Highlights for October 30, 1997
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• CBI and Denver Museum of Natural History Working Toward Partnership: On October 23, Donna Mahoney, Gary Wagoner, and Mike Jennings (all CBI), hosted a meeting with representatives from the Denver Museum of Natural History (DMNH) and the Colorado Division of Wildlife to discuss working cooperatively on museum collections software tools and data. The DMNH has many non-government, Federal, State, and local government partners, and is a member of the Colorado Alliance of Biodiversity Collections Universities with the University of Colorado, Denver University, Colorado State University, and the Colorado Schools of Mines. Under their Biodiversity Initiative, the DMNH is currently working with partners to create a database network and to provide access to regional specimen, object, and records data maintained by partner agencies and organizations. They also are creating a geographic information system database documenting the ecological distribution of DMNH specimens, objects, and records from the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain areas. (Donna Mahoney, Denver, 303/202-4238)
  
  
• BRD Network Addresses Successfully Transitioned: On October 24, the transition from "nbs.gov" addresses to "usgs.gov" addresses was made for all of BRD's Wide Area Network activities, which includes E-mail and WWW serving. Preparations for this transition have been in the works for many months. Peter Strong is on the USGS Domain Name Services Transition Team, which is comprised of BRD and OPS personnel. Peter Strong and John Clark of CBI, and Dave Bergstedt of EMTC implemented the transition. An important component of the transition has been updating the USGS Locator system with all BRD employees. John Clark (CBI) has been coordinating this ongoing, large-scale effort. (Peter Strong, Denver, 303/202-4246)
  

• GPS Overview Presented At FEMA Data-Gathering Meeting: On October 29, Karl Brown of CBI gave an invited overview briefing on the Global Positioning System (GPS) to participants of a FEMA data-gathering meeting in Denver. Staff from USDA-NRCS, FEMA, DOI-BOR and mapping contractors were in attendance. The opening overview of the technology provided the basis for attendees to assess GPS options for disaster mapping by FEMA. (Karl Brown, 303-202-4240)
  

• United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity: On November 3-4, Gladys Cotter (OBIO) and Mark Fornwall (CBI) will visit the Secretariat of the International Convention of Biological Diversity in Montreal to discuss issues related to the Convention's Clearing-House Mechanism for Biological Diversity. Specific items to be discussed include Internet connectivity and the future direction for the Clearing-House Mechanism. (Mark Fornwall, Denver, 303/202-4220)
  

• "State Implementation of the NBII Metadata Profile" Presented: On October 14-16, Sharon Shin (CBI) and Jennifer Gaines (OBIO) attended the Federal Geographic Data Committee Competitive Cooperative Agreement Program's Framework and Benefits grant kick-off meetings in Tempe, Arizona. Shin presented a review of the Benefits Grant proposal, "State Implementation of the NBII [National Biological Information Infrastructure] Metadata Profile" that was recently awarded to CBI. Under this one-year grant, Shin will be working with representatives from the Fish and Wildlife Information Exchange, Organization of Fish and Wildlife Information Managers, and the USFS to develop an NBII metadata profile training workshop and materials for State-level implementation. JGaines presented a workshop on MetaMaker, the metadata data entry tool developed by the BRD. Both presentations were well received and resulted in training requests from NOAA, Charleston, South Carolina; the USFS Sitka National Forest, Alaska; the State of Hawaii's Geographic Information Coordinating Council, and the Earth Data Analysis Center/University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)
  
  
• NBII MetaMaker Training Coordinators To Attend Instructor's Course: On November 3-7, Sharon Shin (CBI) and Jennifer Gaines (OBIO) will attend the Instructor's Training Course at the USFWS National Conservation and Training Center in Shepardstown, West Virginia. The training is intended to improve instructional skills for the current NBII MetaMaker workshops and future programs being offered BRD-wide, to other Federal, State, and local agencies, and to non-government organizations. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)
  

• CBI To Represent USGS At International Union of Biological Sciences: On November 14-19, Gary Waggoner (CBI) will represent the USGS in meetings of the International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI), Species 2000, and the Taxonomic Database Working Group of the International Union of Biological Sciences in Taipei, Taiwan. He will brief these groups on several related BRD activities, including the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the Taxonomic Resources and Expertise Directory (TRED), and the new BRD initiative to develop and implement an "Electronic National Natural History Museum" to provide easy access to collections-based biodiversity information for the Nation. Waggoner has been nominated to the Board of the IOPI, representing the USGS. (Gary Waggoner, Denver, 303/202-4222)
  
  
• NBII Metadata Profile to be Presented at the Association of American Geographer's Applied Geography Conference: On November 14-17, Sharon Shin of CBI will attend the Association of American Geographer's Applied Geography Conference in Albuquerque and will give an invited presentation on metadata and the National Biological Information Infrastructure profile. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)
  
  

• CBI Participates in International Meetings: On November 5-7, Mark Fornwall and Gary Waggoner of CBI will participate in the G7-Environment and Natural Resources Management Project's Meta-information Topic Working Group meeting in London. The principal topics of discussion center around information policy and standards for the new Global Environmental Information Locator Service (GELOS), which will serve as the G7's international clearinghouse for environmental data, meta-information, and metadata over the Internet. The GELOS has already effectively supported access to information resources required by the global conventions on climate change and biological diversity, as well as other information resources voluntarily submitted from more than 50 countries. The GELOS will be demonstrated at the Third Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP-3) in December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, and at the Fourth Conference of the Parties on Biological Diversity (COP-4) in May 1998, in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Gary Waggoner, Denver, 303/202-4222)

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.