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GIS in Action 2026 has ended
Welcome to the 2026 GIS in Action Annual Conference hosted by the Oregon & SW Washington Chapter of the Geospatial Professional Network & Cascadia ASPRS.
Venue: Classrooms 1-4 clear filter
Wednesday, April 29
 

10:30am PDT

ArcGIS Pro and Python: Potentially Helpful Bits and Bobs
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:30am - 11:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
The purpose of this collaboration session is to provide helpful guidance for anyone using ArcGIS Pro and Python together or separately. The basis for the material presented and demonstrated is everyday experience, particularly with respect to an annual project for which procedures have evolved over many years. A list of related and unrelated topics will be reviewed and audience members will be invited to contribute to the discussion. Ideally, there'll be something for everyone and, as usual, the goal is to provide a forum for a beneficial exchange of information, ideas, and inspiration.
Speakers
avatar for David Howes

David Howes

David Howes, LLC
David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (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. With over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the United... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:30am - 11:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

11:30am PDT

Linux for GIS Professionals
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Is your computer struggling under increasingly heavy operating systems? Have you heard of Linux, but aren't sure where to start? Worried about losing access to your programs? Join me for a brief introduction to the Linux ecosystem as a fellow new Linux user. I'll cover basic terminology, introduce distros and desktops, plus how I set up geospatial tools such as QGIS, Google Earth Pro, GDAL, and even ArcGIS Pro.
Speakers
RG

Rachel Gugler

Mission Sensor Operator, Bridger Aerospace
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

1:30pm PDT

Tactile Cartography with 3D Terrain Modeling
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Blind and low vision map users rely on tactile materials to orient and navigate themselves in locations they frequent. While simplification of these maps for tactile legibility with traditional production methods typically omits elevation data, the increased availability of 3D printing production allows for the incorporation of 3D terrain and symbol elements into tactile cartography. Tactile cartography requires a different design approach than visual cartography and the incorporation of 3D printed elements add additional haptic variables that change the design approach. Locations with varied terrain and complex way finding can greatly benefit from incorporating 3D design elements in their tactile maps which can provide these users with more safety and confidence when navigating these areas. Explore the design and production of 3D tactile terrain models of the Portland Community College Sylvania Campus for the benefit of blind and low vision students and faculty.
Speakers
avatar for Chance Morrison

Chance Morrison

Student of Geomatics, Portland Community College
Chance Morrison is a current student of Geomatics at Portland Community College. After years of gaining experience in operations and project management roles, he returned to school to find a career utilizing GIS analysis to drive change. Having a do-it-yourself attitude, he enjoys... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Students and Emerging Professionals

2:00pm PDT

A GIS Workflow for 3D Printing Topgraphic Models
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Digital elevation models are primarily interacted with through a screen, but they can become powerful physical tools for visualization, teaching, and storytelling. This presentation explores the creation of tangible 3D printed topographic maps, transforming digital elevation data into physical models that make landscapes easier to interpret and engage with.

Building on a session presented at GIS in Action last year, this updated talk expands the workflow and lessons learned from additional experimentation and projects. We will walk through a practical pipeline for turning elevation data into printable terrain models, including sourcing DEM data, preparing and modifying terrain surfaces, exporting printable meshes, and producing final prints.

The workflow will demonstrate techniques using both ArcGIS Pro and QGIS, as well as web-based tools, to convert elevation rasters into printable geometry. The session will also introduce the fundamentals, including how printers operate, key components, and an overview of the current consumer printer landscape. Along the way we will discuss scale, vertical exaggeration, mesh resolution, printer limitations, and other design considerations that influence how terrain translates from raster data to physical form.

By the end of the session, attendees will understand the conceptual and technical steps required to move from DEM to printed object and will leave with practical knowledge for creating their own tactile terrain models.
Speakers
avatar for Noah Flick

Noah Flick

Geospatial Mapping Hardware Representative, Frontier Precision
Noah Flick is a geospatial professional in the Pacific Northwest whose work focuses on the systems that transform satellite signals into usable spatial data. He works with Frontier Precision at the intersection of GIS, surveying, and GNSS, with a particular focus on field instrumentation... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

2:30pm PDT

Stepping Out of The Shadows: Utilizing Invariant Color Spaces to Build a Shadow Mask in ArcGIS Pro
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
In remotely sensed imagery, both shadows and unhealthy/dead vegetation contain low values in near-infrared band pixels. As NDVI and NDRE analyses rely heavily on NIR values, false positives for unhealthy vegetation are often the result of shadows.

By converting RGB raster data to invariant color spaces and leveraging this with NIR data by way of logarithmic calculations, a processing mask can be created to avoid shadows when analyzing imagery.

A StoryMap on this project can be found here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/cbaad398d6be4bd08057c1cf57ff6e0e
Speakers
KP
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Students and Emerging Professionals

3:30pm PDT

Legacy Data, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Mess.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
How do you build an online GIS presence from scratch? Better yet, how do you make data from 2005 talk nice to data from 2025? Navigating the transition out of the ArcMap/Desktop ecosystem into the wide world of AGOL and ArcGIS Pro is no mean feat. In conjunction with our consultant partners at Flo Analytics, come learn how (and why) RTC undertook this journey. A candid look at the process of threading the needle between what can be done and what is "beyond the scope of this thesis", we'll explore the many bumps, bruises, and lessons learned along the way.
Speakers
avatar for Jordan Hamann

Jordan Hamann

Associate Planner, GIS, Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:30pm - 4:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Collaboration and Governance

4:00pm PDT

Identifying Patterns of Residential Summer Landscape Irrigation Via Remote Sensing
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Leveraging readily available government land use and remote sensing datasets, this study uses imaging analysis techniques to evaluate landowner choices relative to their municipal water use for landscaping during the summer season. Specifically, the study uses LiDAR surface modeling and NDVI index measures to identify residential taxlot parcels where owners choose to irrigate lawn turf covering their permeable surfaces. Further, the study investigates whether such variables as land/building property value, taxlot areal extent, and/or census tract demographics are predictors of the rate at which parcel owners choose to irrigate. This presentation will review the government interest in the spatial question, the methodology, and results from an initial study area in northeast Portland, Oregon.
Speakers
avatar for Daniel Welch

Daniel Welch

GIS Certificate Program, Portland Community College Geospatial Program
Daniel Welch is underway on a second career in GIS after a successful career as a product owner of electronic group-polling systems for opinion and media-evaluation research with Dialsmith, Inc. Upon completing the PCC GIS certificate program this June, Dan looks forward to bringing... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Students and Emerging Professionals

4:30pm PDT

Working with Local 3D data in the ArcGIS Native SDKs
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
As our devices become increasingly powerful, it is important to take full advantage of the hardware available. In April, Esri will release a brand new rendering architecture for the ArcGIS Native Maps SDKs to take advantage of modern rendering capabilities of the devices we use every day to bring improved performance and unlock new features. This will be available through the local scene, which enables 3D workflows in local projected data. In addition, the building scene layer will be added as a supported layer type for this release, allowing even deeper data access to 3D GIS data wherever users are.
Speakers
IM
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase
 
Thursday, April 30
 

8:00am PDT

Survey123, Cityworks, FME – oh my!
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Effective management of utility asset data, including routine inspections and maintenance, is essential for the City of Salem. To address this need, the City utilizes Cityworks as its asset management platform. Specifically for Stormwater management, compliance with the City’s MS4 permit mandates that Stormwater field staff conduct inspections and clean a designated number of catch basins annually. This process, originally facilitated through Survey123, has been successfully migrated to Cityworks to enhance accuracy in tracking and reporting.
By integrating Survey123 webhooks, SafeFME software, and the Cityworks API, we have streamlined the workflow from initial data collection in Survey123 to final inspections and the creation of necessary work orders in Cityworks. Additionally, any changes identified in the field are promptly reflected in the GIS data, ensuring that our asset information remains current and reliable.
In this presentation, we will detail the entire process, emphasizing the role of FME and the Cityworks API documentation in achieving a seamless integration. Join us to explore how these tools enhance our asset management capabilities and support the City’s commitment to effective Stormwater management.
Speakers
avatar for Caroline Ayala

Caroline Ayala

GIS Analyst, City of Salem
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

8:30am PDT

Snowplows, traffic cameras, and an unfixable Esri bug - A tale of resilience
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Replacing the Get Home Safe Winter Weather Center map application from StoryMap Classic to a new Esri app format sound like a simple process. Or does it??

Listen to the thrilling tale of how my efforts to migrate this app (all the while making it more accessible) were thwarted right and left (bugs, errors, issues - oh my!). Don't worry though, using my GIS community, my wits, and a little bit of luck, I emerged triumphant and now have an app that works!
Speakers
LM
Thursday April 30, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

9:00am PDT

From Access and ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro Python toolbox: A Parks Analytics Modernization Story
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
In 2025, The Gartrell Group was contacted by BerryDunn, a national accounting and consulting firm. BerryDunn had a well-established and trusted analytical framework for assessing the quality, accessibility, and level of service offered by public parks. However, this methodology relied on legacy technologies, Microsoft Access and ArcMap, creating challenges related to manual project setup, fragile data relationships, and tools that were quickly approaching deprecation. As legacy platforms became difficult to maintain, they sought a modernization approach.
The Gartrell Group partnered with BerryDunn to modernize to an ArcGIS Pro environment. Development followed an iterative, sprint-based process with quality assurance embedded throughout. A dedicated QA team worked alongside developers to validate workflows, test scoring logic, and confirm analytical outputs against real use cases at each stage. The effort addressed core challenges identified by the team, simplifying complex workflows, enforcing data integrity across related datasets, supporting smooth transitions between office and field workflows, and enabling consistent, repeatable analysis and reporting. Processes were synthesized into one well-documented toolbox, eliminating the need for any additional software or tools. Through close collaboration between teams, the project successfully migrated a proven methodology into ArcGIS Pro, maintaining institutional knowledge while creating a future ready GIS foundation.
Speakers
avatar for Aurora Bayless-Edwards

Aurora Bayless-Edwards

Project Manager, The Gartrell Group
Aurora Bayless-Edwards is a Project Manager at The Gartrell Group, where she leads cross‑functional teams delivering GIS strategy, cloud GIS, and spatial application solutions. With a background spanning utilities, GIS, and environmental analysis, she specializes in guiding complex technical transformations through agile delivery. Her work brid... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:00am - 9:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  The Greater Good: Service Efficiencies Utilizing GIS

9:30am PDT

Mapping the Future of Gresham’s Parks
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
The City of Gresham’s GIS Department and Asset Management team partnered with the Parks Department to modernize park asset management by transitioning from limited asset visibility to a comprehensive, data-driven program. Through the development of a mobile GIS-based data collection application, staff are systematically inventorying park assets, capturing condition assessments, and integrating this information directly into the City’s enterprise asset management (EAM) system. This approach establishes a centralized, reliable dataset that supports lifecycle planning, deferred maintenance analysis, and investment prioritization. By leveraging mobile technology and system integration, the City is creating a scalable framework to improve operational efficiency, enhance data quality, and maximize the return on limited maintenance budgets. Ultimately, this initiative strengthens long-term stewardship of park infrastructure and ensures resources are strategically allocated to better serve the Gresham community.
Speakers
BM

Brandon McCullough

Systems analyst, City of Gresham
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Collaboration and Governance

10:30am PDT

ArcGIS Instant Apps: Engage your community
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
ArcGIS Instant Apps provide a fast, intuitive way to create focused, intuitive web applications that connect people with meaningful geographic information. In this session, we will explore several Instant Apps designed to support community engagement and storytelling, including Attachment Viewer, Reporter, Sidebar, and Atlas. Through live demonstrations, attendees will see how these apps can be configured to share multimedia content, collect public feedback, and provide spatial context.
We will also go over key capabilities that enhance user interaction and accessibility—such as the language switcher for multilingual audiences, attribute filtering and feature search for streamlined data exploration, and configuration options that support inclusive and accessible design. Attendees will leave with practical guidance on selecting and customizing the right Instant App for their needs, helping them build engaging, user-friendly experiences that empower their communities.
Speakers
avatar for Sarah McDonald

Sarah McDonald

Senior Product Engineer, Esri
Sarah McDonald is a Senior Product Engineer on the ArcGIS Instant Apps team at Esri. She has been with Esri since 2016. With strong skills in product development and project management, she collaborates closely with GIS professionals to create intuitive, impactful solutions. 

... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

11:00am PDT

Mapping Forgotten Routes: From Historical Texts to Interactive GIS Storytelling
Thursday April 30, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Kittelson & Associates, Inc. worked with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Systems Forecasting & Trends Office to develop an ArcGIS Experience Builder site visualizing comparative statewide transportation performance measures and trends. The site houses several StoryMaps, including a highlight on FDOT’s America 250 initiative visualizing historically significant transportation milestones in Florida.
This presentation focuses on how simple tools (Google Earth, ArcGIS Vector Tile Editor, StoryMaps, and WebMaps) were used to translate historical research into custom stylized spatial features. The presenter will discuss decisions around representing “lost” routes, developing clear visual hierarchy, and creating a cohesive, 508-compliant narrative.
While the technical workflow behind the America 250 page was straightforward, the interpretive and design decisions were not. Team member JP Weesner, an urban planner hand-traced historic Florida transportation routes in Google Earth based on historical research, and these routes were then refined by and incorporated into WebMaps and StoryMaps designed for public engagement.
Attendees will gain practical insight into how collaboration between planning and graphic design shaped the final product, and how thoughtful cartography and layout can elevate even the simplest GIS workflows into meaningful storytelling tools.
Speakers
EW
Thursday April 30, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Collaboration and Governance

11:30am PDT

Designing Maps for the Next Generation: A Retrospective on the Third Edition of the Student Atlas of Oregon
Thursday April 30, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
The Student Atlas of Oregon by the Center for Geography Education in Oregon has provided materials for teachers across the state to use in their classes for middle school aged students’ geographic education since 2009. In preparing updated pages for the upcoming third edition, a range of considerations arose such as the appropriate level of complexity for the audience, what kinds of datasets are newly available or now unavailable, and what generalization protocols are necessary when cartographically arranging data that was originally produced to be used at different scales. This presentation will cover some of the challenges in producing age-appropriate maps and some of the techniques utilized to convey these complicated real-world topics in a way that is conducive to students drawing their own connections about the world through these cartographic designs.
Speakers
avatar for Aaron Menconi
RR
OS
Thursday April 30, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Students and Emerging Professionals

1:30pm PDT

Indoor GIS: Step by Step Guide to Implementation and Sustainment
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
Indoor GIS is rapidly becoming foundational for space management, safety, operations, and user experience across campuses, hospitals, airports, and state and local government facilities. Yet many organizations struggle to move from pilot maps to an operational, trusted system that stays current. This presentation focuses on a practical, step-by-step approach to implementing and sustaining an Indoor GIS program. From defining business outcomes and governance to deploying data models, workflows, and integrations that keep indoor information accurate over time. We will focus on how to establish an authoritative indoor data foundation (floor plans, spaces, assets, routes, points of interest), select and standardize schemas, and integration with business systems such as enterprise asset management (EAM) and integrated workplace management systems (IWMS).
Speakers
avatar for Brock Saylor

Brock Saylor

Client Director - Western Region, Langan
Brock is currently Langan's Digital Solution Client/Sales Director, managing Langan’s Digital Solutions/GIS team in the western United States. Brock’s client focus is centered around resorts, K-12, higher education, healthcare, data centers, and local/state government service... Read More →
Thursday April 30, 2026 1:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Technology Showcase

2:00pm PDT

Bringing SCADA to the Map: Using GIS to Integrate Sensor Data for Wastewater Operations
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
GIS provides a powerful framework for integrating spatial asset data with operational data streams such as SCADA systems, IoT sensors, and field inspection data. When combined, these systems allow utilities to move beyond static asset maps toward dynamic operational intelligence.
Until recently, Clark Regional Wastewater District had no integration between GIS and SCADA or field sensors. Accessing operational data was challenging due to SCADA security requirements and multiple sensor platforms with varying levels of vendor support. To address these challenges, District staff undertook a project to improve data accessibility and integrate operational information with GIS to support the District’s Odor Control Program.
Hydrogen sulfide readings from the SCADA system, which indicate the potential for odor generation, were linked to their respective monitoring locations and published as a GIS feature service. Customer odor complaint locations and chemical dosing rates from Lucity, the District’s Enterprise Asset Management system, were also integrated and published as feature services. These datasets, along with weather information, were brought together in an ArcGIS Dashboard to provide Maintenance staff with a spatial view of current conditions and trends.
Speakers
CS
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Collaboration and Governance

2:30pm PDT

(in)visible Oregon
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
How do we come to know a place? Often, it is through the view from a road. Highways and familiar routes shape how we see the world, offering glimpses that gradually form our sense of what a place looks like. Traveling familiar routes over and over again can create the feeling that we know the places we pass through. Yet those views are constrained, and much of the surrounding landscape remains unseen.
(in)visible Oregon explores this tension between familiarity and partial knowledge. Through viewshed analyses along Oregon’s major highways, the project maps what can—and cannot—be seen from the roads that structure our experience of the state. The resulting map reveals how small the visible world can be compared to the much larger landscapes that remain hidden just beyond the edge of the road.
The map invites viewers to reconsider how movement and infrastructure shape our mental maps of place. Some areas appear again and again from many vantage points, while others remain largely invisible despite lying close to heavily traveled routes.
This talk will share the ideas behind the project, the process of transforming visibility analysis into a map, and the tools to generate similar analyses elsewhere. By sharing this workflow, the project encourages others to explore what is visible—and invisible—in the landscapes they think they know.
Speakers
JB
Thursday April 30, 2026 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Classrooms 1-4
  Collaboration and Governance
 

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