Digital Mapping Techniques Meeting Post-Mortem

I attended the USGS-AASG sponsored 'DMT' meeting for the first time this year. I should have been attending this meeting for the last several years. This year, it was in Moscow, Idaho. I applied too late to give a talk, but forced myself on the audience anyway under the guise of a discussion.

Principal Take Home Messages (through the cynical filter of DrJerque):

1. Paper maps aren't dead, but they are dying, albeit slowly.
2. ESRI is coming to terms with the power and sway of Google Earth and kml
3. Existing USGS 24 k basemaps are no longer loved by all (and hated by some)
4. LiDAR kicks proverbial butt.
5. Some geologists still use Garmin 12xl GPS units....ouch!
6. Geotagging digital photos is still news to some.
7. Geologists are generally uninterested in carting computers around in the field.
8. Many state surveys still publish maps using graphic arts programs.
9. Archiving digital data is a major concern.
10. Geologic data standards are emerging. They need to be adopted.