2025 Big Sky GeoCon - Mapping the Future: Innovations in Geospatial Technology

This presentation will provide an update on the MSDI Administrative Boundaries, Geo-Enabled Elections, and the U.S. Census Bureau Programs. The panelists will demonstrate their role in the election process and answer questions from the audience.

The panelists include:
• Meghan Burns, GIS Analyst / Administrative Boundary Theme Lead | Montana State Library
• Caroline Psaltis, GIS Specialist / Geo-Enabled Elections | Montana State Library
• Stuart Fuller, Elections & Voter Services Manager | Montana Secretary of State
• Dave Ritts, GIS Analyst | Census & Economic Information Center / Montana Department of Commerce
• Eric Spangenberg, GISP, GIS Coordinator | City of Helena / Lewis and Clark County
• Connor Fitzpatrick, Elections Division Supervisor | Lewis and Clark County 

Paris Gibson envisioned parks as essential to Great Falls’ urban identity. This presentation showcases how ESRI's Community Maps Editor has been leveraged to update city park layers in ESRI's Base maps, creating detailed and accurate information for both residents and visitors. Inspired by efforts to update the City Parks webpage, this project merges historical appreciation with GIS tools, ensuring that green spaces remain central to city planning. Attendees will explore the technical process of basemap editing, navigate the challenges of data integration and decision making, and discover how these updates honor Gibson's vision. 

Effective geospatial governance is key to building a strong and sustainable GIS for your organization. In this session, we’ll explore how policies, tools, and web applications can be implemented to create a reliable GIS framework that promotes efficiency and reusability.

We’ll share the Montana State Library’s experience in developing a geospatial governance policy, including insights from our working policy documents, scripting tools, and dashboards. Attendees will gain practical knowledge on leveraging these resources to establish or enhance their own geospatial governance strategies. 

The number of school districts in Carbon County has shrunk from 70 to 7 over the last 50 years. Years of abandonments, consolidations, annexations and transfers have significantly re-configured the boundaries of these commonly referenced districts. Is it important to track these changes? Considering that several other special improvement districts including fire, ambulance and cemetery districts referenced school district boundaries during their formation, the answer may be yes. This presentation describes the way in which GIS was used to track school district transactions over time and explores the challenges that were encountered while attempting to modernize school district boundaries.