Montana Spatial Data Infrastructure

What is MSDI?

The Montana Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) consists of 15 Framework layers, or spatial data themes, representing land information that is widely recognized as necessary to meet the spatial information needs of the state of Montana and its citizens. The main goal of the MSDI is to advance the Framework layers so they are "data you can trust" and the best available data for Montana.

The MSDI is modeled after the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The federal government in cooperation with state, regional, local and private sector interests identified seven geospatial framework data layers for the nation, which make up the NSDI. In addition to these seven, the State of Montana has added eight more layers to the MSDI.

Data Layers

These data layers are in various states of development and the completion, dissemination, and ongoing maintenance of the MSDI have been identified as a top priority by the entire GIS community.

The goals of the MSDI are focused on eliminating the duplication of effort among data producers, improving the quality of spatial data, reducing the costs of using spatial data, and increasing the availability of spatial data for Montana.

MAGIP recognizes the benefits of a consistently collected and maintained, standardized, and discoverable MSDI to the Montana GIS community and the State of Montana as a whole. As such, MAGIP has sponsored MSDI workshops, spearheaded the development of standards and best practices, and provided input and feedback from the perspective of end users on MSDI-related issues, such as the 2009 MSDI Theme Review (pdf).

Please visit the MSDI web pages hosted by the Montana State Library for the most current information or contact the Theme Stewards directly.

Recent MSDI Forum Updates


The MSDI Discussion Forum is available for questions and colloboration related to MSDI

MSDI Frameworks and Contact Information

Framework  Theme Steward
Administrative Boundaries Montana State Library
Cadastral / CadNSDI (PLSS) Montana State Library
Climate Montana Climate Office
Elevation U. S. Geological Survey
Mapping Control Montana State Library
Geographic Names Montana State Library
Geology Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
Hydrography Montana State Library
Hydrologic Units Montana Office, U. S. Natural Resources Conservation Service
Land Use/Land Cover Montana Natural Heritage Program
Orthoimagery Montana State Library
Soils Montana Office, U. S. Natural Resources Conservation Service
Structures and Addresses Montana State Library
Transportation Montana State Library
Wetlands Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Dept of Environmental Quality




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