U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior - The annual Alaska IfSAR and DEM acquisition plan is part of the 3DEP initiative to collect high-quality elevation data in the form of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IfSAR) and light detection and ranging (lidar) data over Alaska. This acquisition plan addresses concerns raised in GAO Report 13-94 regarding geospatial coordination, and supports FGDC data coordination initiatives led by the Department of Interior's Geospatial Information Officer. Mapping a State the size and complexity of Alaska through a partnered effort such as the Alaska Mapping Initiative requires dedicated collaboration and coordination across multiple levels of government. State efforts for the collection of IfSAR data are being coordinated through Alaska's Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative (SDMI), a cooperative program implemented across six State of Alaska departments and the University of Alaska. Federal efforts are coordinated through the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee (AMEC), chaired by the Department of the Interior with membership from 15 Federal agencies and representatives from the State of Alaska (Charter can be found at http://nationalmap.gov/alaska/amec_charter.html ). The FY19 acquisition plan currently anticipates collecting 16,000 sq. mi. or more depending on partnerships and other contributions to the plan. Interested parties who wish to become a funding partner with the USGS in FY19 or in future years should contact Becci Anderson, USGS Geospatial Liaison, rdanderson@usgs.gov. Products will include: 5M DEM/DSM, Orthorectified IfSAR Intensity Image (ORII), and other standard derived 3DEP datasets. To find out more about the Alaska IfSAR Acquisition for 3DEP initiative go to http://nationalmap.gov/alaska/ami_partners.html

BLM 3DEP LIDAR Priority Planning Areas map service for viewing BLM’s participation to the USGS 3DEP (3D Elevation Program) to collaborate to acquire high-resolution LiDAR data that is available through the USGS National Map. The implementation of this map service allows the BLM to have more flexibility for tracking ongoing BLM 3DEP acquisition through this USGS and BLM partnership. Additionally, BLM high, medium, and low priorities are included, as well as areas where BLM projects have been completed and are available on the USGS National Map.

This data collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the 1/3-arcsecond, 1-arcsecond, and 2-arcsecond seamless 3DEP Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in LAZ format. The LAZ format is a lossless compressed version of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. Point Cloud data can be converted from LAZ to LAS or LAS to LAZ without the loss of any information. Either format stores 3-dimensional point cloud data and point attributes along with header information and variable length records specific to the data. Millions of data points are stored as a 3-dimensional data cloud as a series of geo-referenced x, y coordinates and z (elevation), as well as other attributes for each point. Additonal information about the las file format can be found here: https://www.asprs.org/divisions-committees/lidar-division/laser-las-file-format-exchange-activities. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This data collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the 1/3-arcsecond, 1-arcsecond, and 2-arcsecond seamless 3DEP Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in LAZ format. The LAZ format is a lossless compressed version of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. Point Cloud data can be converted from LAZ to LAS or LAS to LAZ without the loss of any information. Either format stores 3-dimensional point cloud data and point attributes along with header information and variable length records specific to the data. Millions of data points are stored as a 3-dimensional data cloud as a series of geo-referenced x, y coordinates and z (elevation), as well as other attributes for each point. Please refer to https://www.asprs.org/Committee-General/LASer-LAS-File-Format-Exchange-Activities.html for additional information on the .LAS file format. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is one meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard one-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data of one-meter or higher resolution. One-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. The spatial reference used for tiles of the one-meter DEM within the conterminous United States (CONUS) is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) in units of meters, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). All bare earth elevation values are in meters and are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). Each tile is distributed in the UTM Zone in which it lies. If a tile crosses two UTM zones, it is delivered in both zones. The one-meter DEM is the highest resolution standard DEM offered in the 3DEP product suite. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1/3, 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

This is a tiled collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and is one meter resolution. The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Scientists and resource managers use 3DEP data for hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, mapping and visualization, and many other applications. The elevations in this DEM represent the topographic bare-earth surface. USGS standard one-meter DEMs are produced exclusively from high resolution light detection and ranging (lidar) source data of one-meter or higher resolution. One-meter DEM surfaces are seamless within collection projects, but, not necessarily seamless across projects. The spatial reference used for tiles of the one-meter DEM within the conterminous United States (CONUS) is Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) in units of meters, and in conformance with the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). All bare earth elevation values are in meters and are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). Each tile is distributed in the UTM Zone in which it lies. If a tile crosses two UTM zones, it is delivered in both zones. The one-meter DEM is the highest resolution standard DEM offered in the 3DEP product suite. Other 3DEP products are nationally seamless DEMs in resolutions of 1/3, 1, and 2 arc seconds. These seamless DEMs were referred to as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) from about 2000 through 2015 at which time they became the seamless DEM layers under the 3DEP program and the NED name and system were retired. Other 3DEP products include five-meter DEMs in Alaska as well as various source datasets including the lidar point cloud and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (Ifsar) digital surface models and intensity images. All 3DEP products are public domain.

BLM Priority areas that include the following. High – These areas include BLM managed lands within the larger collaborative multi-agency LiDAR acquisition areas that are ongoing. Medium – These include PHMA – BLM administered lands identified as having the highest value to maintaining sustainable greater sage-grouse populations and Salinity project boundary – that provides a framework for improving the effectiveness of the Colorado River Basin of BLM managed lands. Low – These include GHMA – BLM administered lands identified that are occupied seasonally or year old and are outside of PHMA and all remaining BLM managed lands. Complete – Areas of BLM administered lands of where LiDAR acquisitions is complete and is available at the USGS National Map.

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U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior - The annual National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) stewardship plan is to maintain hydrography data in the NHD over the United States and its territories. NHD for the Nation has been acquired and is now in maintenance mode. Interested parties who wish to become a NHD stewardship partner with the USGS in FY20 or in future years should contact a USGS National Map Liaison - https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/user-engagement-office or email nhd@usgs.gov. To find out more about hydrography stewardship go to https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography/stewardship-and-community

The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program to respond to growing needs for high-quality topographic data and for a wide range of other three-dimensional (3D) representations of the Nation's natural and constructed features. 3DEP informs critical decisions that are made across our Nation every day that depend on elevation data, ranging from immediate safety of life, property, and environment to long term planning for infrastructure projects. Lidar, an airborne laser detection technology for mapping features on the ground, is being collected nationwide, while Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) is being collected over Alaska. Assessing the accuracy of the lidar point cloud data collected for 3DEP is defined in the Lidar Base Specification (https://www.usgs.gov/ngp-standards-and-specifications/lidar-base-specification-online). The vertical accuracy of the lidar and IfSAR data and the derived Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) is the most scrutinized accuracy metric. 3DEP data are assessed and reported in accordance with the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Positional Accuracy Standards for Digital Geospatial Data. Vegetated vertical accuracy (VVA) and non-vegetated vertical accuracy (NVA) are assessed for absolute vertical accuracy compared to survey-grade checkpoints collected with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers by professional land surveyors. These checkpoints are published with 3DEP projects (https://rockyweb.usgs.gov/vdelivery/Datasets/Staged/Elevation/metadata/) and represent tens of millions of dollars of high accuracy data that can be used to assess both 3DEP and other endeavors such as the Seamless 1-m DEM that the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center is producing to support the USGS 3D National Topography Model. However, these checkpoints were not standardized until Lidar Base Specification 2022 rev. A. All checkpoints prior to this revision were delivered by contractors in XML, PDFs, excel spreadsheets, CSVs, shapefiles, and geodatabase feature classes depending on the preference of the lidar contractors and 3DEP partners. In 2021, the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) consolidated the checkpoints in the 3DEP and older lidar/IfSAR data holdings gathered between 2010-2017 to support research for and the eventual publication of a journal article called “The Accuracy and Consistency of 3D Elevation Program Data: A Systematic Analysis” (https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14040940). In 2024, NGTOC enriched and standardized the points used in that paper to match the current survey point delivery schema. This included re-projecting the data horizontally to North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) (2011) geographic, deleting duplicate points, identifying the point type as NVA or VVA, identifying matching work unit and project ID numbers within the Work Unit Extent Spatial Metadata, verifying the correct geoid models, using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Geodetic Survey (NGS) VDatum tool to update the Z elevation values in the conterminous United States (CONUS) and Puerto Rico into meters and GEOID18 and everything in Hawaii and Alaska into meters and GEOID12B, determining the collection date and the publication date, and finding the URL to the source information where possible. The first version of the 3DEP checkpoints database, which included 41,958 survey-grade points from 205 lidar and IfSAR projects covering 710 published work units, was published in October 2024. NGTOC updated this database with additional checkpoints in December 2025. Version 2 of the checkpoints database includes 145,299 checkpoints from 551 lidar projects covering 1,874 published work units.