Thanks for posting on mapping streams and wetlands. I’m in the county just north of Snohomish and plan to figure out how to map wetlands. The stream data from the state/county is good, but the wetlands could use more work. There are a number around me that the state hasn’t identified.
BTW - a few years ago I worked with Marysville GIS department to map buildings and addresses. I’m sure it needs updating with all the new developments. If you are interested I can try to find the name of the person from the city I worked with.
Melody Ovard is in the county’s GIS department and has been very helpful. The Snohomish County GIS manager comes to a lot of GIS events in the area.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Not all government data sources are compatible with OSM’s license. Federal sources are public domain by default, so those are fine to use. But state and local sources could have any kind of license, many of which are not compatible with OSM. Often the license is not specified, which seems to be the case with several of the sources mentioned in this post. You need to check each source and make sure it is compatible. When in doubt, contact the provider and get explicit permission to use the data in OSM.
Snohomish County data is in the public domain - except when it includes personal information, such as assessor records. Since personal data isn’t appropriate for OSM it shouldn’t be used. The rest of the data is in the public domain.
@mycota - are you in Arizona? I spent some time in Tucson. My contacts with the county GIS were unproductive.
I would recommend getting to know your local city/county GIS department. When I started mapping I didn’t know anyone, but now I’m good friends with a number of them. And tomorrow I’m going to the local GIS breakfast. I say this because they can make waivers to use their data in OSM.
@Glassman do you know anyone from the Tulalip Tribes GIS department? A lot of data from the reservation is missing, so I think reaching out and seeing if they have any building polygons or address locations could be very helpful. Also, there has been a lot of new development in the Marysville/Arlington area, so updating those imports should probably be a good project to work on. There are many abandoned buildings that have now been demolished and replaced with huge warehouses that don’t appear on the map. When I have more free time I might reach out to you for help, or you can let me know if I can help on any projects!
OpenStreetMap
Discussion
Comment from FishToes on 20 February 2024 at 16:58
Are all of these maps not copyrighted? Or does it not matter?
Comment from Jimmyisawkward on 20 February 2024 at 20:16
They are all government maps, so they should be good to use!
Comment from Glassman on 26 February 2024 at 18:30
Thanks for posting on mapping streams and wetlands. I’m in the county just north of Snohomish and plan to figure out how to map wetlands. The stream data from the state/county is good, but the wetlands could use more work. There are a number around me that the state hasn’t identified.
BTW - a few years ago I worked with Marysville GIS department to map buildings and addresses. I’m sure it needs updating with all the new developments. If you are interested I can try to find the name of the person from the city I worked with.
Melody Ovard is in the county’s GIS department and has been very helpful. The Snohomish County GIS manager comes to a lot of GIS events in the area.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Clifford
Comment from Jimmyisawkward on 26 February 2024 at 20:19
Thanks! I may message you later with some questions and ideas :)
Comment from mycota on 27 February 2024 at 14:57
Not all government data sources are compatible with OSM’s license. Federal sources are public domain by default, so those are fine to use. But state and local sources could have any kind of license, many of which are not compatible with OSM. Often the license is not specified, which seems to be the case with several of the sources mentioned in this post. You need to check each source and make sure it is compatible. When in doubt, contact the provider and get explicit permission to use the data in OSM.
You can learn more here.
Comment from Jimmyisawkward on 27 February 2024 at 15:40
Oh damn. Should I delete this post then?
Comment from Glassman on 27 February 2024 at 17:54
Snohomish County data is in the public domain - except when it includes personal information, such as assessor records. Since personal data isn’t appropriate for OSM it shouldn’t be used. The rest of the data is in the public domain.
Comment from mycota on 27 February 2024 at 21:06
Thanks for the clarification. I wish more local governments would follow their lead!
Comment from Glassman on 28 February 2024 at 02:59
@mycota - are you in Arizona? I spent some time in Tucson. My contacts with the county GIS were unproductive.
I would recommend getting to know your local city/county GIS department. When I started mapping I didn’t know anyone, but now I’m good friends with a number of them. And tomorrow I’m going to the local GIS breakfast. I say this because they can make waivers to use their data in OSM.
Comment from Jimmyisawkward on 28 February 2024 at 04:56
@Glassman do you know anyone from the Tulalip Tribes GIS department? A lot of data from the reservation is missing, so I think reaching out and seeing if they have any building polygons or address locations could be very helpful. Also, there has been a lot of new development in the Marysville/Arlington area, so updating those imports should probably be a good project to work on. There are many abandoned buildings that have now been demolished and replaced with huge warehouses that don’t appear on the map. When I have more free time I might reach out to you for help, or you can let me know if I can help on any projects!