Public lands make up nearly a third of the United States, and an even higher percentage of Alaska and the American West. They range from national parks and open rangelands to coastal waters, and serve a myriad of purposes from wildlife protection to energy production.

For the federal government, managing Big Land also means managing Big Data. Agencies like the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service need to constantly collect and assess satellite imagery, monitor sensor data, read and produce regular reports, and track transactions with industry and the general public. But with climate change already changing facts on the ground, one former senior government official says the federal government