President’s FY 09 Budget on Mapping
For a review of the impact of the President’s FY 09 budget on surveyng and mapping programs, check out Laurence Socci’s article Surveying the Capitol in the April 2008 (Vol 28, No 4) issue of Professional Surveyor Magazine.
The FY 09 budget reduces the amount for FEMA Flood Map Modernization by $50 million from the 2007 level to $150 million. FEMA’s approach to flood map modernization is described in ”Risk MAP Strategy – Integrating Mapping, Risk Assessment, and Mitigation Planning – Draft Strategy” (February 20, 2008), which outlines an “integrated approach where flood hazards are identified and then woven into watershed-based risk assessments and State and local hazard mitigation planning efforts.”
Notabely, the FY 09 budget also allocates only $76 million to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for geographic research, investigations, and remote sensing, which Socci notes is $4 million less than in 2007. The ”USGS Science in the Decade 2007 – 2017: Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges – An Overview” fact sheet provides an overview of the USGS’s updated science strategy for the next decade. Coordination of the President’s Geospatial Line of Business is managed by the USGS’s Federal Geographic Data Committee.
While you’re on the Professional Surveyor Magazine’swebsite, you also might want to take a look at Socci’s review “35 Years of Landsat” in the March 2008 issue (Vol 28, No 3).
