Online Scouting on Google Maps

[SFG]

This thread is all about what you wish you had while online scouting on Google maps. We all know nothing beats pounding dirt, however, i'm hoping that all you internet scouters will offer your suggestions and comments as to what features and capabilities that you would like to see in your online map scouting.

Why am i asking this? This year was my first year hunting for Blacktail in California, and i dabbled on resorting to Google Maps and Google Earth to find a suitable starting point for my next hunt. While useful, i felt like there could of been improvements. Being an Web Engineer, i thought it may be a fun, and useful, project to tackle on so that I, and fellow Roksliders, may be able to benefit from it. Doesn't necessary have to be related to maps, but it does have to be something that may make our hunt more efficient via the web. All suggestions/comments are welcome.

So what is it that you would like to see? Perhaps, free topo map downloads? Better image? PLM, BLM overlay? What's useful to you that you haven't found in your Google maps? Perhaps, we have nothing to improve upon?

I for one would just like to find a better way to get access to Topo map snippets.

*** Disclaimer : I'm not a company nor do i intend to make a dime off of your suggestions. ***

 

[wapitibob]

I don't use google earth much as I prefer other apps but I can repost the vids on adding topo and sma overlays to GE. I did another vid for a friend on taking tracks/paths in ge and transferring to the garmin also.

 

[justinspicher]

I think it'd be pretty slick if it had BLM, Forest, and private land sectors on it or a layer to add to it. It would also be nice if you could turn it into a topo map.

 

[Rizzy]

A topography search function. I would like to be able to outline a particular piece of topo and have google maps or better yet google earth search for similar topography in a given area. Contours, aspect, and elevation would probably be the main search parameters from the DTM.

 

[Clarktar]

Rizzy, you nailed it. That is what I have thought several times!

 

[WyoElk]

Land ownership and GMU' overlays would be nice

 

[FreeRange]

I used to use acmemapper because it could overlay images from Google and Flickr that were geotagged, I find those pictures to be really valuable in trying to determine what type of vegetation cover an area has vs how it looks on a satellite image. Something that brought in geotagged photos from various online photo communities would be awesome in GE. I find myself using about 4 different web mapping tools in conjunction but don't use GE too much.

On a somewhat related note Bing maps sometimes has WAY better aerial image quality than google for a given area, probably not realistic that that data could be brought in as a layer for GE, I just jump back and forth between map programs.

 

[LaHunter]

I use google earth in addition to my topo maps. Living 1500 miles from where I hunt in WY, it is a useful tool. That being said, there is just no way that google earth can do justice to how vast and large the country is. I seem to get a false sense of the terrain and elevation changes after 'gazing' at google earth for several months. Some useful into that I get from google earth is how much timber an area has. This aspect seems to be somewhat accurate.

Good Luck

 

[Jelf]

Have you seen Gmap4? It is an enhanced Google map viewer I developed and I have posted about it before in the forum here. It can display the standard Google aerials plus high resolution topo maps (“t4 topo high”).

When we lived in northern Wyoming we rode our horses through this area in the Cloud Peak Wilderness:
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=44.342312,-107.209853&z=15&t=t4

Features that hunters might find useful include:
* Display contour lines on top of the Google aerial
* Center the map at your location with a symbol that moves as you do
* Change the coordinate format
* Display a UTM, USNG or MGRS grid
* Search on address, many place names, coordinates
* Make your own custom Gmap4 link
* Declination

But wait - there’s more.

Lots of data useful to hunters (and those enjoying other forms of outdoor recreation) is hosted by government agencies on GIS (Geographical Information System) servers. Any specific agency with GIS data may or may not have an online map or mobile app to let you see some of that data. If you are lucky and an agency does have an online map or mobile app, then every one of those forces you to learn a different interface.

I can fix all that.

Gmap4 can display a vast amount of the data that is hosted on GIS servers and do so with a single consistent interface. Last week I started a large project to go through the federal agencies and state-by-state looking for GIS servers with hunting and other recreation-related data. I am producing Gmap4 links to display that data. The first two states are done and more are in the works. One of the next maps links I will post will focus on national forests and show campgrounds, roads, trailheads and more. That map will include a GIS layer that shows the boundaries of most federally owned parcels.

Here is the homepage for this project.
Disclaimer: I am a software developer, not a web designer. That is why my web pages look so basic. If anyone is skilled at WordPress and would like to donate some help, that would be great.
http://www.propertylinemaps.com/p/public_land_map.html

The Gmap4 homepage has a FAQ, examples, quick start info (on the Help page) and more to quickly get you up to speed. I only know how to write in plain clear English - no computer babble-speak allowed!

One of the articles on the Help page shows you how to use Gmap4 on your smartphone offline.

Gmap4 default map: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php

Gmap4 homepage: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

I'll keep an eye on this thread and look for good suggestions that are doable.

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy
Redmond, WA

 

[justinspicher]

This is the best I've found on the web for free topo map downloads, they print in a portrait or landscape paper size section.

digital-topo-maps.com

 

[ScottP]

The GMAP4 web app is great for scouting and especially sharing maps with people. If you're relatively savvy on spatial data stuff, you can add just about any WMS to your map layers. I've made some with property boundaries, counties, etc. - then you just send your buddy a link. Very nice.

For more complex multi-layer display with aerial imagery, I tend to use Google Earth. Most state and fed agencies provide data you can download. Many are already in .kmz format for GE, or I can convert data to .kmz. I prefer GE over Google Maps as there are many more display options and some limited tools you can use. sharing maps/display is also relatively straightforward.

 

[_Nick_]

I really like Caltopo and Gmaps combined. Here's an article on the combo (e-scouting for hunters).

 

[wapitibob]

GE with topo and Surface Ownership

 

[wapitibob]

My needs dictate that I be able to natively import georeferenced maps from Govt agencies and since they use ArcGis, I use ArcGis Explorer as my main Internet Scouting app.

I would suggest trying several and assessing your needs as you go forward towards next years scouting. If you need to be able to access topo, sat imagery, and mark waypoints, etc offline, you might look at TopoFusion. That app also has the ability to convert and transfer that data to your Garmin.

 

[Jelf]

Nick’s article on e-scouting and Robyn’s article on where a person can hunt (http://modern-hunters.com/where-can-i-go-hunting/) are both spot on.

And everyone that enjoys outdoor recreation and nice maps owes a debt of gratitude to Matt Jacobs, the developer of CalTopo. Matt is the guy who obtained copies of a gazillion high resolution topo map scans made by the USGS, processed those scans into tiles and is hosting those topo map tiles on Amazon’s cloud. Gmap4 displays Matt’s tiles (with his permission) and calls them “t4 Topo High”. A number of other sites also display Matt’s tiles.

A mobile app (iPhone and Android) that provides easy access to Matt’s topo tiles is https://www.gaiagps.com.

One thing Matt has not added to his CalTopo site (at least yet) is a way to run the Google Earth browser plugin. You can find that feature in Gmap4. Simply select basemap “Earth” and you can fly over the land with amazingly smooth 3D. If you need some quick tips for flying, please download this file:
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/help_files/gmap4_using_an_open_map.pdf
and go to p.12 and read “Tips for flying in 3D”.

Note: The Google earth browser plugin only works on desktops and laptops. It does not work on mobile devices.

Here is an example of how this 3D browser plugin can help you with digital scouting.

Let’s say you want to scout federal land near Chelan in eastern Washington State. Start here:

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gma...al_land_transparent&layers=1&transparent=true

Click Menu ==> Search. Enter Chelan, WA

Click Hybrid and then in the Overlay column click “Federal_land_transparent” to turn on that GIS layer. (Tech tip: That GIS layer is defined as part of the Gmap4 link.)

Next, click Menu ==> Draw and save, Continue.
Click the map to trace around an area of public land.
Each point you make is draggable.
A rightclick on a point displays a context menu.

When you are done tracing, rightclick a point and select “Gmap4 link - No description”.
Copy that link and open it in a new browser tab.
You will see a red line where you traced.
Change the basemap to Earth.

You can now fly around in 3D while seeing the federal boundary line that you traced.
For a better 3D effect, tilt the map back a bunch.

This is “bleeding edge” stuff and occasionally the browser will crash when going into ‘Earth’ mode. If that happens just hit ‘reload’ and it usually works the second time.

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy

 

[Rizzy]

Is there anyway to overlay the historic fire perimeters from geomac on GE?

 

[_Nick_]

Joseph, thanks for your work on Gmap4. I'm going to dig into it and will have to update my post to include it; it's an excellent tool as well.

 

[wapitibob]

Is there anyway to overlay the historic fire perimeters from geomac on GE?

Easily done by going to the forest gis dataset area and downloading the fire history polygons in GE.

 

[Jelf]

Is there anyway to overlay the historic fire perimeters from geomac on GE?

Or just open this link and see the GeoMAC historical fire perimeters on Google maps.
http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gma...m/p/public_land_map/USA/USA_wildland_fire.txt

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy

 

[FreeRange]

^That is awesome. Is there any way to pull up the name of a fire you see outlined on the map?