The Geographic Information Coordinating Council adopted the US National Grid as a presentation layer for NC OneMap data.  This provides an additional visual option for users of the NC OneMap web viewer.  You will note the US National Grid coordinates in the grey bar below the map, next to latitude and longitude. North Carolina, supported by a grant from the Federal Geographic Data Committee, developed custom GIS datasets and training materials, held workshops in 2008, and demonstrated the use of the US National Grid in mapping and group navigation.  The final report  details the grant activities, shows North Carolina examples, and clarifies the benefits of the US National Grid for finding locations in emergencies when state or federal assistance is needed.  The project file, including training materials, are available as a ZIP file.

The USNG is a presentation format standard developed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee [fgdc-std-011-2001]. The coordinate reference system was adopted to provide a nationally and globally consistent language of location optimized for local applications and larger-scale mapping.

The USNG is intended for everyday applications by the general public and public safety providers, and for improved business practices in support of the general economy. Commercial vendors and publishers of street and highway maps in North Carolina are encouraged to adopt the USNG.

The availability of feature locations as USNG values is particularly valuable during times of disaster, such as major hurricanes where the street signs and landmarks have been destroyed. The USNG improves public safety by providing a uniform means to describe an incident location where street addresses may not be specific enough – such as a large campus or industrial complex. This also benefits mutual assistance operations. Furthermore these USNG values can be directly used in low-cost consumer Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to guide a person to the precise point of interest or to locate it on a web-mapping portal.

View an example USNG map atlas from Murphy, NC.

The National States Geographic Information Council recently hosted and recorded an informative presentation by Talbot Brooks. Click here to view it.