Highlights for May 7, 1998
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• USGS Kicks Off Glacier National Park Vegetation Mapping: On June 9-11, CBI will sponsor a scoping meeting to plan for the vegetation mapping of Glacier National Park in West Glacier, MT. Participants from the USGS, NPS, The Nature Conservancy, Montana Natural Heritage Program, the USFS, and Canada's Waterton Park will discuss issues relating to assessing specific park needs and the organization and implementation of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program at Glacier. Glacier National Park, at 1,000,000 acres, is the largest park to be mapped thus far as the Program moves from its start-up phase into full production. CBI administers and directs the scientific activities of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303/202-4259)

• BRD Chief Biologist Attends NTM Briefing: On May 4, NMD staff provided the Chief Biologist and Jim Getter (OBIO-CBI) with a briefing on National Technical Means (NTM) and National Civilian Applications Program (CAC) activities. The briefing provided BRD senior management with an overview of NTM projects other USGS Divisions and civilian agencies are participating in. On May 6, Getter represented the BRD at the monthly CAC meeting. These classified meetings provides overall civilian applications coordination of NTM projects. Project status reports were provided as well as discussions of future activities. (Jim Getter, Greenbelt, MD, 301/286-8635).

• USGS Participates in DOI-NASA Hyperspectral Imaging Coordination: On May 6, Jim Getter (OBIO-CBI) facilitated the DOI-NASA Hyperspectral Imaging Technical Transfer Project coordination Video/Tel conference. Representatives from BRD, GD, NMD, BuRec, NPS, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Office of Earth Science, and the University of New Hampshire discussed the four pilot projects (Owyhee Reservoir, OR; Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND; Congaree Swamp National Park, SC; and Great Plains area, OK. NASA will provide data acquisition aircraft support, which must be closely coordinated with field sample collections. The conference provided for last-minute coordination between NASA and DOI. More information concerning this project can be found at <http://biology.usgs.gov/hwsc>. (Jim Getter, Greenbelt, MD, 301/286-8635)

• USGS Leads FGDC Discussions: On May 6, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Biological Data Working Group, including chair Maury Nyquist (CBI) and executive secretary Anne Frondorf (OBIO), met at the U.S. Forest Service Auditors Building in Washington, DC. Topics included how new cladistic classification systems are likely to affect existing taxonomic hierarchies and standards, plans to submit the Biological (a.k.a National Biological Information Infrastructure) Profile of the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata to the FGDC Standards Working Group in June for approval to go out for official public review, progress on development of a proposal for the Integrated Taxonomic Information System to be forwarded to the FGDC Standards Working Group for their approval as an official standards activity, and a presentation about biological data and information management standards interests related to the Long Term Ecological Research network. A representative of the FGDC Sample Inventory and Monitoring of Natural Resources and Environment (SIMNRE) Working Group also presented information about the potential for SIMNRE to be merged into the Biological Data Working Group because of the inactivity of this working group since SIMNRE's initial charter goals were reached. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303/202-4217)

• USGS Provides MetaMaker Training to EPA: On May 19-20, Sharon Shin (CBI) and Jennifer Gaines (OBIO) will present EPA Region 3 staff with a two-day workshop on the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Metadata Standard and NBII MetaMaker, the BRD-developed metadata documentation tool. The workshop was arranged through Technology Planning Management Corporation in Annapolis, Maryland. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230)

• NSDI FY 2000 Initiative: On May 4, Jim Getter (OBIO-CBI) represented BRD and the Geological Survey Geospatial Data Committee at a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) FY 2000 NSDI Initiative meeting. This budget initiative includes the USGS, the Interior Geospatial Data Committee, and ultimately the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC). John Moeller, FGDC Staff Director, chaired the initial meeting, the first of several meeting that will take place over the several weeks. (Jim Getter, Greenbelt, MD, 301/286-8635).

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.