THE WASHINGTON GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’S RECENTLY RESTORED LANDSLIDE HAZARDS PROGRAM: A LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF LANDSLIDE MAPPING IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

In July 2015, the Washington state legislature allocated the Washington Geological Survey (WGS) a substantial funding package to the Landslide Hazards Program (LHP). This allocation funds five full-time landslide geologists and provides seed money to initiate a lidar survey to begin incremental collection of statewide, high-resolution lidar. The LHPs primary function is to systematically map landslide inventory, susceptibility, hazard, and risk, but will also focus on landslide research and emergency response. An additional and crucial role for an effective program is hazards outreach and education for government agencies and the public, which includes holding pre- and post-project meetings to discuss our programs goals, the finished products, and how to use those products. The purpose/scope of the LHP has changed from previous efforts at the WGS, resulting in new methods for mapping landslides. This shift is primarily due to the availability of high-resolution lidar and a shift in focus from wildlife habitat in managed forests to human life and infrastructure. Since all mapping will be based on high-resolution lidar data, innovative mapping techniques are necessary and will be developed by the LHP and (or) borrowed from other successful landslide programs.

This talk will discuss the development of the LHP, the new program goals, and outline the inventory and mapping process. It will also highlight our plan to quickly map landslide deposits from existing, high-quality lidar within the first year of the progam. As the LHP develops over time, we intend to share our growth and process with the landslide hazards community, both as an aid to assist other states interested in beginning their own LHP, and as a reminder that the audience of the LHP is local government and the citizens of Washington State. The LHP is in its initial phase of hiring at the time of abstract submission, with the goal of being fully staffed by the 2015 GSA Annual Meeting.