The Carbon Project, a partner of geoLeaders' Geospatial Solutions Network has established an unofficial forum to facilitate community discussion about the NSDI Framework Data Services. This unofficial forum can be found at the following URL:
The NSDI Framework Data Services are provided by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and the United State Geological Survey (USGS). Established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1990, the FGDC was rechartered in its' August 2002 Circular A-16 with the "Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities." It is the initiative of the FGDC to promote the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data on a national basis through the development of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
geoLeaders was recently contracted by the USGS to implement selected Framework Data Theme content for the NSDI. The resulting NSDI Framework Data Services accessible below have been implemented in strict accordance with Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Web Feature Service (WFS), and Geography Markup Language for Simple Features (GML) specifications; and the FGDC/ANSI Geographic Information Framework Data Content Standards. The initial data content for the NSDI Framework Data Services includes selected features from the Hydrography, Transportation and Governmental Unit Framework Data Themes. The data provided through this service are maintained for currency with the source data and systems using OGC Standards-Based WFS Transactions submitted by the USGS.
Please see the links below for information regarding service access, suggested usability guidelines, information schemas, specifications and free clients & utilities. Currently, an understanding of OGC Web Services Standards is important for the effective utilization of the NSDI Framework Data Services. Therefore; it is strongly recommended that users read the Usability Document before using the service. It not only includes general guidelines, but also instructions specific to the use of the service in clients such as Google Earth and The Carbon Project’s CarbonArc Extension for ESRI’s ArcGIS. Finally, to provide feedback or ask questions regarding the use of the service, please visit and register for the NSDI Framework Data Services Discussion Forum hosted by The Carbon Project at http://www.thecarbonportal.net.