Biogeographic Data Branch
1807 13th Street, Suite 202
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 322-2493

About IMAPS

IMAPS is a group within the DFGs' Biogeographic Data Branch responsible for the development and maintenance of innovative tools designed for the management and display of geospatial data on the Internet.

The products and solutions developed by the IMAPS group (which use ESRI’s ArcIMS technology) benefit many department programs. These programs include BIOS, CalFish, the Lands Program, the Fisheries Branch and the Northern Region's GIS Unit .

The IMAPS Viewer was developed to accomplish several things:

• provide an enterprise solution to disseminate GIS maps, spatial data, metadata, information, and images
• permit DFG staff to easily view GIS data in a web browser
• provide secure access to DFGs GIS data to outside users

Occasionally, we have granted use rights to other Agencies and Organizations to implement our IMAPS Viewer software on their own systems:

• Resources Agency: Conservation Atlas
• PSMFC: Marine Habitat, Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat

Awards:

• IMAPS-based CalFish wins GIS Web-Based Technical Application Award at OFWIM!  (October 2005)
  This new award given at the annual conference of the Organization of Fish and Wildlife Information Managers (OFWIM) is for "Excellence in the development and deployment of a fish or wildlife information-related technical application using primarily GIS technologies on the Web".   www.ofwim.org   www.calfish.org
• IMAPS wins top ESRI Internet Mapping Award!  (July 2003)
  The Department of Fish & Game and the IMAPS development team are proud to receive the 1st Place Recipient of the ESRI International User Conference 2003 Internet Mapping Award.    This event required numerous hours of judging against the top 50 applicants for ESRI’s 23rd Annual International User Conference held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California in July 2003.   www.esri.com
  

What is an Internet Map Server?

ESRI's Internet Map Server (ArcIMS) is a program which enables spatial data be to actively displayed on a web browser. ArcIMS distributes GIS data and allows users to create queries and requests through a browser without having GIS software installed on the user's local computer.

Why is this significant?

ArcIMS allows staff, biologists, students, community members, businesses, non-profit organizations, government, and any interested persons to view and query maps and data without having a GIS application on their personal computer. Distributing geographic information over the Internet allows for real-time integration of data and provides a solution that permits a common platform for this exchange.   This technology also lets you exchange, integrate, and analyze data in new ways. Users can combine data and information accessed over the Internet with local data for display, query, and analysis.

Tips for using the IMAPS Viewer:

• Let it finish loading before you click on anything.
• Use a 56k or better internet connection for best results.
• You can resize the map area by zooming in (+) or out (-) using the magnifier icons.
• Use the scroll bar on the left to be able to view all the layers in the legend.   If a layer has a check next to it, it is turned on.   If there is no check in the box next to the layer, that layer will not be displayed on the map.
• If you have a large screen, the viewer speed may be reduced. Shrinking your browser window will increase the Viewer speed.
• Supported browsers include Internet Explorer 5.0 and Netscape 6.0 or newer.
• A quick overview of toolbar functions can be viewed by clicking the "question mark" button on the right end of the toolbar. Detailed viewer instructions can then be accessed by selecting the "More Help..." tab.

If you should have any questions or comments concerning this site, please contact IMAPS imaps@dfg.ca.gov.