Highlights for November 20, 1997
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• USGS Provides Badlands With Aerial Photos: On November 14, CBI provided Badlands National Park with more than 2,000 9- 9-inch prints of 1:12,000-scale color-infrared aerial photos of the Park taken in June 1997. These photos are a product of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. They will be used by the NPS in their management and natural resource activities. A second set of prints and the original transparencies will be used to delineate vegetation classes and will remain in the custody of the Bureau of Reclamation while their staff are preparing maps showing vegetation distributions in the Park. Upon completion of this mapping project, the original transparencies will be archived at the EROS Data Center, where they will be available for future reproductions. The second set of prints will forwarded to the Park. The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program is a cooperative effort by the USGS Biological Resources Division and the National Park Service to obtain uniform, consistent, baseline data on the composition and distribution of vegetation cover types for NPS units to aid in their management. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303/202-4259)

• CBI Provides Geospatial Technology Mentoring: On November 18, Maury Nyquist of CBI responded to a request for assistance from a University of Southern Illinois graduate student. The student requested assistance in designing his master's thesis topic, which related to potentially using remote sensing, geographic information systems, and Global Positioning System technology to assess seasonal habitat parameters for bison in relation to their seasonal movements in the Greater Yellowstone Area. Nyquist provided general background information, potentially feasible approaches, information on existing data sources, and contact information for others who might provide additional assistance. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)

• DOI High-Priority Base Mapping Needs To Be Addressed: On November 21, Maury Nyquist, BRD's representative to the Interior Geographic Data Committee Base Mapping Working Group, will attend a Working Group meeting in Denver. The Working Group coordinates and adjudicates the annual DOI High-Priority Base Mapping Requirements process. Several million dollars are allocated by OMB each year to aid in the production of DOI bureau base mapping needs. Discussion topics will include the status of the FY 1998 production program, including multi-year high-priority areas; the FY 1999 program and the effects of alternative funding cap multipliers on requirements production, future vector/graphic strategies, and preplanning of the FY 1999 requirements solicitation process. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)

• NSDI Grant Allows USGS To Provide Four Corners Region With Metadata Training: On January 13-14, Sharon Shin of CBI will provide metadata training to University of New Mexico Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) staff and personnel from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The EDAC recently received a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Benefits Grant for educational assistance to promote awareness and adoption of the NBII (National Biological Information Infrastructure)/NSDI metadata clearinghouse. Shin's presentation will include NBII/NSDI concepts, including the NBII/NSDI Clearinghouse and use of NBII MetaMaker, the metadata capture software developed by the BRD. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.