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

10:30am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 1 - Multi-Season UAV and LiDAR Assessment of Landscape and Vegetation Dynamics Following Dam Removal in the Klamath River Basin
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:30am - 10:38am PDT
Columbia
The removal of the J.C. Boyle Dam in 2024 marked a transformative moment in the ecological restoration of the Klamath River Basin. This study presents a multi-sensor UAV-based assessment of post-dam removal landscape dynamics using high-resolution RGB, multispectral, and LiDAR datasets acquired in July and November 2024.
A comprehensive land cover classification was conducted to evaluate vegetation recolonization, exposed sediment distribution, and hydrologic surface changes. Multispectral indices, including NDVI, NDRE, and SAVI, were used to quantify vegetation recovery and stress patterns across newly exposed riparian zones. Additionally, LiDAR-derived digital terrain models enabled a DEM of Difference (DoD) analysis to identify erosion and deposition patterns, channel reconfiguration, and microtopographic variability.
Preliminary results indicate significant sediment redistribution and early-stage riparian vegetation establishment within four months of dam removal. The integration of UAV photogrammetry and LiDAR data provides a scalable framework for monitoring rapid geomorphic and ecological transitions in post-dam landscapes.
This study demonstrates the value of high-resolution UAV-based monitoring for adaptive river restoration management and long-term ecosystem recovery assessment.
Speakers
SJ
JN
ZH
SD
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:30am - 10:38am PDT
Columbia
  Photogrammetry   Imagery and Lidar Advancements

10:39am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 1 - The Great Burn
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:39am - 10:47am PDT
Columbia
Climate change and decades of wildfire suppression have combined to trigger a transformation of Oregon landscapes via an era of wildfire
events of extraordinary areal extent and severity. Oregonians now confront the heartbreaking reality of what has and will be lost. This
infographic highlights the increase in the extent and severity of wildfire in the last thirty years relative to the preceding century. It then uses
wildfire burn probability modeling data developed by scientists with the US Forest Service, Oregon State University, and other public and private
partners to illustrate the areal extent that may burn in the next thirty years.
The infographic also illustrates the extent of transformed Oregon landscapes clearly visible in Landsat imagery aggregated in the most recent
(2024) Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Next, the infographic reviews losses of existing vegetation types in a listing of the “jewels”
of Oregon’s inherited environmental legacy impacted by wildfire.
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 10:39am - 10:47am PDT
Columbia

10:48am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 1 - Orthometric Correction of Ground Control Points
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:48am - 10:56am PDT
Columbia
Ground control points (GCPs) are highly useful in UAS photogrammetry and Lidar collection for a variety of infrastructure mapping applications. It is important that GCPs reflect the true elevation at the point location where they are registered. One common problem with registering a GCP is that there is distortion in the observed elevation related to the geoid separation height. An application was developed for orthometric correction of ground control points using a Geoid API provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which outputs elevations that are more accurate and more useful for drone mapping. This application was built into a Python toolbox that was made accessible to the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT) for future drone missions.
Speakers
avatar for Ryan Lennon

Ryan Lennon

President, Lennon Geospatial Data Services, Inc.
I am a geographic information system developer with over 7 years of experience building scalable, data-driven solutions that integrate remote sensing and advanced spatial analysis. My work spans GIS application development, ETL pipeline design, and geospatial workflow optimization... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:48am - 10:56am PDT
Columbia
  Photogrammetry   Imagery and Lidar Advancements

10:57am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 2 - Greater Cooling Sensitivity of Evapotranspiration in Water-Limited Urban Environments: Evidence from Portland, Oregon
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:57am - 11:05am PDT
Columbia
Urban areas often experience higher surface temperatures due to impervious surfaces and limited vegetation. Evapotranspiration (ET) cools surfaces by transferring water from land and vegetation to the atmosphere. Understanding ET–climate interactions is important for designing green infrastructure that mitigates urban heat.
This study investigates long-term relationships between ET and key climatic indicators in Portland, Oregon, comparing a highly urbanized downtown area with a densely vegetated reference site in Forest Park, located approximately 9.7 km away. Using Google Earth Engine, July mean values from 2000–2025 were derived for ET, land surface temperature (LST), maximum air temperature (Tmax), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and surface albedo. Correlation analyses were used to evaluate ET–climate interactions.
Results show clear climatic contrasts between the two landscapes. Daytime LST ranged from 28.7–34.2 °C in downtown Portland and 22.5–28.2 °C in Forest Park, while evapotranspiration was consistently higher in the forested site (18.6–26.3 mm/day) than in the urban core (8.2–16.5 mm/day). In the urban system, ET showed significant negative relationships with LST and Tmax, indicating measurable evaporative cooling effects. These findings suggest that increasing vegetation and green infrastructure may produce stronger marginal cooling benefits in water-limited urban environments than in already vegetated landscapes.
Speakers
TK
Wednesday April 29, 2026 10:57am - 11:05am PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

11:15am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 2 - Investigating Affordable Homeownership Program Impacts on Homeowner Equity: A GIS-Based Real Estate Index Approach
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:15am - 11:32am PDT
Columbia
This study investigates how long-term homeownership affordability tools built into affordable homeownership program structures impact participating homeowners’ opportunity to build wealth. This study uses county-level tax lot data and GIS analysis to answer questions about the impacts of affordable homeownership programs, such as shared equity programs, on the potential equity that homeowners in those programs can realize. Using Real Estate Index methodology, an analysis generated index of single-family attached homes in Medford, Oregon to quantify the equity gains that homeowners in affordable housing programs can realize compared to the traditional real estate market. This research provides data-driven insights for program decision-makers to balance the dual goals of maintaining long-term housing affordability while supporting homeowner wealth accumulation.
Speakers
KS
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:15am - 11:32am PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

11:24am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 3 - Data equity in transportation safety
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:24am - 11:32am PDT
Columbia
The "Data Equity in Transportation Safety" Story Map on Metro’s Safe Streets for All hub provides readers with a data equity context for regional crash information and dashboards. Using crash data, narrative elements, and accessible visualizations, it highlights both what we know - and what we lack - about how people with different mobility and access needs move through transportation systems. This lightning talk will cover approaches for visualizing incomplete datasets, using “data visceralization” to convey lived experience, and treating data stewardship as an evolving practice. Attendees will gain strategies for communicating uncertainty and centering equity in spatial storytelling.
Speakers
NM
KG
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:24am - 11:32am PDT
Columbia
  Collaboration and Governance

11:33am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 3 - Designing Accessible Static Maps: WCAG Compliance at Metro
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:33am - 11:41am PDT
Columbia
Static PDF maps are a foundational communication tool at Metro, but they often present accessibility barriers if not intentionally designed for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. This session provides a practical, production-focused approach to creating accessible static maps that work for all users that we will be applying to our Counter Map products available through our front desk at the Data Resource Center.

We will cover key accessibility considerations including color contrast, typography, layout structure, alternative text, reading order, and PDF tagging. The presentation also highlights how accessibility settings and layout structure that can be configured in ArcGIS Pro prior to export along with quality assurance steps for reviewing final PDFs.

Attendees should leave with a clear, repeatable workflow and an example of a checklist that can be integrated into existing map production processes with the goal of helping shift accessibility from a final compliance step to a standard design practice.
Speakers
FA
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:33am - 11:41am PDT
Columbia
  Collaboration and Governance

11:42am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 3 - Beyond the Slogan: Testing 15 Minute Neighborhoods in Seattle
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:42am - 11:50am PDT
Columbia
My project evaluates whether the idea of a “15 minute neighborhood” is meaningful and achievable in Seattle. As an international student from China, I have experienced how life feels when daily needs like grocery stores, clinics, schools, and parks are within a short walk. In Seattle, the contrast is clear: cars dominate, and distance is measured in drive time instead of walk time. I want to move from the slogan to a concrete, testable method that shows where 15 minute access already exists, where it almost exists, and what it would take to close the gaps. I will also compare my results to local planning goals and investments to see whether planned actions are targeting the same “gap” areas that the accessibility measures identify.
Using GIS analysis, I will estimate access to basic daily needs for each census tract in Seattle under two scenarios: walk only and walk + transit/micromobility. I will identify “near miss” tracts that are close to meeting 15 minute standards and design small, realistic intervention scenarios, such as adding a grocery store, improving a key bus route, or adding a safe connector path. To connect mapped access with lived experience, I will also conduct a small set of interviews or surveys in contrasting tracts to understand how people actually move, what routes they avoid, and what changes would make their neighborhood feel like a true 15 minute place. The goal is a replicable method that can guide targeted improvements instead of abstract debates.
Speakers
WT
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:42am - 11:50am PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

11:51am PDT

Lightning Talks Round 4 - Modeling Streams & Drainage from High-Resolution Elevation Data
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:51am - 11:59pm PDT
Columbia
The aim of Elevation-Derived Hydrography (EDH) via the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is to satisfy the pressing need for better integration between high resolution elevation data and hydrography data. This data has a myriad of applications from infrastructure asset management to conservation, supporting many varieties of analytical and cartographic applications.
Speakers
BC
Wednesday April 29, 2026 11:51am - 11:59pm PDT
Columbia
  Photogrammetry   Imagery and Lidar Advancements

1:38pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 4 - What would a road map of the Moon look like?
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:38pm - 1:47pm PDT
Columbia
This lightning talk introduces the Eskey System, a conceptual map that imagines how future explorers might navigate the lunar surface. Using GIS terrain analysis and lunar elevation data, low-slope routes were modeled between potential landing zones and key destinations such as craters and maria. These routes represent the easiest travel paths for rovers or astronauts, forming a network of potential lunar “roads.”

The system builds on the lunar quadrangle framework already used in planetary mapping. Quadrangles act like regional boundaries, while astronomical chart numbers function similarly to postal codes. Within this structure, routes are named to honor astronauts, missions, and themes from the history of space exploration.

The result is both an analytical and imaginative map—one that translates complex terrain data into familiar navigation concepts. By applying terrestrial wayfinding ideas to an extraterrestrial landscape, the project explores how GIS and cartography could help humans organize and navigate the Moon.
Speakers
HS
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:38pm - 1:47pm PDT
Columbia
  Photogrammetry   Imagery and Lidar Advancements

1:48pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 5 - Scaling Utility UAS Inspections Through GIS-Driven Operation Efficiency
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:48pm - 1:56pm PDT
Columbia
Electric utility monitoring programs are increasingly challenged by scale. As inspection requirements grow, operational efficiency becomes as critical as data quality. This lightning talk presents a utility monitoring project where GIS served as the operational backbone for managing and delivering a large‑scale UAS inspection program.

GIS tools were used to track the inspection progress of over 500 individual utility poles, support daily field operations, and maintain real‑time visibility into completed, in‑progress, and priority assets. Map‑based status tracking replaced static reports, enabling faster decision‑making, reduced coordination overhead, and more efficient use of field resources as inspection volumes increased.

GIS also streamlined delivery by organizing inspection results into spatial asset inventories that linked structure locations with inspection classifications and supporting imagery. These deliverables allowed the client to quickly assess conditions, identify high‑priority issues, and integrate results into existing asset management workflows.

This presentation highlights how GIS enables UAS inspection programs to scale efficiently without proportionally increasing operational complexity. At scale, GIS isn’t just mapping inspection results—it’s what makes modern utility inspection programs operationally possible.
Speakers
HS
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:48pm - 1:56pm PDT
Columbia
  The Greater Good: Service Efficiencies Utilizing GIS

1:57pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 5 - Student Project: Potential Permanent Ground Deformation on Emergency Transportation Routes
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:57pm - 2:05pm PDT
Columbia
The Pacific Northwest faces a major seismic hazard from a potential megathrust earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Such an event could cause significant infrastructure damage and limit access to emergency services throughout the Portland metropolitan area. This project uses ArcGIS Pro to analyze how earthquake-related ground deformation may affect facilities and emergency transportation routes in Multnomah County, Washington County, and Clackamas County.

Spatial datasets of hospitals, emergency transportation routes, and earthquake hazard projections were analyzed using GIS overlay techniques to identify potential vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. The results highlight areas where emergency response access may be limited following a major earthquake. This student study project demonstrates how GIS-based hazard analysis can support disaster preparedness and resilience planning in earthquake-prone regions. Potentially, further studies will be looked at for this topic.
Speakers
JT
Wednesday April 29, 2026 1:57pm - 2:05pm PDT
Columbia
  The Greater Good: Service Efficiencies Utilizing GIS

2:06pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 5 - Historic Counties of Oregon
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:06pm - 2:14pm PDT
Columbia
This lightning talk presents a chronological map series documenting the spatial evolution of Oregon’s administrative boundaries. Starting from the original provisional districts of the 1840s to the final 36-county layout established in the early 1900s, this project visualizes the settlement and development of Oregon over time. By mapping the shifting lines and the relocation of county seats, this gallery entry provides a clear, spatial record of how the state’s political geography was carved out of the Pacific Northwest. It is accompanied by a web application which presents the same information in an interactive format.
Speakers
NC
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:06pm - 2:14pm PDT
Columbia
  Map Gallery Entry

2:15pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 6 - Hoop Dreams: Mapping American Streetball
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:15pm - 2:23pm PDT
Columbia
Streetball' is America's most popular urban sport. A chaotic but beautiful mesh of basketball, hip-hop culture, bravado, and passion, streetball represents the beating heart of America's outdoor sports. It requires no equipment except a bouncing ball and a hoop to put it in. And because of this, it's also a microcosm for forces much greater than sports: of race, of class, of economic disparity, of resilience, of hope, and of unmet expectations. It's more than basketball; it's a culture unto itself.

Rucker Park, in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, is the nexus for streetball worldwide. The home of legendary players -- including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor), Dr. J (Julius Erving), and a host of players whose careers never reached the heights they sought. Leading off with urban landscape, this large-scale poster graphic highlights six legendary streetball courts in the U.S., and tells the story of the would-be-but-never-were superstars who graced them.

Laid out onto a custom-created map, each location tells a story: Of place, and of people. Featuring imagery as visual highlights, as well as infographic data, this thematic map shines a light on an athletic arena that may be unfamiliar to many. This project hopes to change that.

The story of America is one of hope ... and sometimes tragedy. Hoop Dreams: Mapping American Streetball is a vivid portrayal of this duality.
Speakers
avatar for Joshua Weill

Joshua Weill

Joshua is a second-year student about to finish his GIS Certificate at Portland Community College. He specializes in interactive GIS experiences,
cartography, and content development.

By craft a content strategist and digital storyteller, Joshua is adding GIS to his content toolkit. Career goals include transportation and transit network GIS work, infrastructure development, and public-facing GIS marketing. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:15pm - 2:23pm PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

2:24pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 6 - Burning Up the Walkshed: How Land Surface Temperature in one Portland, Oregon neighborhood restricts access to transit and other services.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:24pm - 2:32pm PDT
Columbia
This map leverages remote sensing data to analyze the relationship between land surface temperature and transit walksheds in Portland. Using Landsat-derived land surface temperature data, the project identifies significant urban heat island patterns along the East Stark Street corridor.

The analysis reveals that some of East County’s most critical transit-accessible resources—including public libraries and schools—are located within areas experiencing the highest surface temperatures. By spatially intersecting heat data with pedestrian access zones, this work highlights inequities in thermal safety for transit-dependent populations.

This project demonstrates how integrating remote sensing with transit accessibility analysis can support more equitable and climate-responsive planning. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions—such as shade infrastructure, streetscape improvements, community involvement and land use strategies—to mitigate heat exposure along key transit corridors.
Speakers
avatar for Erin Zipper

Erin Zipper

Art Director. Cartographer. Visual Storyteller.
Erin Zipper is a designer and educator who is passionate about using visual communication to make important ideas accessible to new audiences. She attended Parsons The New School for Design and Eugene Lang College, completing a B.F.A. in Communication Design and a B.A. in Urban Studies... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:24pm - 2:32pm PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

2:33pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 6 - Remote Sensing Based Digital Inventory and Management System for Urban Forestry
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:33pm - 2:41pm PDT
Columbia
How do deep learning, Lidar, aerial imagery, and ESRI StoryMaps combine to enhance city-wide urban forestry management? This session briefly showcases the powerful role GIS recently played for urban forestry planning and tree maintenance for the City of Detroit. NV5 supported a multi-agency initiative using aerial imagery, Lidar, and machine learning to map tree canopy, provide measures of tree health, perform tree species classification, and identify ideal open planting spaces for new trees. These data were ingested into a custom dashboard which gives non-GIS savvy users, including the public, the power to navigate and understand the data as well as to provide valuable insights and summary information.
Speakers
RC

Ruby Clark

Associate Team Lead, NV5 Geospatial

NK
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:33pm - 2:41pm PDT
Columbia
  The Greater Good: Service Efficiencies Utilizing GIS

2:42pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 7- Pishno Pi̱yakni (Our Land): Environmental Justice, Colonialism, and Indigenous Land Sovereignty of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:42pm - 2:50pm PDT
Columbia
This project aims to understand the interconnected nature of: colonialism, environmental justice, and indigenous land sovereignty as it relates to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. This research is incredibly important in understanding and furthering the fight of Native nations for land sovereignty against colonial powers. In particular understanding the individual environmental injustices the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma are undergoing and how colonial systems have caused them.
This research will be carried out through a literature review, conducting a survey, and doing a GIS analysis. Specifically the survey will be with employees of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and residents within the boundaries of the ten and a half counties of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. There will be surveys sent to employees of the Environmental Protection Service, Forestry Program, Land Management Program, Wildlife Conservation, Water Resource Management, and Hunting and Fishing. I will also post a survey online for residents who live within the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma boundaries to fill out. To conduct a GIS analysis I will be analyzing the negative effects that environmental injustices are putting onto the community, these being related to public health, environmental health, and sustainability.
Speakers
AM
PG
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:42pm - 2:50pm PDT
Columbia
  Students and Emerging Professionals

2:51pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 7 - Metro's Safe Routes to School Walkshed Application
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:51pm - 2:59pm PDT
Columbia
Oregon Metro's Safe Routes to School Walkshed Analysis application was created to provide information on transportation needs and barriers impacting K-12 students across the greater Portland region. This talk will highlight
Speakers
avatar for Jake Lovell

Jake Lovell

GIS Specialist, Metro
Jake Lovell works in the Metro Data Resource Center, supporting transportation planners with GIS data and analysis support.
Wednesday April 29, 2026 2:51pm - 2:59pm PDT
Columbia
  Technology Showcase

3:30pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 7 - For a Good Time Call: Bathroom Graffiti & Private Space
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:30pm - 3:38pm PDT
Columbia
Graffiti is now widely accepted as street art. Bathroom graffiti may be more taboo and not always considered art, but it is a form of artistic communication only localized to a specific spatial dimension. As such, it is worthy of both GIS and cultural study.

Known academically as 'latrinalia', bathroom gratffiti dates back to at least Roman times. It occurs in a rare space: one that is private and public at the same time. Location here is not merely a point on a map, it's an existential landscape, with boundaries both physical and internal to the individual.

Bar bathrooms generally share a common spatial identity -- stalls with walls, sinks, mirrors, towel dispensers. But they're also an ever-evolving human space, marked by passive interaction and often unseen conversation.

Covering topics from the very definition of physical 'space' to gender equity to social justice, this is a presentation that transcends geography, while including it, and enters the realms of social science and linguistics. Backed by academic support from tenured professors of sociology and criminal justice, 'For a Good Time Call' is intended to be thought-provoking as well as informative.

This presentation includes a detailed StoryMap with interactive maps and experiences, as well as short presentation explaining the concepts and providing the context that grounds the project squarely in GIS and geography. I believe it will provide a unique view of GIS and geographical-human interaction.
Speakers
avatar for Joshua Weill

Joshua Weill

Joshua is a second-year student about to finish his GIS Certificate at Portland Community College. He specializes in interactive GIS experiences,
cartography, and content development.

By craft a content strategist and digital storyteller, Joshua is adding GIS to his content toolkit. Career goals include transportation and transit network GIS work, infrastructure development, and public-facing GIS marketing. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family... Read More →
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:30pm - 3:38pm PDT
Columbia
  GIS and Culture - Spatial Analysis

3:39pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 8 - Spatial Patterns of Salp Blooms in the California Current: A Decade of Change
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:39pm - 3:47pm PDT
Columbia
Salps are gelatinous grazers that can rapidly form dense blooms in ocean ecosystems, yet the environmental conditions that drive where and when these blooms occur remain poorly understood. Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of salp blooms is increasingly important as ocean conditions shift and as blooms potentially influence commercially important fisheries. This study investigates the question: what environmental conditions allow salps to bloom and persist, and how might changes in their distribution affect market fisheries along the California Current System? To explore these questions, I mapped salp bloom occurrences along the California Current from 2013 to 2023 using observational data to identify patterns in bloom presence, magnitude, and geographic distribution. Spatial analysis revealed evidence of range expansion over the study period, with blooms appearing across a broader portion compared to earlier years. In addition, bloom magnitude increased during the middle of the decade, with particularly strong bloom events observed in 2017 and 2018. After these peak years, bloom intensity and frequency appeared to return to levels seen earlier in the decade. These patterns raise important questions about the oceanographic conditions, such as temperature shifts or altered circulation. This study provides insight into how changing ocean conditions may shape salp dynamics and, in turn, impact regional fisheries within the California Current ecosystem.
Speakers
avatar for Jo Lipps
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:39pm - 3:47pm PDT
Columbia
  Technology Showcase

3:48pm PDT

Lightning Talks Round 8 - LiDAR in Complex Natural Forest: Practical Implications for Inventory and Management
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:48pm - 3:56pm PDT
Columbia
LiDAR-based forest inventory has advanced over the past decade, with studies reporting cm-level DBH accuracy and sub-meter height estimates. However, most of this work was done in urban forests, plantations, or younger forests with simple structure. In Pacific Northwest natural forests, undergrowth, tall trees, and closed canopy limit high-precision GNSS, making spatially explicit inventory difficult. We tried to register Handheld Laser Scans (HLS) with RTK-based Aerial Laser Scanning (ALS) as a reference. ICP registration failed, likely due to density differences and lack of common features. Therefore, alternatively, we used a two-step process: rough alignment with 'Register-Clouds' and manual refinement using canopy gaps and crown patterns. Despite good crown matching quite well, stem positions from the two scans were far apart, and stem sizes differed from under the canopy. These uncertainties propagate through DBH, height, volume, and biomass estimates. Quantifying their impact on operational forest inventory is essential, and developing matching algorithms robust to complex environments and dense tree clusters is encouraged
Speakers
AH
Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:48pm - 3:56pm PDT
Columbia
  Photogrammetry   Imagery and Lidar Advancements

4:04pm PDT

Technologies of Containment and Bordering: Community Resistance Against the NWDC
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:04pm - 4:12pm PDT
Columbia
The objective of this research is to interrogate the deployement of intensified punitive tactics in U.S. immigration processing and border security. I rely on Critical Migration Studies, Abolition Geography Studies and various geographic perspectives as analytical frameworks to advance the working claim surrounding the political weak points and U.S constitutional violations as it relates to citizenship granting-processes, national security, and (in)mobility between borders. Given the indefinite suspension of U.S. asylum processing cases, refugee resettlement programs, citizen naturalization applications, and the expansion of military-grade border surveillance beyond U.S. ports of entry, I seek to investigate the spatial relationship between the Northwest Detention Center's and grassroots-led organizers who fight for its permanent closure. I employ ethnographic research and participatory observation to demonstrate the need for the abolition of immigration detention centers in the U.S.
Speakers
KS
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:04pm - 4:12pm PDT
Columbia
  Human Rights   Abolitions Geographies

4:30pm PDT

Oregon Multi-Modal Case Study: Hillsboro
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Columbia
Looking at processing Hillsboro's roadways, bicycle, pedestrian, and crossing facilities using AI data from Ecopia. This data was delivered to Hillsboro in late 2025 and will be used to draft the upcoming TSP.
Speakers
JA
RP
Wednesday April 29, 2026 4:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
Columbia
  Asset management   Data governance   Equity   Technology
 
Thursday, April 30
 

9:00am PDT

Geospatial Professional Network - PNW Board Meeting (Tentative)
Thursday April 30, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Columbia

Thursday April 30, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Columbia
  Technology Showcase
 

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Wednesday, April 29
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Atrium
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Classrooms 1-4
Columbia
TBA
  • Abolitions Geographies
  • Asset management
  • Cartography
  • Collaboration and Governance
  • Data governance
  • Equity
  • Executives Track
  • GIS and Culture - Spatial Analysis
  • Human Rights
  • Imagery and Lidar Advancements
  • Map Gallery Entry
  • Photogrammetry
  • Students and Emerging Professionals
  • Technology
  • Technology Showcase
  • The Greater Good: Service Efficiencies Utilizing GIS