> I certainly wouldn't be slogging up thousands of streams and rivers - most of which are on private property - trying to map any of them myself.
Just as a note for those interested in mapping streams and rivers, "the riverbed and banks, up to the ordinary high water mark, are state land, held in trust for the public for navigation, fishing, and other non-destructive visits." For more info on the legality of traveling in streams and rivers, check out this website: http://www.adventuresports.com/river/nors/us-law-menu.htm . A day kayaking or canoeing on the river can be quite relaxing, plus it could result in a .GPX track for OSM. -----Original Message----- From: talk-us-boun...@openstreetmap.org [mailto:talk-us-boun...@openstreetmap.org] On Behalf Of Mike N. Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 19:51 To: impo...@openstreetmap.org; OpenStreetMap U.S. Subject: Re: [Talk-us] HI: Hawaii GIS Data >Why oh why oh why do some people insist on wasting time trying to import loads of data? I like to view OSM data as capable of creating some usable map types on its own, rather than just a possible supplemental feed to Google maps in the future. As such, landmarks are key to a standalone map: A map without streams and rivers is not real to me. That's where the NHD import comes in. After the import, I frequently update the actual hydrography features for changes caused by new construction. Not a waste of time to me, and the map is useless without those hydro landmarks. I certainly wouldn't be slogging up thousands of streams and rivers - most of which are on private property - trying to map any of them myself. Similarly, larger park boundaries could not be reasonably mapped without special arrangements from park management to stray off marked trails and file your survey plan. Most parks would not allow casual access off their marked trails for good reasons. So parks are another useful landmark import. Trails - if accurate, why not use them? The end result is a good start so a later mapper can spend time adding trail landmarks and details rather than the trail itself. Aside from that, I'll agree that importing just because some data is available is not good, and firsthand survey data is much more valuable. After all, if someone wants to make their own "voting district" map (which can change every year), they just combine the public voting district data with the OSM features they need at that time. - Mike _______________________________________________ Talk-us mailing list Talk-us@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us
