Highlights for May 16, 1997
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• CBI Representatives at USGS IC, ITIC, IMDC, and NetTEM '97 Meetings: On May 12-15, several CBI staff members participated in USGS Information Council (IC) activities in Sioux Falls. Maury Nyquist and Peter Strong attended the IC meeting on May 12. On May 12-13, Nyquist led the Information Management and Delivery Committee (IMDC) Policy Workshop workgroup on incentives. He also participated in the IMDC Policy Workshop wrapup session on May 15. On May 12-15, David Duran, Harvey Fleet, Susan Stitt, Peter Strong, and Mike Zavori attended and made presentations at the Internet Services Technical Exchange Meeting "NetTem '97." Strong also attended the Information Telecommunications Infrastructure Committee (ITIC) meeting on May 13. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)
  
  
• CBI Representatives at BRD IRM Council Meeting: On May 14-15, Harvey Fleet and Peter Strong attended the BRD Information Resources Management Council meeting in Sioux Falls. One of the important issues decided was BRD's new Internet domain to replace "nbs.gov." (Peter Strong, Denver, 303/202-4246)
  
  
  

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives:

• CBI Representative to Speak at U.S. Forest Service Conference: On May 29, Sharon Shin of CBI will give a presentation on metadata documentation to U.S. Forest Service Region 2 foresters. Shin will provide a demonstration of NBII MetaMaker, the metadata data entry program developed by the USGS-BRD. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)
  
  

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries:

• CBI Butterfly Specialist Featured in Denver-Area Newspapers: On May 8, a Denver Post article about butterfly gardening featured Paul Opler's (CBI) work. On May 16, a similar article appeared in the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Dr. Opler is a member of the International Conservation Union's Survival Specialist Group task force on invertebrate conservation. He is on the USFWS recovery teams for the Oregon Silverspot Butterfly, the Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly, and the Pawnee Montane Skipper Butterfly, and he provides technical support to USFWS law enforcement agents and port inspectors. (Paul Opler, Fort Collins, Colorado, 970/226-9409)
  
  

V. FOIA Requests: No report.