GIS in Action 2025

Panelists: Max Egener, Natalie Ramsland (Moss), Ariel Low, Leah Thompson, Allan Wilson, Kate Rosson, Wes Williams, Azita Roshani, Matthew Steiner, and Michael Reed.

ORURISA Emerging Professionals invites you to a panel discussion with mentors and mentees from our 2024-2025 Mentorship Program cohort. During this session you will hear from current participants about their experiences or projects they are currently working on during this year’s mentorship program. A foundational goal of the Emerging Professionals Mentorship Program is to provide real-world experience in a professional setting with a knowledgeable GIS professional. This is a great opportunity for all those interested in the program to not only learn about interesting projects, but to also hear more about the ins and outs of the experience. At the end of the program outline, we will hold a Q&A session to answer any questions that arise. Please join us to learn more and become part of our network!

For GIS analysts, generating walksheds (a polygon representing all the locations a pedestrian can physically walk to in a given distance or time, not just a circle buffer) has often been a cumbersome process involving street network data preparation, pages of network analysis settings that mostly apply to cars, and long processing times. We decided to boil this process down to the basics with two compact, modular Python scripts. The first script uses OpenStreetMap’s Overpass API to quickly download a routable pedestrian walking network for a specified bounding box to a shapefile, GeoPackage, or File Geodatabase. The second script uses the QGIS Network Analysis toolbox to generate walksheds from the downloaded network and an input file of points, with settings for walk radius, detailed walkshed geometry tweaks, and a few extra aggregation options for transit stops. The end result is extremely fast, downloading the pedestrian network for the Portland metro area in a matter of minutes and generating individual walksheds in seconds.

Do you remember when you were a student or just getting started in your GIS career? Did you have an internship that helped launch you in a direction that led you to where you are today? Internships improve workforce preparedness and at the same time expand the ability of an organization or agency to work on projects that may not otherwise have the capacity to support. This panel will explore the mutual benefits of internships from both organizational and student perspectives, and offer practical guidance on successfully establishing and managing internship programs.

The majority of stormwater runoff in Bend, OR is uniquely managed via a combination of surface
water discharge and dispersed infiltration systems. The City of Bend owns and operates over 7,000
dispersed infiltration systems, ranging from 3 to 100 feet deep. These systems are designed to
prevent flooding and keep pollutants from impacting surface water quality in the Deschutes River.
The City recently delineated its surface water drainage network that conveys stormwater to the
River using rudimentary geoprocessing tools available in ArcPro. The workflow was fairly
straightforward; utilize a Lidar derived DEM and overlay City infrastructure while incorporating
expertise from field personnel to verify the accuracy of the final product. That work prompted a
simple question: what are the isolated drainage basins for the dispersed systems that manage the
bulk of stormwater City-wide? It became clear that urban hydrology would not be as simple to
analyze as previous efforts. Jurisdictional boundaries, complex drainage patterns, and data
limitations were only some of the implications that would need to be addressed to reflect the reality
of managing stormwater in the high desert. Workflows identified in ESRI’s Arc Hydro guides were
modified to fit the region’s unique hydrologic conditions. Ultimately, a data package was developed
that is now available to provide data-driven outcomes that serve the community.

High-resolution aerial imagery is a game-changer for GIS professionals, providing unparalleled accuracy and detail that supports critical decision-making across multiple sectors. This presentation will explore how advanced aerial imagery enhances GIS data integrity for public safety agencies, urban and regional planning departments, utility providers, and land use managers.

By integrating high-resolution imagery with GIS workflows, professionals can improve situational awareness, conduct precise asset mapping, and streamline operations such as emergency response planning, zoning assessments, and infrastructure management. Case studies will demonstrate how agencies leverage updated imagery to reduce errors, enhance predictive modeling, and improve resource allocation.

Attendees will gain insights into the latest advancements in aerial imaging technology, best practices for incorporating high-resolution datasets, and the future of remote sensing applications in GIS. Whether optimizing emergency response routes, refining parcel data, or enhancing vegetation management, high-resolution aerial imagery is a powerful tool for maximizing the accuracy and effectiveness of GIS-driven solutions.