Georgia outdoors enthusiasts who’ve wished for one-touch access to the state’s treasure trove of public hunting maps, offshore fishing reefs and trailheads had better hold on to their binoculars:
A new mobile-enabled website debuting Friday from the state’s Department of Natural Resources could forever alter how state agencies interact with the public.
It is the first of its kind in Georgia and possibly even the nation, a prototype built with the help of Google. Nearly two years in the making, it has taken information buried on more than 60 different webpages within the agency's five divisions and combined them into a one-stop site: GeorgiaOutdoorMap.com.
The site gives the public unfettered access to geospatial data — geographic locations and characteristics of various sites across Georgia — collected by the agency over the last two decades. It makes that information instantly accessible to hikers, hunters and the more than 10 million people who annually visit the state's 48 state parks, 15 historic sites and 99 wildlife management areas.
And it was done with one simple fact in mind: More and more Georgians can whip out smartphones, laptops and tablets while outdoors or traveling and seek the information that DNR has now deposited within a few finger swipes or keyboard taps.
Want to know which parks offer picnic shelters, walk-in campsites and handicap-accessible boat ramps? Log on, check the boxes and every applicable site will appear on a map. Need driving directions? They’re a click away. Decide to spend the night in a state-owned yurt? With a finger-punch, you’ll be on the state’s reservations page.
“I firmly believe this product will replace most of our webpages,” said John Martin, who spearheaded the effort as DNR’s chief information officer. “A lot of people have been doing a lot of great work, but we hadn’t figured out an easy way to get it to citizens. This changes that.”
The site essentially showcases a collaboration between Google, DNR and Georgia State University. Or, in so many words, the corporate sector, public sector and the academic world, with each providing something the other needed: technological know-how, reams of data and labor.
Martin said Google, which did not respond to requests for comment, wanted to build a prototype showing how public agencies could use its Google Maps Engine to simplify data access. The bonus? Millions already use the maps engine in their daily lives, meaning there would not be much of a learning curve for the public.
The search company initially partnered with an agency in another state but complications allowed Georgia officials to step in and take its place. The result, according to Martin and others involved in the project, is a comprehensive tool that gives people information they own as taxpayers of the state.
The DNR data used for the project has been regularly collected and updated by the agency over the past 20 years at an estimated cost in the millions of dollars. Much of it has helped officials meet state and federal mandates. It also helped with scientific efforts on things like park management services, marking the boundaries of Georgia’s river basins or monitoring the water quality in approved shellfish harvest areas.
The total cost to the state — which included an intern for six months, plus some back-end software licensing – was in the tens of thousands of dollars. Google picked up most of the tab for the project’s development. In turn, DNR officials believe it will boost revenue as more Georgians discover the state’s parks and other sites.
“This is the perfect example of how technologies are advancing so fast, we can put them right at our finger tips,” said Dan Deocampo, chairman of Georgia State’s Geosciences Department. One of the department’s students, Sam Lyles, played a key role in the project, which state officials hope will convince Gov. Nathan Deal and other agency leaders to follow DNR’s lead.
The agency’s board chairman, Philip Wilheit Jr., imagines local communities hosting sites that give residents instant access to underground utility locations or transportation officials using a similar application to help reroute commuters away from massive roadway project sites.
“I really can’t wait to see where it goes,” Wilheit said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
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