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<TITLE>Re: [OSGeodata] USGS DRGs being held to ransom!</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Jo,</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>The State of California, through the California Spatial Information </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Library (CaSIL), makes the 1:250K, the 1:100K, and 1:24K USGS DRGs </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>for California available to the public over the web. The main CaSIL </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>site is:</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://gis.ca.gov/index.epl" TARGET="_blank">http://gis.ca.gov/index.epl</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>The DRGs are housed at UC Davis, where they provide a web interface </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>for accessing the data. The URL for this site is:</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2> <A HREF="http://drg.casil.ucdavis.edu/" TARGET="_blank">http://drg.casil.ucdavis.edu/</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>It turns out that the projection used for the California DRGs </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>(California Teale Albers, available for both NAD27 and NAD83 datums) </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>is different that what is used for other US states.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Dan</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>On 27-Aug-06, at 3:17 PM, Jo Walsh wrote:</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> dear geodata posse,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> I had not run across this project before - <A HREF="http://libre.redjar.org/" TARGET="_blank">http://libre.redjar.org/</A> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> maps/</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> - an effort to collect and freely redistribute 1:24K USGS DRGs. Now</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> the maintainer is becoming desperate: [[ I am holding every 1:24,000</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> scale DRG topographic map hostage ]] - <A HREF="http://ransom.redjar.org" TARGET="_blank">http://ransom.redjar.org</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Once the dataset escapes captivity, it could be a great candidate to</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> stick behind a WMS on the repository at telascience.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Commentary and/or related art would be gratefully received, i think.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> cheers,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> jo</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ----- Forwarded message from Jared <jared@redjar.org> -----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Delivered-To: jo@vishnu.tridity.org</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> To: jo@frot.org</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> From: Jared <jared@redjar.org></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Subject: Free the Maps!</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:59:47 -0400</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Hi Jo,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> I've read about Public Geo Data project and was hoping you could help</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> me out with a similar project I've been working on in the US. While</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> the map/gis data that the US government creates is Public Domain,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> they still charge for actually getting the data. 2.5 years ago I</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> started the Libre Map Project: <A HREF="http://libre.redjar.org/maps" TARGET="_blank">http://libre.redjar.org/maps</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> The goal is obtain this data and make it available for free via the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Internet. I've primarily been focused on collecting DRG topographic</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> maps to begin with. It has been a slow process. So I've decided to</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> turn it up a notch by using the "Ransom Model".</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> I've purchased all the US DRG's (digital topographic maps) from a</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> USGS business partner. The Internet Archive has agreed to host the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> data, but before I hand over the data, I've put up a $1600 ransom</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> that must be met through donations and purchases of the data on DVD.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Once the ransom is met, every map will be made Freely available for</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> download.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> My motivation is strictly to make this data Freely available for</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> others. I'm hoping that you can help out by spreading the word about</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> the project. If you have questions or any other feedback, please let</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> me know.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> The map ransom page is here:</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> <A HREF="http://ransom.redjar.org/" TARGET="_blank">http://ransom.redjar.org/</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Thanks for your time.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> -jared</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ----- End forwarded message -----</FONT>
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