Highlights for January 15, 1999
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• Lotusphere. During the week of January 17, John Clark and Peter Strong (USGS Center for Biological Informatics) will attend Lotusphere in Orlando, Florida. This conference will provide many opportunities to learn about the current and upcoming versions of Lotus Notes and to meet with other Notes users from around the world. Both Clark and Strong will be involved in the implementation of Notes throughout USGS in the coming months. (Peter Strong, Denver, 303-202-4246)
  
• Geospatial Technology Coordinators Plan Workshop. On March 16-18, the BRD Geospatial Technology Coordination Group (GTCG) will hold their annual meeting at the USGS Florida Caribbean Science Center in Gainesville. The GTCG, composed of representatives from each BRD science center, will discuss geospatial technology issues of concern to BRD and USGS as a whole, including decision support systems. They will also plan for a November 1999 BRD-wide Geospatial Technology Workshop, which will be hosted by the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. To find out who the GTCG representatives are, and more about the Geospatial Technology Program, visit the Web pages at <http://biology.usgs.gov/geotech>. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303-202-4259)
  
• USGS Kicks Off Zion Vegetation Mapping. On February 17-19, as part of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, the USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) will sponsor a scoping meeting to plan for the vegetation mapping and classification of Zion National Park. The meeting will be held in Springfield, Utah. Participants from the USGS Biological Resources Division, the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, the Utah Natural Heritage Program, the USDA Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management will discuss issues relating to the assessment of specific park needs and the organization and implementation of the Vegetation Mapping Program at Zion. Possible applications of data developed by the Program include fire management, monitoring of rare plants and communities, and creation of an invasive plant inventory. The USGS Center for Biological Informatics provides management oversight and scientific guidance to the program. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303-202-4259)
  
• Providing Better System Support to BRD: On January 26-28, Peter Strong of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) will be attending AIMS training for IRM support personnel at the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. CBI provides system support to AIMS implementation throughout the USGS Biological Resources Division. (Peter Strong, Denver, 303-202-4246)
  

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives:

• AIBS Reviews Biological Data Profile: On January 25 and 26, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), under contract with USGS (using FGDC funding), will coordinate an outside peer review of the major issues and comments resulting from the public review of the draft Biological Data Profile of the FGDC's Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata. The panel will prepare a consensus report on these issues and comments for the FGDC Biological Data Working Group. Dr. William K. Michener, Associate Scientist at the J. W. Jones Ecological Research Center, will chair the panel. The Biological Data Profile's purpose is to provide a user-defined or theme-specific profile of the FGDC content standard for geospatial metadata to increase its utility for documenting biological resources data and information. This standard will thus support increased access to and use of biological data among users on a national (and international) basis. It will also help to broaden the understanding and implementation of the FGDC metadata content standard within the biological resources community. (Susan Stitt, Denver, 303-202-4234)
  

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.