2026 Big Sky GeoCon - From Data to Design: Full Schedule

The Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals (MAGIP) looks forward to your participation at this year’s 2026 Big Sky GeoCon!

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8:00am MDT

Advanced Level ArcGIS Pro Parcel Fabric (1/2 Day AM)

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 12:00pm MDT

Alpine Room

NOTE: This workshop can be taken virtually as well, as Frank will be teaching the workshop remotely from his Florida office. Frank will provide the Zoom meeting link to participates the week of the conference.
Description:
This half-day workshop will extend the attendee's understanding of Esri's ArcGIS Pro Parcel Fabric and examine the effect and impact of the arcade language, attribute rules, the configuration of the project file, a discussion on branch versioning, options for dimensioning in an Enterprise environment, the line labeling expression, a review of procedures to correct issues within the parcel fabric and a discussion on condominium unit mapping. While a link to download the sample data and project file will be provided, it is recommended that the attendee primarily treat this as a lecture/demo/questions workshop.

Presenters

Frank Conkling

Owner, Panda Consulting

Frank J. Conkling, the Owner and Founder of Panda Consulting, a GIS Professional Services company established in 1998, possesses recognized expertise in GIS, Surveying, and Mapping technologies, particularly in mapping various land ownership interests.Frank’s involvement in GIS... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 12:00pm MDT
Alpine Room

Workshop

8:00am MDT

Intermediate ArcGIS Arcade (Full Day)

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 5:00pm MDT

Nordic Room

Description:
A defining characteristic of ArcGIS Arcade is the ability to apply simple or powerful operations to a set of features using single-line or short multiline expressions. This is a result of the relatively straightforward syntax, the core scripting capabilities, and the nature of the large number of built-in functions, which were addressed in the prerequisite Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade workshop. Building on the introductory foundation, this workshop will cover a range of intermediate topics, including (1) further focus on built-in functions and language fundamentals, (2) the value of and creation of user-defined functions, (3) the use of geometry functions for geoprocessing and feature creation operations, (4) the use of feature set functions to access datasets, (5) debugging expression code, and (6) monitoring and enhancing expression performance. The associated explanations and demonstrations will be supported by examples drawn from a variety of ArcGIS use cases.
Intended Audience:
GIS professionals familiar with using Arcade in ArcGIS applications and wishing to extend their capabilities beyond the introductory level.
Prerequisite Requirements:
Anyone wishing to attend this workshop must also attend or have attended the associated workshop, "Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade." An exception to this requirement will be made if the instructor is satisfied that your level of Arcade experience is such that attending the introductory workshop is not necessary. If required, please contact David at [email protected] to request a waiver.
The "Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade" workshop will be offered in person at the Big Sky GeoCon conference and also online via Northwest GIS on February 17th-18th, 2026. Please see https://nwgis.org/event-6459184 for details and registration for the latter. Details are also provided at GISPD.com/training.
Format and Technical Requirements:
The workshop will consist of a balance between lecture material and demonstrations, forming the basis for a flexible and interactive training approach. There will be plenty of time for discussion and experimentation, which will result in a rich and rewarding experience for everyone involved.
Attendees must bring their own laptop.
Setup:
Setup steps will be provided and must be completed prior to the workshop and attendees will be contacted to ensure that the required software is installed and that they can save workshop files onto their machine. Attendees are asked, therefore, to make sure they can be reached via the email address and phone number they used to register for the workshop.

Presenters

David Howes

David Howes, LLC

David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (dhowes.com) in Seattle, WA, specializing in the development of GIS tools, processes, and supporting infrastructure for a variety of clients from small operations to multinational corporations. With over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the United... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 8:00am - 5:00pm MDT
Nordic Room

Workshop

2026 Big Sky GeoCon - From Data to Design

8:00am MDT

Frank Conkling

8:00am MDT

David Howes

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