The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association has awarded Holliston, MA a $10,000 grant to implement a GIS. The Association provides the town with property and causuality insurance. PeopleGIS will do the implentation; I expect the company will use its open source-based SimpliCITY solution.

The Colorado State Forest Service has just made available an online mapping tool that will help community leaders, professional planners and interested citizens determine wildfire risk and where forest management actions can achieve the greatest impact to reduce that risk.

The Colorado Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal - or CO-WRAP - is a web-mapping tool that provides access to statewide wildfire risk assessment information. Through CO-WRAP, fire mitigation professionals, prevention planners, natural resource professionals and interested citizens can generate maps and download data and reports that describe defined project areas, such as neighborhoods or watersheds. The information in the portal is based on geographic information system (GIS) data layers that allow users to view such themes as the likelihood of an acre burning, potential fire intensity, historic fire occurrence and values at risk from wildfire.