Highlights for February 11, 1999
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• USGS Provides GPS Assistance to United Nations Program. Karl Brown of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics provided handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver information to a UN Forestry Assistance Organization (FAO) Project scientist from Uganda who is working on Nile Basin water resources. The information helped the FAO team determine the proper GPS tools for rough positioning during field surveys in tropical forests. (Karl Brown, Denver, 303-202-4240)
  
• USGS Partners with University of Colorado. On February 5, Mark Fornwall, director of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI), and staff members Mike Frame and Mike Mulligan met with University of Colorado Associate Professor of Geography Barbara P. Buttenfield and several graduate investigators to discuss possible avenues of collaborative investigation. Buttenfield will visit CBI in the near future to further hone topics of mutual interest, particularly regarding Gap Analysis Program and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program datasets. (Mike Mulligan, Denver, 303-202-4242)
  
• FTS2001. On February 9, Peter Strong of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics represented BRD (via teleconference) at a meeting of the FTS2001 group. This group is planning for an upcoming DOI meeting in Phoenix with the vendor who will replace AT&T under the old FTS2000 contract. When the new contract is finalized, DOI agencies will begin transitioning all FTS2000 services to the new contract. (Peter Strong, Denver, 303-202-4246)
  

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives:

• New Listserv for Amphibian Task Force. On February 8, at the request of Assistant Secretary Bill Brown, Peter Strong of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics created a new listserv mailing list for the Federal Task Force on Amphibian Decline and Deformities. The new listserv, called TADD, will be managed by Dan James, BRD Headquarters. (Peter Strong, Denver, 303-202-4246)
  
• Science Centers Host NBII Metadata Workshops. On March 2-4, Sharon Shin of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics and Jennifer Gaines of the Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach will present an NBII Metadata Workshop in Sacramento, California, hosted by William Perry of the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center. On March 16-17, they will conduct another NBII Metadata Workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado, hosted by Diane Schneider of the USGS Midcontinent Ecological Science Center. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303-202-4230)
  

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.