Historical Information Gatherers (HIG) services

If you need to see a site over a span of decades, our sets of historical aerial photographs can provide the most complete picture available. HIG has one of the largest in-house collections of historical aerial imagery in the United States. Historical aerials are often used by environmental consultants, engineers, planners, wetlands specialists and history buffs. They can also be used to determine where to collect soil and groundwater samples during a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment.

City directories are often the only cost-effective way to identify past occupants of buildings – including occupants that may have created environmental issues. This research can also help historians and other researchers understand how the mix of commercial and residential properties has changed in cities and neighborhoods. HIG has a huge in-house collection of scanned city directories, crisscross directories, digital phone books and other similar publications to supplement your research.

Environmental consultants need accurate and complete data – including correctly mapped database listings and the right amount of detail to help identify possible risks. We also try to make sure that we give you the information you need without giving you a bloated report full of redundant information or blank data fields. Our environmental database reports, compiled from multiple government agencies, can help you identify recognized environmental conditions (RECs), historical recognized environmental conditions (historical RECs), controlled recognized environmental conditions (CRECs) and other real or potential environmental issues at your site and at surrounding properties. Information may include:

FIM online is our new online subscription service that provides user-friendly access to our unique and extensive historical map collection. HIG’s owns the world’s largest digital collection of color fire insurance maps, real estate atlases and similar land use maps for North America. Our high definition, color and gray-scale images display important historical details not visible on black and white map scans.

Across the country there are many collections of historical resources held by libraries, governmental agencies and private entities that haven’t been digitally preserved or georeferenced. There is so much information in these valuable documents — making them electronically available to your employees, consultants or patrons in a searchable, time-saving format can make a significant difference in productivity.

Railroad, energy, government and private clients often need extensive collections of data for corridors or large areas. We excel at uncovering hard-to-find historical information that’s vital to preparing reports and designs for complex projects. For example, we recently completed a 250-mile railroad corridor project that included multiple sets of historical aerial photography spanning seven counties in one state and eight in another. This photography was delivered in GIS-Ready (georeferenced) format for ease of use. When you use our GIS-Ready Historical Aerials and Historical Maps for your project, you can move back in time with the click of a mouse. You can view a series of maps and aerial photographs, usually spanning several decades, of any location within your project area. This makes reviewing your aerial photographs and maps a breeze!

Whether you’re getting a loan for a property purchase or plan to self-finance, complying with ASTM E1527 means that a search for environmental liens as well as activity and land use limitations (AULs) is required. For example, you might discover that a release of hazardous chemicals at your site could prevent your planned redevelopment unless you first remove contaminated soil. Owners and purchasers of commercial real estate need to know what land use limitations they need to comply with so they can address environmental issues during the due diligence process and purchase agreement negotiations. Some companies that supply environmental lien search reports rely only on information that is available online. In our experience, an accurate search typically requires that an experienced title researcher visit the land title recorder’s office to search for and provide copies of the most current and accurate information.

When you’re preforming a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, having information contained in local records can make all the difference in forming a complete picture of a property or business. Getting access to the local records may be the only way to discover possible issues that are not obvious during a site visit and not included in database reports.