Dick Vraga USGS Geography Discipline
The US Geological Survey’s Geography Discpline (formerly the National Mapping Division) has announced the appointment of Dick Vraga as State Liaison to Wisconsin. He will be headquartered in Madison and also be the liaison to Illinois.
Dick officially assumed his duties on October 20, 2003. His office, titled the Wisconsin Mapping Partnership Office, is located at 505 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711-1061. He can be contacted by phone: (608) 238-9449; fax: (608) 238-9334 or email: rsvraga@usgs.gov
The USGS Geography Discipline has embarked on a 21st century program called The National Map. The focus of Vraga’s work will be building the relationships necessary to bring locally produced geospatial data into that program.
Vraga replaces Diane Eldridge who was handling liaison duties to the two states from her office at the USGS Regional Headquarters in Reston, VA. Placement of Vraga in the field is part of a long-term USGS plan to have many more staff located closer to the sources of current geospatial data production: states, counties, cities, and tribes.
Prior to this appointment, Vraga spent ten years as Chief of the Cartography and Publishing Program in Madison for the USGS Water Resources Discipline. Earlier, he served as Assistant Branch Chief at the USGS Mid-Continent Mapping Center in Rolla, Missouri. Dick is a 1979 graduate of UW-Madison where he received a bachelor’s degree in Cartography.