A 2-year cycle is typically required to complete full state-wide imagery coverage for all of Missouri. Each imagery cycle has a slightly different number of counties covered in a single year. Whatever is not collected in Year 1 is always picked up in Year 2. The state sponsored flights are always a leaf-off product.

A Project Assessment Quotation (PAQ) was released in January 2022, asking for cost estimates to fly approximately 1/2 of the state. The decision was by the greater GIS community to complete the southern portion of the state (as opposed an east / west split), for Year 1.

The PAQ went to the 4 pre-approved vendors mentioned in the Contract Process section, awarded in August of 2021. Funding allowed for more than half the counties to be flown in Year 1.

In February, a contract was awarded to Sanborn. Spring flights begin when conditions are optimal for flying (sun angle, lack of snow or water coverage, etc.). Optimal conditions were not available until the second week of March.

Additional funds were identified to add 11 more counties in 2022 in the Kansas City region; that collection was awarded to Surdex.

The remaining counties not flown in 2022 will be flown in 2023, as shown on the following map.

The 2022 imagery is available as a streamed image service from the state GIS clearinghouse. It currently contains the counties shown in blue in the above map, and will be modified at the completion of the 2023 flight to include the new counties.

Future plans – 6″ imagery is coming!

For 2023, the northern counties will be flown at a 6″ resolution. In 2024, a new of the southern 2/3, collected in 2022, will be reflown at a 6″ resolution as well. The planned start for 2023 flight is late February 2023. Anticipated availability of this data is late in 2023.

A recent presentation from the Missouri GIS Advisory Council goes over this project in greater detail.