Pierce County, Washington has used LIDAR data since 2004 as a mission critical component of the County’s Geographic Information System (GIS). The data, collected from 2000 to 2004, has been used for a variety of purposes, including economic development, environmental planning, construction and transportation projects, and emergency management. However, this data was collected with older technology under outdated standards. Much of the original data was not accepted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the National Elevation Dataset due to its poor quality. As such, the 2011-2012 project acquired new airborne LIDAR data to provide a high quality dataset for use by regional partners and the general public.
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