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2004 Peter S. Thacher Award Recipient: ​John Barge

This year’s recipient of the Thacher Award is John Barge from the State of New York.
At this year's Northeast ArcInfo annual conference held in Lake Placid John Barge, an Adirondack Park Agency mapping technologist, was presented the Peter S. Thacher Award.

John Barge has been working in the field of cartography and GIS in the Adirondacks since the summer of 1981. He began his career as a summer intern with the Adirondack Park Agency where he conducted a needs assessment for a new computerized storage system for maps. He then went to work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and was involved with the development of Forest Preserve Unit Management Plans. He returned to the APA in October 1983 having an immediate impact by successfully installing the very first installation of ERDAS, a computer mapping software, in the world.

Over the next twenty years, his dedication and commitment to the Adirondack Park and GIS has foraged partnerships that resulted in the successful completion of GIS projects with local and global implications. He is considered the "backbone"e; of GIS inside the Adirondack Park. Some major accomplishments spearheaded by John Barge include:
  • Essex County Forest Feasibility Study - This project was a resource, conservation and development project that was completed in partnership with Essex County, the Soil Conservation Service and SUNY-ESF that used mapping technology to identify lands with the highest potential for timber harvest.
  • Northern Forests Lands Inventory (NFLI) - In the 1990s, worked with the NFLI project which developed map information on natural and cultural resources for the Adirondacks and New England. APA Look Up System - Developed an easy-to-use GIS application for APA staff for project review. The system is an incredible and efficient tool that staff refer to as a "digital institutional memory" and is used daily at the Agency. This system is directly responsible for the reduction in time required for jurisdictional determination.
  • EPA-funded Wetlands projects - Worked on the staff team that has been mapping detailed wetlands and watersheds around the Park since 1993. This data is utilized by researchers to study chemical cycling and wildlife habitat. In addition, it is essential data for nature resource planners when reviewing development applications.
  • Shared Adirondack Park Geographic Information CD-ROM - Worked on the staff team to develop a data library compiling over 50 GIS data layers from multiple organizations involved in the Adirondacks. The Agency has distributed over 500 copies of the CD-ROM since its creation in 2001.
Mr. Barge is a founding member of the Adirondack GIS Users Group, a member of the State Advisory Group to the New York State GIS Coordinating Body and a member of the New York State Standards/Data Coordination Work Group.

Mr. Barge lives in Saranac Lake with his wife, Cindy and children, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Aaron, Ethan and Jeremiah. He is a cub Scout leader (where he is often called onto teach map and compass skills) and plays guitar.

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