Montana Climate Information
The Montana Climate Office is the official steward of climate information for Montana.
- In June 2013 the Montana Land Information Advisory Council (MCA 90-1-404) accepted Climate as Montana’s 15th statewide spatial data theme and forwarded that recommendation onto the State Library Commission
- In August 2013 the State Library Commission (MCA 90-1-413) approved Climate as an official Montana Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) layer and identified the Montana Climate Office as the official state steward
- Montana was the first state in the nation to make this designation!
About the MSDI
The MSDI consists of digital statewide spatial data themes, vetted through the Montana State Library with the advice of the Montana Land Information Advisory Council (MLIAC), that meet essential spatial information needs of the state of Montana and its citizens. Stewardship is the assumption of responsibility for a MSDI data theme that, depending on the needs of the theme, includes direct or indirect coordination of the production, maintenance, integration, enhancement, distribution, coordination, promotion, and support-resources for that data theme. Effective stewardship of the MSDI will advance framework information as “data you can trust” – the best available data for Montana; standardized, maintained, and discoverable.
The MSDI contains 15 spatial framework layers. These layers, or themes, are comprised of seven federally defined “geospatial framework data layers” and seven additional themes defined by the State of Montana. These data layers are in various states of development and the completion, dissemination and ongoing maintenance of the MSDI is identified as a top priority by the entire GIS community. MSDI Framework Data are the official sources of data for their respective topics and have priority above other sources.