efficiency, improves public trust, and delivers measurable return on investment across public works programs.

Speakers

Ryan Richardson

Solution Engineer, Esri

Ryan Richardson is a GIS professional with a passion for using technology to solve complex problems. He currently works as a Solution Engineer at Esri, supporting the State and Local Government team out of Esri's regional office in Olympia, WA. Additionally, he is a FAA Part 107 UAV... Read More →

Tuesday May 19, 2026 8:30am - 12:00pm PDT
409

Workshop

1:30pm PDT

WGGL Forum

Tuesday May 19, 2026 1:30pm - 5:00pm PDT

409

This year’s WGGL forum will follow the pattern of previous events. GIS Professionals and Leaders from the region present information to their peers, with opportunities for questions and discussion, and to meet peers and learn from their own, unique experiences. In the workshop, we will explore navigating the relationships between IT and GIS, GIS job titles, and branding your GIS. Content will be developed by a committee of presenters, but will likely be similar to past events.

Speakers

Jennifer Radcliff

GIS Program Manager, City of Tumwater

TBA

Stephen Beimborn

Manager of GIS Analysts, City of Seattle

Stephen Beimborn is the Manager of GIS Analysts for the City of Seattle. In his forty years working in the GIS field, he has done a little bit of everything, including cartography, analysis, programming, business systems integration, project and portfolio management, and people management... Read More →

Tuesday May 19, 2026 1:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
409

Workshop

10:30am PDT

Modernizing DNR's Custom GIS Viewers

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT

409

DNR maintains a suite of custom GIS viewer applications for different divisions. To improve performance and maintainability, we refactored the shared modular codebase from Angular to React. The modernization streamlined deployment, expanded functionality, and introduced an admin interface that lets business users manage layer tables, increasing flexibility while maintaining consistency across applications.

Speakers

Anna Ballasiotes

GIS Application Developer, Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Anna is a GIS Application Developer in the IT Division at WADNR, based out of Seattle. She works at the intersection of geospatial analysis and natural resources, developing web-based tools and managing geospatial systems to address complex environmental and societal challenges and... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
409

Mapping to the Future, DNR

11:00am PDT

Building the future broadband map of your county

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT

409

This presentation will walk through the broadband datasets available and how you can use them to project what broadband will look like in your county in the next few years. We will go through currently funded project and show methods for determining which locations will receive what service. This can enable your community to advocate for future investments based on what we know now!

Speakers

W. Nick Pappin

Assistant Director, Washington State University

Nick Pappin is the Assistant Director of the Program for Digital Initiatives at Washington State University Extension. He spends his day helping communities understand what federal data says about their towns and county and effectively advocate for better broadband.

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT
409

Mapping to the Future, Broadband

11:30am PDT

Mapping Aquatic Biodiversity in Washington using Environmental DNA

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT

409

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Aquatic Biodiversity Study, led by the Native Aquatic Species Unit, documents species presence across Washington’s river systems using environmental DNA (eDNA). eDNA sampling identifies organisms by collecting genetic material shed into the environment, without the need for direct observation or capture. Samples are analyzed using a DNA sequencing method called metabarcoding, which allows detection of multiple identifiable species from a single sample. Results from this work are compiled and presented through an ArcGIS Online Web Experience. The interactive map displays detections of genetic material from a subset of freshwater fish, shellfish, and crayfish species across the state. Data is aggregated and displayed at the HUC12 watershed scale, providing a consistent spatial framework for viewing species distributions and biodiversity patterns.

This presentation includes a preview of the application prior to public release. Sampling is ongoing statewide, and the dataset will continue to expand over time. The Aquatic Biodiversity Map is designed to support resource management, planning, and public access to eDNA datasets.

Speakers

Allison Ying

Application Developer, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Allison Ying (she/her) is an Application Developer at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. She works with the Inland Fish Unit, building new data tools for freshwater species management and conservation efforts. She started with the Native Aquatic Species Unit, where she... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
409

Mapping to the Future, Environment

1:30pm PDT

Identifying Wildfire Risk Using Geospatial Technology

Wednesday May 20, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT

409

As heat, drought, and fuel accumulation converge, wildfires are intensifying across the Western United States. At the same time, expanding human development into wildland areas is placing infrastructure and lives at greater risk. Geospatial science has a critical role to play, but doing so effectively requires accurate, appropriately-scaled data.
While excellent datasets exist for broad landscape wildfire modeling, and many agencies conduct on-the-ground infrastructure risk assessments, a meaningful gap remains at the intermediate scale. To address this need, information presented here utilizes airborne Lidar and aerial mapping to derive high-resolution landscape data for wildfire risk mitigation at the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
This presentation describes how these technologies are applied to a northern California community to extract terrain, features, and vegetation datasets relevant to wildfire risk analysis. The results provide a detailed characterization of landscape conditions threatening defensible space around structures, evacuation routes, and utility corridors. Ultimately, this work equips agencies and decision-makers with actionable information to mitigate wildfire risk and strengthen community-level planning.

Speakers

Molly Jackson

GIS Manager, GeoTerra, Inc.

I live in Maple Valley, WA and work from home. I came to GIS via geological sciences and love to explore how maps and data can illustrate our natural world. Outside of work my family, hiking, reading, and gardening keep me happy and busy.

Wednesday May 20, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
409

Remote Sensing, Risk

2:00pm PDT

Drone to map, Now What? – KC Wastewater Drone Program to Support Sustainable Infrastructure

Wednesday May 20, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT

409

The King County Wastewater Treatment GIS Drone Program utilizes drones to collect high-resolution aerial imagery. This imagery is processed to generate detailed 3D models, which are then integrated with the wastewater treatment's capital project layer to spatially align field conditions with planned infrastructure work. The combined data is converted into Esri 3D Scene Layers, enabling optimized 3D rendering within the ArcGIS platform.
The 3D Scene Layers are loaded into a Scene Viewer and embedded within an ArcGIS Experience Builder application, hosted on the King County Esri Portal (ArcGIS Enterprise). This provides project managers and engineers with a centralized, interactive tool to monitor and visualize capital project progress in real time.
GIS/Drone Specialists from WTD will present an end-to-end workflow illustrating how public utilities can harness drone technology and GIS to improve infrastructure visibility, streamline project oversight, and enable data-driven decision-making.

Speakers

Joseph Geigel, GISP

GIS Specialist, King County Wastewater Treatment Division

Joe Géigel is a GIS Specialist with the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, where he has worked since 2023. He earned his GISP certification that same year. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Puerto Rico (2016) and a Master’s degree in GIS for... Read More →

Peter Keum

Drone Program Lead/GIS Analyst, King County

Peter Keum, M.S., GISP, King County Wastewater Treatment Drone Program Lead/GIS Analyst:. Peter is a Drone Program Lead and GIS Analyst for the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, where he merges his passion for maps with advanced drone technology. With over 28 years of GIS... Read More →

Jason Celeste

GIS Specialist, King County Wastewater Treatment Division

Jason Celeste is a GIS Specialist with King County Wastewater Treatment Division, bringing over 20 years of experience in geospatial technology and analysis to wastewater infrastructure management. Jason holds a BA in Geography/GIS from the University of Buffalo.

Throughout his career, Jason has provided geospatial support to government clientele including USGS, US Air Force, FEMA, as well as many Tribal government agencies to support transportation asset management. This body of work includes field data collection, spatial analysis, web ap... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
409

Remote Sensing, Drone

3:00pm PDT

Land Cover for Environmental Applications

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

409

High resolution land cover datasets have become essential for a variety of environmental assessment and monitoring applications. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been creating High Resolution Land Cover (HRLC) data to supplement the change detection dataset since 2010 – with an original purpose of evaluating riparian habitat conditions. WDFW's High Resolution Land Cover dataset spans 2011 to 2023 with statewide availability for 2017. This presentation will explore the details of what makes this data product unique and provide a general status update on availability. We will give an overview of how the dataset is created, how to access it through the Riparian Data Engine tool or as a standalone product, and some example use cases. With several land cover datasets available in Washington, we will explore one way to select which data product to use for a given project, including considerations for Eastern vs. Western Washington and vector vs. raster products.

Speakers

Kevin Fuchs

GIS & Imagery Analyst, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Kevin Fuchs is a GIS and Imagery Analyst at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he helps produce High Resolution Land Cover (HRLC) and High Resolution Change Detection (HRCD) data while supporting riparian analyses and figuring out how to process huge datasets. Kevin... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
409

Remote Sensing, Land Cover

3:30pm PDT

High Resolution C-CAP Land Cover Data for Puget Sound

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm PDT

409

For over three decades, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management has produced consistent, accurate land cover and change information through its Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP), available through the Digital Coast. C-CAP land cover data have been essential for comprehensive regional management, assessment, and planning. In recent years, NOAA has moved toward higher-resolution (1-meter) products, bringing the national C-CAP framework to the local level. By providing significantly more detail (900 times that of the past 30-meter products), these new 20-class products support site-specific applications, including water quality assessment, flood inundation modeling, and stormwater management. In Washington specifically, improved riparian habitat modeling, 6-PPD runoff source identification, and improved urban heat island modeling will help prepare the state’s rich ecosystems and built areas for a changing climate. This presentation highlights newly released high resolution land cover data for 10 Puget Sound counties, covering the history of the C-CAP program, the coverage, classifications, and accuracy of the recently released data, and some potential use cases.

Speakers

Bret Folger

West Coast Regional Geospatial Coordinator, Lynker/NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Bret facilitates and extends regional outreach, communication, collaboration, and technical assistance to partners in all aspects of geospatial data for coastal management. He informs the development of NOAA Digital Coast data and tools that meet the region's unique needs through... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm PDT
409

Remote Sensing, Land Cover

4:00pm PDT

Cover Crop Mapping in Skagit County: A Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing Approach

Wednesday May 20, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT

409

Sustainable farming practices can limit the impacts of climate change on crop production while maintaining soil and water health for local communities. Cover cropping involves the planting of vegetation on agricultural fields during the non-growing season and provides multiple agronomic benefits including reduced soil erosion and nutrient runoff, lower water pollution risks, and improved soil structure and nutrient cycling. As future climate projections for the Pacific Northwest indicate increasing frequency of heavy rainfall and flooding events, adoption of these practices is becoming increasingly critical for regional agricultural resilience.
The Skagit Conservation District provides education, funding, and technical support for sustainable farming practices including cover cropping. To support cover crop outreach and education within the Skagit community, this study leverages multi-source remote sensing data to map and visualize winter cover crop practices across Skagit County agricultural fields from the 1980s to present. Historical Landsat Collection 2 Level-2 imagery, courtesy of the NASA/USGS Landsat program, provides a long-term time series, while Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data acquired via the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem and the Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC extend the analysis with higher spatial resolution from 2017 onward.
Using agricultural field boundaries from the Washington State Department of Agriculture 2024 crop layer, winter vegetation conditions are assessed across seasonal agricultural fields during the November–February window using three complementary indices: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Tillage Index (NDTI), and Sentinel-1 SAR VH/VV backscatter ratio, the latter providing cloud-independent coverage during periods of persistent overcast conditions characteristic of Skagit County winters. Known cover crop fields from Skagit Conservation District farmer partnerships serve as validation data.
Analysis is ongoing. Upon completion, results will be published as an ArcGIS StoryMap and interactive Web App to support conservation outreach and communicate the long-term trajectory of cover crop adoption across Skagit County.

Speakers

Emma Tomaszewski

GIS Specialist, Skagit Conservation District

Emma Tomaszewski is a GIS Specialist at the Skagit Conservation District, where she supports conservation outreach and education through mapping and geospatial analysis. She holds a Master's degree in Ecology and brings over a decade of experience applying spatial analysis and data... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
409

Remote Sensing, Land Cover

8:30am PDT

Kayak-Based Citizen Science: Mapping Real-Time Water Temperature in Puget Sound with GIS

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

409

EcoTrackrs is a GIS-driven citizen science initiative by EarthViews Conservation Society designed to address a critical gap in nearshore monitoring: the lack of high-resolution, spatially distributed water temperature data in Puget Sound. Existing monitoring systems are often fixed or coarse in scale, limiting their ability to capture localized variability driven by climate change, shoreline complexity, and urban impacts.

This project uses kayaks as mobile data collection platforms, enabling access to shallow and complex nearshore environments that are difficult to monitor using traditional methods. Volunteer kayakers are equipped with temperature sensors and a custom mobile app to collect synchronized GPS and temperature data in real time. These data are processed and visualized using Esri tools, including ArcGIS Online and Experience Builder, creating an interactive and publicly accessible map.

As a proof of concept, the pilot generated over 4,600 geolocated temperature data points across multiple locations in Puget Sound, demonstrating both feasibility and scalability.

This presentation will outline the full workflow from kayak-based data collection to GIS visualization, as well as key lessons learned in sensor selection, app development, and volunteer engagement. It will also highlight how this approach complements existing agency monitoring by providing fine-scale, flexible datasets that can inform climate resilience and waterway management.

EcoTrackrs demonstrates how GIS-enabled, community-driven data collection can expand monitoring capacity, improve spatial resolution, and support more responsive environmental decision making.

Speakers

Brian Footen

Director/Expedition Lead, EarthViews Conservation Society

Brian Footen is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of EarthViews Conservation Society, where he directs the application of GIS and immersive mapping technologies to protect waterways across Washington State and the Western U.S. With over 20 years of experience working with Tribal... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am PDT
409

Environment, RT Mapping

9:00am PDT

Using GIS to calculate geomorphological change in a river system over time

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

409

We used ArcGIS Pro to determine channel migration over time in a river system in North Dakota. The discipline of geomorphology has defined parameters that describe river migration, but there are no accepted methodologies for measuring these parameters in the real world. Using GIS, we came up with unique methodologies, some built on published papers and others built from scratch. The result is a suite of methodologies that are replicable across projects and multiple years of analysis. We used these methodologies to calculate the change over time in several geomorphological characteristics, including bend amplitude and wavelength, average river width, meander belt width, sinuosity, and meander migration. This presentation will describe these characteristics and the GIS methods used in our calculations. Of note is the method used to calculate meander migration, for which we successfully replicated a methodology written by Joon Heo et al. in 2009, using least squares regression analysis.

Speakers

Katie Messick

GIS Analyst/Staff Scientist, WEST Consultants, Inc.

Katie Messick holds master’s degrees in GIS and Forestry from the University of Washington and has been using GIS in her work for 25 years. She has spent the last 10 years as a GIS Analyst and Staff Scientist at WEST Consultants, Inc., which is a small water resources engineering... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT
409

Environment, Geomorphology

9:30am PDT

Spatial patterns of foraging activity in endangered killer whales shift with changes in Chinook salmon abundance

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

409

Critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) rely heavily on Chinook salmon as their primary food source. Declining salmon stocks, coupled with vessel noise and habitat degradation, are pushing the population towards an extinction vortex. By integrating 20 years of SRKW behavioral research with a regional Chinook salmon index, we developed spatial models to compare whale distribution and behavior in the waters of the U.S. San Juan Islands and Canadian Southern Gulf Islands during periods of varying prey abundance. GIS allowed us to harmonize disparate datasets and visualize habitat use relative to static management boundaries. We found that in low salmon years, foraging became more diffuse and shifted beyond their historical core summer habitat, highlighting potential mismatches between dynamic ecological processes and fixed conservation zones. Our approach demonstrates how GIS can inform adaptive, transboundary management. SRKW survival and recovery depends on international collaboration and safeguarding of habitat.

Speakers

Kimberly Nielsen

Research Associate, Oceans Initiative

Kimberly is a marine ecologist driven by a deep commitment to using science to support conservation. Her work has taken her from the Northeast Pacific to Antarctica, studying how highly mobile species like cetaceans respond to environmental and anthropogenic change.

She is currently a Research Associate with the non-profit Oceans Initiative, where she contributes to a broad range of applied conservation research. Her work spans field-based data collection, spatial and statistical modeling, and scientific writing, with a focus on translating data... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
409

Environment, Whales

10:30am PDT

Advancing Spatial Data Collaboration for Ecosystem Recovery: An Overview of the PSEMP Spatial Data Work Group

Thursday May 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT

409

Spatial data is essential for understanding complex environmental systems, informing decisions, and coordinating actions across jurisdictions and organizations. The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) Spatial Data Work Group (SDWG) is a collaborative network of spatial data users, producers, and intermediaries dedicated to advancing the effective use of spatial data in support of ecosystem recovery and decision-making across the Puget Sound region.

In this session, we’ll provide an overview of the SDWG’s purpose, achievements, and opportunities for engagement. Attendees will learn how the SDWG fosters collaboration, improves understanding of available spatial data resources, and builds shared awareness of regional spatial data needs and challenges. The SDWG’s mission is to support ecosystem recovery by strengthening coordination around data standards, identifying critical gaps, and bridging technical experts with decision makers.

We’ll highlight key contributions and activities, including development of curated data recommendations, cross-partner workshops on priority topics (e.g., LiDAR processing workflows and wetland intrinsic potential), and the formation of Focus Teams - short-term collaborative groups tackling specific spatial data challenges such as riparian monitoring and stormwater data integration.

The presentation will also showcase how the SDWG serves as a platform for knowledge sharing, offering archived workshop materials, networking opportunities, and avenues for practitioners to influence regional spatial data priorities. Whether you’re a GIS analyst, data scientist, or resource manager, you’ll discover how participation in SDWG can enhance your spatial data practice, expand professional networks, and contribute to impactful environmental outcomes.

Join us to explore how this regional effort leverages GIS expertise to strengthen spatial data ecosystems, address data gaps, and drive collaborative solutions for Puget Sound’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Speakers

Tyson Z Waldo

North Sound SSHIAP Biologist, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Tyson has been working as a regional salmon habitat biologist and GIS analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) for over 20 years. He was integral in developing the Salmon and Steelhead Inventory and Assessment Project (SSHIAP) database at the Northwest Indian... Read More →

Mike Leech

Technology Services Practice Leader, Environmental Science Associates (ESA)

Mike Leech is the Technology Services Practice Leader at Environmental Science Associates (ESA) and serves as Coordinator for the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) Spatial Data Work Group (SDWG). He brings over 20 years of experience leading geospatial, data management... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
409

Environment, PSEMP

11:00am PDT

Estimating the Climate Resiliency of WA Dairy Farms

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

409

According to climate models, northwest Washington will experience progressively wetter winters in the coming decades. Dairy farms collect and store manure in large ponds for later use as fertilizer, and the volume of those ponds is greatly influenced by precipitation. Do these ponds have the capacity to hold additional winter rainfall? Or will dairies need to adapt to prevent overflow events?

WSDA’s Nutrient Management Technical Services team has come up with winter storage preparedness estimates for over 30 dairies in Whatcom and Snohomish counties. This presentation will walk through the steps involved in completing this project, from collecting data to generating reports to sharing results with dairy farmers. Additionally, it will cover how Python was utilized to perform complex calculations and how reports were designed using HTML and CSS.

Speakers

Michael Lowry

GIS Analyst, Washington State Department of Agriculture

Michael Lowry is the GIS Analyst for WSDA’s Nutrient Management Technical Services, a program that works with dairy farmers to protect water quality. He has worked on a wide variety of projects that aim to provide the NMTS team with tools and data to get more done in less time... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
409

Environment, Climate

1:30pm PDT

Relationship Goals - Linking Construction Drawings to a Map

Thursday May 21, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT

409

The City of Tacoma was retiring it's legacy document management system in 2025. The old system allowed users the ability to associate a list of related streets through an older Access database and SQL server backend. The solution worked, but it required several steps without any kind of data integrity checking.

After project stakeholders asked if there was a way to incorporate a map into the process, the wheels began turning and started with a humble site but blossomed into a full ArcGIS Experience Builder application, integrating a custom CSV generator to generate standardize lists of barcodes and work orders, a map for the user to select streets related to the documents as also an FME automation to smash them all together in a Snowflake table, accessible to the city for multiple platforms.

This presentation will begin with a demo of the finished product, then going on a tour behind the scenes to see how all the pieces work together.

Speakers

Steve Schunzel, GISP

Enterprise GIS Technical Lead, City of Tacoma

Steve is the Enterprise GIS Technical Lead for the City of Tacoma. He has been in the GIS field for over 30 years, the last 10+ years in various roles with Tacoma. During his career, he has worked with most disciplines associated with local government including cadastral/survey... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
409

Asset Management, As-Built

2:00pm PDT

Taking GIS into the Well: Building a Replicable Condition Assessment Framework with Survey123

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT

409

When Kitsap County needed to move from reactive maintenance to data-driven capital planning for its wastewater pump stations, the County was seeking not only a data collection process, but a repeatable framework that could be managed by staff and expanded across the entire system.
This presentation details how ArcGIS Survey123, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Pro were used to develop and deploy a comprehensive condition assessment program across four pump stations spanning five decades of infrastructure. The project followed a structured progression: establishing asset management goals through workshops with County staff, building a hierarchical asset inventory from design drawings and institutional knowledge, developing a Survey123 form architecture with related tables for condition scoring and photo documentation, piloting the framework at the first station, refining it based on field experience, then deploying across the remaining three stations with County staff taking increasing ownership.
The Survey123 form design centered on using questions tailored to different asset classes. Questions are framed with discrete text descriptions easy for inspectors to understand. Responses convert from descriptive text to quantitative scores, enabling consistent, repeatable assessments even from different inspectors. The resulting condition scores directly support capital planning and prioritization with traceable justifications explaining values.
The presentation highlights real challenges encountered during implementation: managing limited existing records, balancing survey form flexibility with the specificity inspectors need in the field, reconciling data across multiple survey exports, and calibrating useful life values against industry standards. Attendees will see how the final deliverables, including visualizations and interactive dashboards, directly support renewal and replacement prioritization. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework they can adapt for their own utilities or organizations using standard Esri tools.

Speakers

Max Sugarman

Senior GIS Analyst, Hazen and Sawyer

Max Sugarman is a Senior GIS Analyst at Hazen and Sawyer, a national engineering firm specializing in water and wastewater infrastructure. Based in Seattle, he focuses on helping water and wastewater utilities translate geospatial data into practical tools for asset management, capital... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
409

Asset Management, Survey123

2:30pm PDT

Bringing Branch Editing to PostGIS/QGIS

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm PDT

409

This short talk demonstrates a proof-of-concept, alpha-quality project designed to introduce versioned, branched editing capabilities to the PostgreSQL, PostGIS, and QGIS technology stack. It establishes a workflow directly analogous to standard version control software used in software development. The process begins by designating a feature layer as the trunk or main layer. While operating on their branch, users perform updates, inserts, and deletions. Concurrently, other team members may modify the trunk or their own independent branches. Once editing concludes, the user reconciles their branch against the trunk to identify and resolve conflicting edits. Finally, the approved branch edits are merged into the trunk, establishing a new authoritative version. If you are interested in FOSS GIS software, have a skill and the desire to contribute, please attend for more information.

Speakers

Roma Hicks

Hobbyist Developer, Senior Application Analyst, City of Issaquah

Roma Hicks is a senior application analyst for the City of Issaquah focused on public works, ESRI Utility Network, asset management, and project management but moonlights as a hobbyist software developer for over 15 years with an interest in free and open-source software (FOSS). Using... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm PDT
409

Asset Management, Branch Editing

2:45pm PDT

Tree Canopy and Land Cover: Tacoma's GIS Approach

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm PDT

409

Many municipalities regularly collect land cover data using aerial imagery to support land use planning, track tree canopy, and inform city leadership. Building these workflows requires balancing accuracy, efficiency, and long-term maintainability, which becomes increasingly challenging as datasets grow and organizational needs evolve.

This presentation walks through how the City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services department developed a land cover workflow using ArcGIS Pro to process and analyze aerial data. Using real project examples, it will highlight the step-by-step approach used to generate land cover and tree canopy statistics, along with the challenges encountered around efficiency, consistency, and long-term maintainability.

Building on this foundation, the presentation will also explore opportunities to improve and automate the workflow using FME. It will outline where automation could reduce manual effort, improve documentation, and make the process more repeatable across teams.

Attendees will gain practical insight into building effective GIS workflows in ArcGIS Pro, identifying bottlenecks in manual processes, and taking the first steps toward automation with tools like FME.

Speakers

Shawn Leonard

IT Analyst, City of Tacoma

Shawn Leonard is an IT Analyst with the City of Tacoma’s Environmental Services department, where he supports the GIS needs of stormwater, wastewater, and solid waste utilities. Over the past year and a half, he has worked at the intersection of data, infrastructure, and environmental... Read More →

Thursday May 21, 2026 2:45pm - 3:00pm PDT
409

Asset Management, Land Cover