ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights

September 2018

Rooting for Our Planet

By Carla Wheeler
ArcWatch Editor

One trillion trees. That's how many trees Felix Finkbeiner and the Plant-for-the-Planet initiative he leads hope will be planted through the new Trillion Tree Campaign featured at the 2018 Esri User Conference. An app that lets people pledge to plant trees or donate to tree planting organizations and then map the planted trees was unveiled at the conference. Read the article.

Felix Finkbeiner began his tree-planting crusade when he was only nine years old. His inspiration: Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement.

The Tip

Learn to Use the New World Imagery Wayback Archive
The World Imagery Wayback app offers access to global imagery that has appeared in the World Imagery basemap over the past five years. Esri cartographer Aileen Buckley shows you how to use the archived imagery to visualize changes to terrain over time, add the images to a web map, and then share that map using an Esri Story Maps app. Read the tip.

Join the Conversation

The Headlines

The GIS Community Steps Up

Attendees at the 2018 Esri User Conference saw inspiring examples of how organizations use GIS to protect precious natural resources, operate more efficiently and sustainably, and train tomorrow's workforce. Read the article.

Esri Recognizes Good GIS Work

Dozens of individuals and organizations were honored at the 2018 Esri User Conference for their innovative uses of GIS. One of the people recognized was Colorado governor John Hickenlooper. Read the article.

Story Maps That Amaze

Meet the 2018 Esri Storytelling with Maps Contest winners, who used the apps to tell stories about a Rohingya refugee encampment; a volcano in the Aegean Sea; indigenous peoples of Colombia; and even a golf course in Yankton, South Dakota. Read the article.

The Geospatial Report

Jack Dangermond Interviews Biologist E. O. Wilson

Esri president Jack Dangermond interviewed biologist E. O. Wilson about what needs to be done to create a more sustainable planet. The first step, Wilson said, is to map all the species in the world. "Eighty percent of the species on the planet are still unknown to science," he said. "We have to find out what's out there." Watch the video.

Live from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World

Millions of users depend on the live feeds available from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, whether it's weather, earthquake, wildfire, or stream gauge feeds. Read the blog.

Dashboards Give Assessors a View into Vital Information

Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS can be configured for assessors who want to view the latest assessment data on a single screen via maps, charts, and gauges. J. D. Overton from Esri demonstrates how to configure a value analysis dashboard. Watch the webinar.

Register for the Esri Health and Human Services GIS Conference

Attend the Esri Health and Human Services GIS Conference, to be held October 23–25, 2018, in Redlands, California, to find out how GIS is being used in the health and human services field.
Sign up today.
Read about the value of attending.

Tech Time

Six New Features in ArcGIS Enterprise

Esri recently released ArcGIS Enterprise 10.6.1, which includes ArcGIS Enterprise Sites to develop custom websites for GIS content, new vector tile functionality, and a new orthomapping web app called Ortho Maker that can be used to make orthorectified imagery products from drone images. Read the blog.

Rivers of Text

Esri cartographer John Nelson explains how to use ArcGIS Pro to create a typographic map of rivers. Follow his directions to make a memorable map of rivers using text that will have everyone talking. Read the blog.

Take the Insights for ArcGIS Training Seminar

Esri's Scott Sandusky and Linda Beale will host a free, live training seminar called Insights for ArcGIS: Powerful Data Analytics Made Simple, on September 27, 2018. Receive a reminder.

ArcGIS and Machine Learning in Action

Learn how the machine learning tools in ArcGIS can be used to analyze issues such as identifying dangerous street intersections. Watch the video.

Maps & More

Redraw Political Boundaries with GIS

Use Esri Redistricting and ArcGIS Online to create a redistricting plan and gather input from the public in this free Learn ArcGIS lesson, Redraw Political Boundaries with Public Participation. Take the lesson.

Where the Wildfires Are

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) launched this handy Wildfire Status Dashboard that maps where wildfires are burning in the United States. Charts show wildfire percentages by state and cause, too. View the dashboard.

Hardware Offer

Esri offers to US customers only the Trimble TDC100. It's an all-in-one rugged GNSS handheld receiver and smartphone that supports Esri field apps such as Collector for ArcGIS. Order today.

The Last Word

Chasing the Solar Eclipse

Attention, solar eclipse followers. Want to find the next eclipse? Use the Solar Eclipse Finder from Esri, which lists dates and times and even maps the locations. Where will you be April 7, 2024? Visit Solar Eclipse Finder.

Coming Next in Mobile Apps

Keep an eye out for three new mobile apps Esri is working on: Location Tracking, ArcGIS Indoors, and ArcGIS Runtime AR/VR. These apps will change how you work. Watch the video.