Reston, VA – Representatives of 23 national organizations have joined together to sign a letter in support of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) to newly confirmed USGS Director, Dr. James Reilly.
Reilly was nominated by President Trump on January 26, confirmed by the Senate on April 9, and took office as the 17th Director of the United States Geological Survey on May 14.
The letter, organized by John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc., government affairs consultants to the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and manager of the 3DEP Coalition, was signed by a broad cross-section of stakeholder groups from surveying, mapping and geospatial; engineering; real estate; emergency response; telecommunications; flood management; science; mining; insurance; and agriculture and infrastructure.
The letter stated, “As you begin your stewardship over the Survey’s wide variety of programs, we ask that you prioritize 3DEP and work with the diverse community of stakeholders which partner with the USGS leadership on this nationwide program that continues to gain traction, not only in Congress, but within the Department of the Interior at large, as well as other Federal, state and local government agencies and the private sector.”
The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is being developed by USGS, in partnership with other federal agencies, state and local government, and the private sector, to meet the growing needs of the nation for high-quality topographic data and for a wide range of other three-dimensional representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features. The primary goal of 3DEP is to systematically collect enhanced, consistent elevation data in the form of high-quality light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories, with data acquired over an 8-year period. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) data is being collected over Alaska.
“3DEP is a public-private partnership that serves one of the nation’s highest priority mapping needs,” said John Palatiello. “This letter will serve to impress upon Dr. Reilly the importance of 3DEP to the nation, relevant stakeholders, and the many constituents that would be impacted. We hope it will serve to make the program one of Dr. Reilly’s priorities for USGS. His support will make it possible for the program to be fully funded, originally completed within its intended timeline, and refreshed on schedule.”
“We are delighted that a cross-section of users and beneficiaries of 3DEP signed the letter to demonstrate the depth and breadth of support for this important program,” said John “JB” Byrd, government affairs manager of John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc., who organized the letter.
To read the full letter, click here.
About JMP&A:
John M. Palatiello & Associates, Inc. (JMP&A) is a public affairs consulting firm based in the Washington, DC area. JMP&A has provided public relations, association management, strategic planning, and management and marketing consulting services to private firms, associations, and government agencies with an emphasis on the architecture and engineering; geospatial, surveying and mapping, and GIS; information technology; construction; transportation and infrastructure sectors. JMP&A’s team of professionals has more than 50 years of combined experience in government relations, government contracting and association management. For more information, visit www.jmpa.us
