Lidar Elevation Data and New Mexico's Economy

Agencies that manage land in New Mexico — federal, state, Tribal and local — worry about wildfire, wildlife habitat and flooding. In the cities along the Rio Grande corridor and in the rural northwest and southeast, they also plan around existing and new roads, buildings and other infrastructure, and many organizations manage and monitor the state's water. Much of that work depends on lidar (light detection and ranging), which produces a highly detailed three-dimensional model of the ground and everything on it.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) runs the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) with federal, state, Tribal, territorial and local partners to collect consistent lidar across the country. A USGS fact sheet sets out what it means for New Mexico.

What 3DEP collects

3DEP's goal is the first national baseline of consistent, high-resolution elevation data — bare-earth digital elevation models and 3D point clouds — from lidar everywhere except Alaska, where it uses interferometric synthetic aperture radar. Baseline data must be quality level 2 (QL2) or better, include digital elevation models at 1-meter resolution or better and the full point clouds, and meet the Lidar Base Specification version 1.2 or newer.

The data go into The National Map and are free to download, with no restrictions on use, from the National Map Downloader.

Status in New Mexico

QL2 lidar collection across New Mexico is complete — 100 percent of the baseline — paid for mainly by federal and local sources. The state has also identified mission-critical work that would benefit from the more detailed QL0 and QL1 data, which cost extra to collect.

Status of 3D Elevation Program baseline lidar data in New Mexico as of May 2024. Map: U.S. Geological Survey.

What it is worth

The National Enhanced Elevation Assessment, completed in 2012, conservatively estimated that lidar data would bring New Mexico at least $9.32 million a year in new benefits. The top business uses:

Nationally, the same assessment put 3DEP's benefits at a conservative $690 million a year, with potential for $13 billion a year more across the economy.

How New Mexico uses it

Infrastructure and construction. Ready-made lidar cuts the need for traditional topographic surveys in planning and cost estimates, and shorter planning saves public money. It supports preliminary highway alignment and design, assessing existing roads, combining geologic and environmental data, and hydraulic modeling to size bridges and culverts for runoff and floods from heavy rain.

Conservation. The state office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service works to deliver high-quality data and tools for conservation planning. In 2018 it worked with partners to acquire more lidar, released a soil-survey-based tool to predict juniper encroachment, and began the nation's first Soil Seedbank Suitability Rating Tool. Together with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it bought additional high-resolution lidar through the USGS to finish statewide coverage. Lidar gives elevations accurate to within less than a meter for conservation work.

Flood risk. Lidar makes hydrologic and hydraulic modeling more accurate and cheaper for flood studies, retention-dam design, dam-breach studies and stormwater engineering. It maps building footprints, paved surfaces and low spots that may flood, identifies vulnerable properties in flood plains, and feeds 3D models that show the public what a major storm could do.

Geology and hazards. Geologic mapping — of mineral deposits and of hazards — is faster and more accurate with lidar. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources publishes geologic maps showing faults, folds and cross sections, and an interactive resources map. New Mexico's mineral production in 2023 was worth $1.63 billion, mostly coal, copper and potash, along with industrial minerals, aggregate and stone, gold and silver; aggregate is essential for maintaining infrastructure and building new.

Taking part

Federal, state, Tribal, territorial and local governments and private companies can join 3DEP, and partners can pay for higher-quality data. They can put money toward USGS-managed projects or receive cooperative funds to run their own, through an annual Data Collaboration Announcement, and can contribute existing data that meet 3DEP standards. Details are on the 3DEP website, and available data can be found in the Lidar Explorer.

Sources

• U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2025–3014: "The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting New Mexico's Economy," citing the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (Dewberry, 2012), USDA NRCS's New Mexico FY18 annual report, and the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department's 2024 annual report. The map is reproduced from the fact sheet.