Highlights for November 13, 1997
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• BRD Supports NPS Activities: On October 30, BRD representatives gave presentations on BRD activities and programs to support NPS activities at the Natural Resources Workshop for the NPS Rocky Mountain Cluster in Jackson, Wyoming. This meeting of NPS natural resource professional was designed to develop a natural resource science and research strategy for the Rocky Mountain Cluster (Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado). Ray Hermann of MESC and Frank D'Erchia of the BRD Central Regional Office gave presentations on BRD research activities in support of NPS natural resource activities and the Bureau Information Needs process, and Tom Owens of CBI discussed the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program and its status in the Rocky Mountain Cluster. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303/202-4259).
  
  
• NatureMapping Joins GAP: On November 6 and 7, Karen Dvornich, Director of the NatureMapping Program, visited Patrick Crist at National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) headquarters. While project coordinator for the Washington State GAP project, Dvornich developed NatureMapping, an education and outreach program that involves both schoolchildren and adults in collecting GAP field data. The effort was so well received that NatureMapping has been institutionalized by the State and has garnered interest and awards nationwide. The meeting formally established NatureMapping as an education and outreach component of GAP, while providing sufficient autonomy to allow a wide array of partnerships and biodiversity education opportunities. NatureMapping information is available through the GAP Web site <http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/gap> or by contacting Karen Dvornich at 206/543-6475. GAP is a proactive geographic approach to protecting biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system technologies are used to identify unprotected "gaps" that may be filled by applying alternative conservation strategies. The program is coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Division and is managed by the CBI. (Mike Jennings, Moscow, ID, 208/885-3555)
  
  
• Southwest GAP Dataset Update: On November 13, Gap Analysis Program (GAP) principal investigators from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah will participate in a teleconference with Mike Jennings and Patrick Crist of National GAP headquarters to discuss updating the GAP datasets of the five-state Southwest region. The update effort will seek greater partnering with State and Federal agencies and Tribes to achieve seamless regional coverages for land cover and vertebrate distribution. It will also take advantage of new techniques and multi-date satellite imagery for more detailed mapping of arid-land vegetation. GAP is a proactive geographic approach to protecting biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system technologies are used to identify unprotected "gaps" that may be filled by applying alternative conservation strategies. The program is coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Division and is managed by the CBI. (Mike Jennings, Moscow, ID, 208/885-3555)
  
  
• New York Goes GAP: On December 4, Mike Jennings, Tom Muir, and Mark Bain of the USGS Gap Analysis Program (GAP) will participate in the meeting "Making Gap Analysis Work for New York Waters" in Hyde Park, New York. Discussions will focus on the issues and challenges of extending the aquatic component of the USGS Gap Analysis Program from the Allegheny River Basin to all waters of New York State. GAP is a proactive geographic approach to protecting biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system technologies are used to identify unprotected "gaps" that may be filled by applying alternative conservation strategies. The program is coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Division and is managed by the CBI. (Mike Jennings, Moscow, ID, 208/885-3555)
  
  
• Washington GAP Report To Partners: The Washington Gap Analysis Program (GAP) project recently released a report on "The Role of Washington State's National Wildlife Refuges in Conserving the State's Biodiversity." This 86-page report to the FWS makes recommendations and sets priorities for individual refuges, based on Washington GAP's landscape assessment, and indicates potential areas of research and management for specific habitats and species. GAP is a proactive geographic approach to protecting biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system technologies are used to identify unprotected "gaps" that may be filled by applying alternative conservation strategies. The program is coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Division and is managed by the CBI. (Mike Jennings, Moscow, ID, 208/885-3555)
  

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.