Integration with Other Online Mappers

The FWS Land Mapper is built on ESRI's ArcGIS Online (AGOL) platform. This system is widely used by thousands of Federal, State, County, and Municipal organizations. Businesses, universities, and private individuals likewise use AGOL to publish geographic data online. AGOL facilitates data sharing by providing a mechanism whereby data layers published by an organization can be incorporated into online mapping applications created by others.

All the data layers contained within the FWS Land Mapper are available to the general public, and these layers can be imported into AGOL-based online mappers created by other organizations. For example, a State or county online mapper that displays land parcels might not include the boundaries of protected areas such as National Wildlife Refuges or National Parks. In such a case, the user can potentially import the protected area boundaries from the FWS Land Mapper into the State/county mapper.

Conversely, users can import data layers from other mappers into the FWS Land Mapper. An example of this would be hunting area boundaries which are published on a State game management online mapper, but which are not present in the FWS Land Mapper. This would allow the user to view the hunting area boundaries in relation to National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, wilderness areas, etc.

Data Formats that can be Imported into and Exported out of the FWS Land Mapper

The following data formats can be exchanged between the FWS Land Mapper and other online ArcGIS Online-based mapping applications.

Formats that can be Imported into the FWS Land Mapper

	KML (Keyhole Markup Language) This is the standard KML format that is used by Google Earth and other programs that support .kml files. It supports the geometry of features plus their attbitute values.

	GPX (GPS Exchange) This is a standard format that is designed to be used with various GPS units and programs that support the .gpx file format. It supports only the geometry of features (points and lines only; polygons are not supported). Attribute information is not supported.

	GeoJSON (Geographic JavaScript Object Notation) This is a standard format that includes the geometry of features plus their attbitute values. It is widely used by ESRI's ArcGIS system, and any other program that supports the GeoJSON format.

	Shapefile (ESRI Shapefile) This is ESRI's standard and widely-supported format (.shp and others) that includes the geometry of features plus their attribute values. Shapefiles consist of multiple related files. All of these files must be added to a single ZIP archive with the .zip file extension in order to be imported into the FWS Land Mapper.

	AGOL hosted layer (ESRI ArcGIS Online hosted layer) Feature layers that are hosed on the ArcGIS Online platform. To add layers, you can use the AGOL Search function, or directly enter a hosted feature layer's full URL. Feature geometry and feature attributes are supported.

FWS Land Mapper Formats that can be Imported into Other AGOL-based Mappers

GeoJSON (Geographic JavaScript Object Notation)

This is a standard format that includes the geometry of features plus their attbitute values. It is widely used by ESRI's ArcGIS system, and any other program that supports the GeoJSON format. This format is supported for export from the FWS Land Mapper via the Query tool.

AGOL hosted layer (ESRI ArcGIS Online hosted layer)

Feature layers that are hosed on the ArcGIS Online platform. Feature geometry and feature attributes are supported. To add layers to another online mapper, you can use the AGOL Search function, or directly enter a hosted feature layer's full URL. All layers shown in the FWS Land Mapper can be imported into AGOL-based mappers that are hosted by other agencies/organizations.

The Region 7 Land Mapper was developed, and is maintained by, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 7, Division of Realty. Questions, comments,and suggestions should be directed to ak_realty@fws.gov

This page was last updated: Thursday, March 13, 2025