Highlights for August 29, 1997
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• GPS Support to Partners: During the week of August 22, Karl Brown, CBI, coordinated a complete upgrade of Minerals Management Service (MMS) military-type Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers for the end of FY 1997. Offshore oil platform and other MMS positioning capabilities will improve from about 8 meters to an average of 4 meters, without corrections. In support of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, CBI provided geospatial information systems support, two GPS receivers, and field assistance by Tom Owens to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument and Fort Laramie National Historic Site. (Karl Brown, Denver, 303/202-4240)
  
  
• National Technical Means in Alaska: Maury Nyquist (CBI) has been invited by the Civil Applications Committee to attend the Alaska Imagery Derived Products Users Conference in Anchorage on September 10. The focus of the conference is to view and discuss recently released derived National Technical Means products for various civilian applications. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)
  

• NBII at Work at Arizona CPSU: On August 14-15, Harvey Fleet (CBI), James Getter, and Anne Frondorf (both OBIO)traveled to the University of Arizona Cooperative Park Studies Unit (CPSU) to review their program and discuss continued collaboration on the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Using NBII funds, the CPSU in 1994 constructed an NBII node, which it still maintains. The CPSU consists of 8 staff plus 18 graduate students. Projects and activities include the Arizona Gap Analysis Program, about 20 geospatial information systems (GIS) projects for the NPS, an online library of Arizona geospatial data, and many GIS and data management projects in conjunction with the University's Advanced Resource Technology Group. The CPSU is currently focusing its activities on database management. Possible initiatives include tying into the State National Spatial Data Infrastructure Clearinghouse, metadata training, controlled vocabulary, and online tools for ecosystem analysis. (Harvey Fleet, Denver, 303/202-4224)
  
• FGDC Standards Working Group Meeting: On August 26, Anne Frondorf (OBIO) and Maury Nyquist (CBI, via telephone conference) attended the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Standards Working Group (SWG) meeting. The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) proposal and the draft Metadata Encoding Standard were reviewed and approved for the public review stage following minor editorial and formatting changes. Once public review of this annex to the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (version 2.0) is completed, final development of the NBII metadata standard (Metadata Content Standard for Biological Resources Data) will be completed and will be brought to the SWG for approval for the public review stage. Another topic of major discussion was whether the FGDC and the SWG should narrow or broaden its focus so that more standards, which may not be inherently geospatial (e.g. taxonomy, systematics, bench research, etc.) could have the appropriated FGDC standards developed. The consensus of the SWG seemed to favor broadening the scope of FGDC. Since the proposed FGDC Biological Data Working Group was passed by the FGDC Coordination Group earlier this month, it would appear that a broadening of the scope of FGDC is the prevailing view. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)
  

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.