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for locations servicing more than 256 potential emergency-response locations. Note that 9,853 of the 10,000 locations in the project area "drain" into the HQ location (the difference is the number of non-accessible water locations). Jump Off? This is powerful strategic-planning information as well as tactical-response routing for individual emergencies (backcountry 911 routing). For example, knowing where the major access corridors intersect the road network can be used to identify candidate locations for staging areas. The right side of Figure 2 identifies 15 areas with high off-road access that exceeds an average of 16 optimal routes within a one-cell reach from the road. These "jumping off" points to the major response corridors might be upgraded to include signage for volunteer staging areas and improved roadside grading for emergency-vehicle parking. In many ways, GIS technology is "more different than it is similar" to traditional mapping and geoquery. It moves mapping beyond descriptions of the precise placement of physical features to prescriptions of new possibilities and perspectives of our geographic surroundings—an optimal path density surface is but one of many innovative procedures in the new map-analysis toolbox. Figure 2. The sum of all optimal paths passing through a location indicates its relative rating as a "corridor of common access" for emergency response. Author's Note: For detailed discussions characterizing "Backcountry Emergency Response" using a steppedaccumulation cost surface to estimate travel time by truck, then ATV and then hiking as off-road travel conditions change, see Topic 29, Spatial Modeling in Natural Resources, sections 4-6, in the online book Beyond Mapping III at www. innovativegis.com/basis/MapAnalysis; also a free-use poster and short paper can be found at www.innovativegis.com/ basis/Papers/Other/BackcountryER_poster. Now Available! SPATIAL MATTERS GEOTEC MEDIA INTRODUCES Geospatial Matters: Exploring the Implications of a Digital Earth, a collection of some of the best GeoWorld magazine columns written by renowned authorities Jerome Dobson, Nigel Waters, Jeremy Crampton and Daniel Sui. This 270-page book captures a broad perspective of geospatial technology tools and applications, and promises to motivate and inspire discussion about the implications of the technology in today's society. To view the contents, or place your order—www. geoplace.com/GPM Developed specifically for the geospatial academic environment, Geospatial Matters is the perfect teaching tool and a must-read for undergraduates, graduates, researchers, policy makers and others interested in GIS fundamentals. 3945 $ . Order online at www.geoplace.com/GPM Imagery/LIDAR Special Issue J A N U A R Y 2 O 1 3 / W W W . G E O P L A C E . C O M 11