FRANKFORT, Ky.—Governor Ernie Fletcher today accepted an award from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in recognition of the commonwealth’s Geographic Information Services (GIS) achievements. In particular, Kentucky was recognized by the USGS for its achievements in connecting to the National Map, a federal, state and local government partnership that provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information that is accessible by both resource managers and the general public.

“Geography has played a defining role in the settlement, history and cultural heritage of Kentucky,” Governor Fletcher said in a proclamation declaring November 16, 2005 Kentucky GIS Day. “An understanding of geographical concepts is crucial to maintain a balance among the wise use of the commonwealth’s natural resources, continued economic prosperity and the well-being of its citizens.”

The commonwealth of Kentucky is the first state in the nation to have registered data in all of the USGS National Map themes, including 26 statewide layers. Over the past two decades, Kentucky has received numerous awards for its GIS efforts. Most recently, Kentucky was recognized at this year’s Environmental Science Research Institute (ESRI) International Users Conference and was featured in ESRI’s summer issue of ArcNews, which has a readership of more than 500,000 subscribers.

KYGEONET, the state’s GIS mapping system, received 3.4 million hits during the month of October, a new record. This is attributable, at least in part, to the addition of a link to the new state parks mapping site from Kentucky.gov’s list of geographic services.

The Commonwealth Map is accessible at http://kygeonet.ky.gov/tcm/viewer.htm. The National Map is available at http://nationalmap.gov/.

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