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

The Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals (MAGIP) looks forward to your participation at this year’s 2025 Big Sky GeoCon!

8:25am MDT

Yaak Valley Restoration Projects: GIS Assessment and Design

Wednesday April 16, 2025 8:25am - 8:55am MDT

Clark Room

Vital Ground Foundation retained River Design Group to assess the ecological restoration potential of two properties within the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone in Northwest Montana, to improve native riparian, wetland, and forest habitat. A GIS-based assessment was completed which provided a framework for identification of restoration approaches. Spatial analysis included historical aerial photo analysis and quantification of landscape-level changes since the 1940’s, and LiDAR data analysis which identified relict habitat features. Restoration actions were recommended, and preferred alternatives were clarified through cartography. Two river and wetland restoration projects were constructed in Fall 2024 utilizing GPS-enabled heavy equipment in construction.

Presenters

Selita Ammondt

GIS Analyst, River Design Group, Inc./SWCA

Ms. Ammondt is a GIS Analyst and Restoration Ecologist at River Design Group based in Whitefish, MT, a private consulting firm offering stream and wetland restoration and water resources engineering services. Selita specializes in geospatial analysis and cartography, and ecological... Read More →

Wednesday April 16, 2025 8:25am - 8:55am MDT
Clark Room

Conservation/Natural Resources

9:00am MDT

DNRC Water Resources Division Data & Apps

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT

Clark Room

Presenters

Chris Stump

Montana DNRC

Nate Wold

Joel Harris

Karen Coleman

Sarah Smolka

Montana DNRC

Sarah Smolka has been the Flood Hazard GIS Specialist for Montana DNRC since 2023. She has an M.S. in Geography from the University of Montana and a background in GIS for public safety and energy.

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT
Clark Room

Conservation/Natural Resources

9:30am MDT

Transition

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:30am - 9:35am MDT

Clark Room

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:30am - 9:35am MDT
Clark Room

9:35am MDT

MSU's Geospatial Skills Camp for Rural Montana Youth

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:35am - 10:05am MDT

Clark Room

The Geospatial Skills Camp for Rural Montana Youth, hosted by MSU, is an immersive, hands-on program aimed at introducing youth from rural Montana to geospatial technologies and communities. This project brings curriculum covering STEM and GIS technologies to commutes that don’t always have access or educators to instruct the topics. The curriculum includes seven labs that are particularly relevant to Montana’s rural communities and gives students the tools to then explore their own spatial questions during the camp, and in the future. The camps pilot program was successfully launched in 2024, helping to refine the curriculum for this year’s camps. Here is the link to the story map: https://arcg.is/1faOzX1

Presenters

Maida Knapton

MSU Science & Math Resource Center

Dr. Beth Nelson

Wednesday April 16, 2025 9:35am - 10:05am MDT
Clark Room

Conservation/Natural Resources

10:10am MDT

Incorporating submerged channel features in DEMs with optical bathymetry and GIS for improved hydrologic modeling

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:10am - 10:25am MDT

Clark Room

Accurate, high-resolution elevation data for both exposed and submerged features in alluvial systems improves hydrologic and morphodynamic modeling. However, while most LiDAR and drone-based photogrammetry excel at capturing surface topography, they provide limited information about channel bed elevations below the water surface. We demonstrate a workflow to generate and stitch together high-resolution elevation data for both exposed and submerged features. This method integrates drone-based Structure from Motion DEMs with easily obtained field measurements and optical bathymetry tools to generate a single high-resolution, high accuracy topographic and bathymetric DEM raster.

Presenters

Claire Rawlings Gilder

University of Montana

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:10am - 10:25am MDT
Clark Room

Conservation/Natural Resources, Remote Sensing/UAS

11:10am MDT

Leveraging OpenDroneMap for Processing UAV Imagery

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:10am - 12:10pm MDT

Clark Room

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significantly transformed spatial data collection and analysis. This presentation will delve into the utilization of OpenDroneMap, an open-source software toolkit designed for processing UAV imagery. Attendees will learn about the capabilities of OpenDroneMap in generating high-resolution orthophotos, 3D models, and point clouds, with real-world case studies presented by Montana State University's Geospatial Core Facility.
Join us to explore how OpenDroneMap can transform your GIS projects, providing a practical and scalable solution for advanced geospatial data management and analysis.

Presenters

Jackson Rose

GIS Analyst, Montana State University

Jackson Rose is a Geospatial Research Analyst working in the Geospatial Core Facility at MSU. Jackson’s role in the Collaborative Waterways Mapping project includes overseeing and facilitating primary data collection efforts in connection with the CATS program.

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:10am - 12:10pm MDT
Clark Room

Remote Sensing/UAS

1:45pm MDT

ArcGIS Experience Builder Custom Widgets: Value and Development

Wednesday April 16, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MDT

Clark Room

Using ArcGIS Experience Builder, GIS-related web applications can be created by arranging and configuring components known as widgets. Core capabilities are provided by out-of-the-box widgets, while custom widgets can be added to allow for workflows and operations that may not otherwise be accommodated. In this session, the value of custom widgets will be discussed and the process of creating widgets will be explained. A range of audience interests will be served, from offering a general appreciation of the possibilities through to guidance for those who may wish to develop widgets themselves.

Presenters

David Howes

David Howes, LLC

David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (dhowes.com [dhowes.com]) in Seattle, WA, specializing in the development of GIS tools, processes, and supporting infrastructure for a variety of clients from small operations to multinational corporations. David has over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the Uni... Read More →

Wednesday April 16, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm MDT
Clark Room

Government, Utilities/Asset Management/Engineering Design

3:20pm MDT

Old Drawings to Drones: Utility Protection and the quest for accuracy at Montana State University.

Wednesday April 16, 2025 3:20pm - 3:50pm MDT

Clark Room

Montana State University in Bozeman, MT is a 130 year old institution. In the spring of 2024, University Facilities Management launched their drone program. Combining high tech georeferenced drone mapping with past surveys, stories, drawings, As-Builts, it became clear that the old divisions of getting it right, i.e. GIS vs professional surveying could be used together to make a robust experience for contractors, engineers, planners, etc in getting it right. What is "here" is actually "here". Utility industry veteran, Adam Hallberg, Utility Coordinator describes this in detail.

Presenters

Adam Hallberg

MSU

Wednesday April 16, 2025 3:20pm - 3:50pm MDT
Clark Room

Utilities/Asset Management/Engineering Design, Remote Sensing/UAS

3:55pm MDT

Creating Web Applications with ArcGIS Components

Wednesday April 16, 2025 3:55pm - 4:25pm MDT

Clark Room

Learn how you can use the ArcGIS JavaScript SDK's map and widgets wrapped as web components to kickstart your journey in building web mapping applications.

Presenters

Scott Moore

Solution Engineer, Esri

Scott Moore is a Solution Engineer Team Lead with Esri in Olympia, WA. He focuses on assisting Esri software users with architecture design, application development and technical advice for deploying ArcGIS. Mr. Moore’s areas of expertise include web mapping, server based GIS... Read More →

Wednesday April 16, 2025 3:55pm - 4:25pm MDT
Clark Room

Government, Utilities/Asset Management/Engineering Design

4:30pm MDT

Essentials for a Successful GIS Cloud Migration

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:30pm - 5:00pm MDT

Clark Room

Imagery, big data, analytics, and the always expanding capabilities of the Enterprise stack make migrating from on-premise to a GIS Managed Cloud Services solution an ideal choice. During this session, we will review the top questions and concerns our clients have around making this move, how they prepared to migrate, and the benefits they have realized since.

Presenters

Jay Young

ROK Technologies

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:30pm - 5:00pm MDT
Clark Room

Government, Utilities/Asset Management/Engineering Design

9:20am MDT

Basecamp Butte: Using GIS to Promote Outdoor Recreation

Thursday April 17, 2025 9:20am - 9:50am MDT

Clark Room

As Butte looks to the future, the community is working to build a new reputation as a hub for outdoor recreation. Through this work, the need was identified for an interactive online map that residents and visitors could use to locate outdoor recreation opportunities. Recreation opportunities are managed by many different entities and there was no centralized location to find maps and information. This presentation will share how the Basecamp Butte map was developed to address this challenge. The map will launch in Spring 2025 and provides a comprehensive view of outdoor recreation opportunities in the Butte area.

Presenters

Liz Lahey

Water & Environmental Technologies

Thursday April 17, 2025 9:20am - 9:50am MDT
Clark Room

Conservation/Natural Resources, Government

9:55am MDT

Base Map Editing: Enhancing Great Falls’ City Parks with ESRI’s Community Maps Editor

Thursday April 17, 2025 9:55am - 10:25am MDT

Clark Room

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.

Presenters

Nathaniel Williams

GIS Specialist, City of Great Falls

Thursday April 17, 2025 9:55am - 10:25am MDT
Clark Room

Government

10:55am MDT

Geospatial Governance: Laying the Foundation for a Reliable and Sustainable GIS

Thursday April 17, 2025 10:55am - 11:25am MDT

Clark Room

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.

Presenters

Matt Trebesch

GIS Analyst, Montana State Library

Matt Trebesch is a GIS Analyst at the Montana State Library (MSL). At the MSL, he manages a variety of statewide projects including the MSL “Flood Hub” and the now retired Montana Covid-19 dashboard and Hub. He also provides statewide support of MGIA (Formerly MLIA) grantees and... Read More →

Thursday April 17, 2025 10:55am - 11:25am MDT
Clark Room

Government

11:30am MDT

School Districts in Carbon County. Holy Grail or Holy Hell?

Thursday April 17, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Clark Room

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.

Presenters

Tom Kohley

GIS Coordinator / Fire Warden, Carbon County

Thursday April 17, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Clark Room

Government

1:30pm MDT

UAV Geotagging and GPS correction utilizing Montana State Reference Network (MTSRN)

Thursday April 17, 2025 1:30pm - 2:00pm MDT

Clark Room

This is a live demonstration utilizing the Montana State Reference Network (MTSRN) for the GPS correction solution in geotagging an imagery set from a large area UAV flight. I will be walking through the workflow from image acquisition through geotagging. A final image product will be presented; however, the image processing post geotagging will be done at a high level with low detail.

Presenters

Julian Calabrese

MT DEQ

Thursday April 17, 2025 1:30pm - 2:00pm MDT
Clark Room

Remote Sensing/UAS

2:05pm MDT

Engineering independent intensity and texture features for sample design, classification, regression, and clustering analyses using principal component analysis and convolution kernels

Thursday April 17, 2025 2:05pm - 2:35pm MDT

Clark Room

Local raster texture is an important attribute that can be used for sample design and raster-based classification, regression, and clustering. However, determining the appropriate kernel weights to quantify texture can be challenging and can vary depending on the remote sensing or computer vision task. We present an automated approach that uses principal component analysis (PCA) and convolution kernels to quantify orthogonal intensity and texture metrics. Our approach linearly projects raster data across covariance axes, learns kernel cell weights, and provides a straightforward mechanism to retain as much information as possible within the raster dataset while removing redundancy.

Presenters

John Hogland

Research Forester, USDA FS RMRS

Dr. Hogland is a Research Forester working for the Rocky Mountain Research Station. His research interests revolve around quantitative methods within geographic information systems (GIS) and understanding the relationships between landscape patterns and forested ecosystems processes... Read More →

Thursday April 17, 2025 2:05pm - 2:35pm MDT
Clark Room

Remote Sensing/UAS, Geospatial and AI

2:40pm MDT

Geospatial Digital Twin: Facility and Vertical Asset Management

Thursday April 17, 2025 2:40pm - 3:10pm MDT

Clark Room

As the term Digital Twin continues to grow in popularity, how do organizations understand what it means? In this presentation I will discuss that topic in more detail to help the group get a better understanding of the Digital Twin concept and how it can be leveraged to assist with organization’s modernization efforts.

From there, I will discuss the digital twin workflow from scan to BIM to GIS and then into an ALMS. Throughout we will present different data acquisition options, the conversion efforts, and wrap it up with some current use cases that are underway.

Presenters

John Garrido

Account Executive, NV5

Thursday April 17, 2025 2:40pm - 3:10pm MDT
Clark Room

Utilities/Asset Management/Engineering Design