UAS Program Administrator from Realty Division receives Emerging Leader Award from the Wisconsin Land Information Association

By Ardith Van Riper



     Niklas Anderson from the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Realty Division received the very first Emerging Leader Award from the Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA) at their 33rd annual conference in Middleton, Wisc. 

     The Emerging Leader Award is given to an individual in the first seven years of their Land Information/GIS career who demonstrates exemplary individual technical achievement and/or leadership within the Wisconsin land information community.

     “This award really is a testament to the Ho-Chunk Nation for taking advantage of a technology that is changing the way that we manage and administer land. With the checkerboard pattern of the Nation’s lands, this technology is the best way to obtain professional high accuracy data whenever we need to,” stated Niklas Anderson.

     Mr. Anderson is the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Program Administrator from the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Realty Division.  The Realty Division was created to serve the Ho-Chunk Nation and its membership by providing services including but not limited to acquisition and disposal, mapping, locating, retrieving, and storing and maintaining records regarding Ho-Chunk Nation lands.

     UAS is a system comprised of unmanned aircraft, cameras, sensors, GPS, software, and various other field and technical equipment.  Products the UAS program produces are high resolution imagery from photogrammetry, topographic surveys, 3D models, vegetation health, thermal mapping, photography, and videography.  The Nation utilizes this technology to obtain data about the Nation’s lands so that superior decisions can be made regarding land management.

     “I am humbled to be recognized by the association but first and foremost appreciative to the many friends and mentors that have made an impact on my career along the way,” acknowledged Niklas Anderson.

     The purpose of WLIA is to foster the understanding, development, operation, and maintenance of a network of statewide land information systems.  WLIA Conference award winners commit countless hours going above and beyond expectations to further GIS and land records modernization in Wisconsin.




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