2025 WA GIS Conference

The City of Tacoma is working to improve elk habitats by controlling noxious weeds in the Green River Watershed. This effort is part of the Water Storage Project Mitigation and ensures compliance with state regulations.

To make tracking herbicide applications easier and more accurate, we’ve set up an automated GIS workflow that cuts down on manual data entry while keeping records accurate. Using ArcGIS Pro and Field Maps, data is collected and analyzed through web tools and dashboards, then automatically converted into PDF reports with Map Series functionality. Also, as data is collected, configured Attribute Rules enforce data integrity and create less data entry. This process ensures that documentation is both efficient and compliant.

By utilizing an automated process in GIS, these records not only help with compliance but also improve habitat management. In addition, real-time GIS data helps to make better decisions to control invasive species while reducing environmental impact.

Discover how Yakima County made the move from a custom platform for parcel maintenance to a modern, efficient and well-supported environment. Learn about the process of migrating to the new parcel management platform, the impact the County has seen as a result, and what’s next for parcel management at Yakima County.

In a world where AI has become as ubiquitous as towels are to interstellar hitchhikers, Christopher Moravec stands ready to guide you through the galaxy of possibilities and pitfalls.

"Don't Panic, It's Just AI: A Developer's Handbook" is your essential guide to navigating the often bewildering landscape of artificial intelligence. More controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy "Where AI Came From," "Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes," and "Who is this Siri Person Anyway?", this handbook is for any developer looking to harness AI without resorting to Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters to cope with the absurdity.

Through real-world examples, Christopher will show you how to use AI as a practical tool—from writing code with chatbots to generating sensible map names—while also revealing what AI excels at, where it falls short, and when to leave it out of your toolkit entirely.

Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, join us and, remember: Don't Panic, and always know where your towel is.

This presentation showcases the evolution of drone-based GIS, moving beyond traditional 2D aerial imagery to create rich 3D models by exploring Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) lidar technology. Attendees will gain valuable insights into the combined use of these hardware platforms and explore standard processing techniques, such as Structure from Motion (SfM) and the innovative 3D Gaussian Splatting method. The session will highlight practical workflows and feature examples of 3D models that have been generated.

My experience creating a virtual duplicate of the TPU Campus. I will highlight what made us begin this project, the steps that went into creating the indoor map, the challenges I had to face and overcome as I went through the steps, where are we now and where do we want to go in the future with this project.

The opioid epidemic continues to be a great challenge within the field of public health. To facilitate an effective, unified response, that spans across many organizations that provide different services related to the opioid response and prevention, Kitsap Public Health District (KPHD) has undertaken conducting a network analysis. By implementing a network analysis, such an understanding can enhance a community’s capacity to combine diverse knowledge and skills to come up with effective solutions to complex problems… be responsive to community needs, arrive at consensus across community divisions, organize collective tasks, and coordinate services efficiently (Provan et al. 2005, p. 604). KPHD plays a supportive role to unite organizations involved in the opioid response through quarterly gatherings. With a supportive response to facilitate a network analysis in the initial meeting, KPHD had begun to develop and implement a data collection tool. This tool, based loosely from the data collection tool used in Proven et al. (2005), has allowed KPHD to obtain information on an organization’s location, services offered, as well as all other organizations that are within that organization’s network. This data is entered into Excel spreadsheets that are linked into ArcGIS that allows the usage of geoprocessing tools that generate organizational point and connection line layers on a map. This network analysis map has provided a new way to visualize relationships at a quick glance, as well as helping strained and siloed organizations who are parts of a whole system better know who else is part of their system and gives them a tool to aid in recognizing the relationships they have and in forming new ones. This network map tool has an additional potential in helping organizations show their affiliation within the network to further leverage themselves in grant funding opportunities.

Provan, K. G., Veazie, M. A., Staten, L. K., & Teufel-Shone, N. I. (2005). The Use of Network Analysis to Strengthen Community Partnerships. Public Administration Review, 65(5), 603–613. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3542526

Washington State Department of Health (WADOH) operates two vital vaccine programs: the Adult Vaccine Program (AVP), offering free vaccines to uninsured adults aged 19 and older, and the Childhood Vaccine Program (CVP), ensuring all children under 19 receive routine immunizations at no cost. These programs are essential for equitable access to vaccines, preventing vaccine-preventable diseases, and reducing health disparities across the state.

To support these programs, WADOH originally developed a custom JavaScript application that allowed residents to locate nearby vaccine providers. However, maintaining this app was challenging due to limited staff with specialized coding skills. Beyond technical constraints, WADOH’s commitment to align with the CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) priorities necessitated migration to ArcGIS Experience Builder.

We used Experience Builder’s the drag-and-drop functionality and responsive design capabilities to create a modern vaccine provider locator web app optimized for mobile devices. This tool expands accessibility for individuals relying on smartphones and tablets to access vaccine information. Public health planners may also use the app to visually identify geographic gaps in provider coverage, enabling targeted resource allocation to areas of greatest need. This aligns with DMI’s goal to support actionable public health decision-making to promote health equity. In addition, by transitioning from a legacy system to Experience Builder, we ensured sustainability, scalability, and responsiveness to evolving technological needs and emerging public health threats.

This presentation will showcase the app’s development workflow, highlight key features, discuss accessibility considerations, and explore its role in advancing public health goals statewide.

At Pierce County Spatial Services, we continually strive to automate repetitive tasks to allocate resources for more meaningful work. Spatial Services provides GIS for all Pierce County residents, county staff and elected officials. We are comprised of data management, customer support, development solutions and asset management experts who work in tandem to provide high quality GIS services to the county.

Our ArcGIS online (AGO) platform supports over 500 county staff users and the general public. Our AGO environment and users are primarily managed by a single employee. The continual rotation of county staff demands consistent user access and content management. This level of user management grew to an unwieldy regular task and diverted resources from other work. This has become especially true with new administrative structures that have required closer attention to our users, content and licensing in the AGO platform.
We integrated many ArcGIS python api administrative processes into our regular scheduled tasks, to increase efficiency and effectiveness of user management.
This presentation will go over 2 easily adoptable, straight-forward examples of how the api can be used to automate user management.

Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB) is an independent, not-for-profit, public service organization serving Washington state. We help insurers and their customers by providing objective data on multiple risk factors. Our services enable insurers to evaluate risk efficiently and effectively, giving their policyholders peace of mind by making sure insurance rates are fair and non-discriminatory. WSRB is not connected with any insurance company except to the extent that insurers operating within Washington state can subscribe to our services; ownership of WSRB is vested in a subscriber trust agreement that is approved by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC).

WSRB leverages GIS extensively to achieve to provide subscribers with trusted information, enhancing their decision-making. This presentation will highlight how GIS architecture and processes ensure precise and timely data for WSRB customers.