STEPHEN G. CONRAD'S TOPOGRAPHC MAP LEGACY: BASIS FOR NORTH CAROLINA'S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRIONMENTAL PROTECTION, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) AND THE DIGITAL AGE, AND GEOLOGIC MAPPING AND MINERAL RESOURCES

During Stephen G. Conrad's tenure as State Geologist (1964 – 1990) statewide topographic mapping of all 953 7.5-minute quadrangles (~48,000 square miles) was completed in 1988. This achievement required recognition of the need for topographic maps, vision and perseverance to take advantage of a window of statewide need, opportunity, and state-level leadership support resulting in greatly enhanced multiyear funding to meet statewide needs for modern topographic base maps. The program required careful coordination and collaboration to leverage state funds, subsequent matching U.S. Geological Survey funds plus production of intermediary orthophoto quadrangles as precursors to subsequently published topographic maps.

The topographic mapping program enabled statewide programs to blossom in development, environmental protection and wise use of natural resources. The topographic maps provided framework data for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) program and set the stage for geographic information systems (GIS) in North Carolina. Geologic mapping and mineral resources studies are but two examples that benefited from modern topographic base maps.

Following the recent termination of the state-federal cooperative topographic mapping program, North Carolina's topographic maps are aging at an accelerated rate – one that will continue until such time as user demand leads to the program's rejuvenation. The need for up-to-date topographic maps is undiminished. Archived historic topographic maps can be downloaded at url http://lib.ncsu.edu/gis/historictopos.html.