THE PUGET-SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL ATLAS UPDATE - CONTEXT AND GIS DATABASEINTEGRATION ISSUES

Advances in cartographic technology since the 1970s have been reflecte d in digital databases and published atlases of marine resources in Wa shington state, most recently the Puget Sound Geographic Information S ystem and the Puget Sound Environmental Atlas Update 1992 (Puget Sound Water Quality Authority, 1992). Discussion of each update phase recou nts the processes (and pitfalls) of converting spatial data from tabul ar and computer-aided drafting (CAD) formats into an integrated geogra phic information system (GIS) database, standardized to a single basem ap. Simultaneous digital and hardcopy output constitutes ''digital map publishing,'' yet digital cartographic products may also be viewed as software for different, future uses. The concept of data stewardship is presented as a model for an ongoing data-maintenance relationship b etween contributing agencies and the GIS coordinator