Highlights for March 12, 1999
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• USGS Assists USACE with Vegetation Project. USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) scientist Tom Owens was invited to a March 4 meeting sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to demonstrate a Web-based tool that facilitates classification of vegetation communities. The system will be implemented at Fort Hood, Texas, and will also serve as a prototype for vegetation classification at other military bases. Owens, with other Federal and NGO scientists, provided comments and feedback on the design and implementation of the Web tool and classification of Fort Hood's vegetation communities. The USACE is planning to use the U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS) for vegetation community classification on military bases. The NVCS is the Federal Geographic Data Committee standard for classifying vegetation communities; CBI is implementing the NVCS in the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303-202-4259)
  
• USGS-University of Colorado Collaboration on NPS Data Analysis. On March 3, in follow-on to two visits made to the University of Colorado by USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) staff, Associate Professor Barbara Buttenfield and one of her graduate students visited CBI. Discussions centered on USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program and USGS Gap Analysis Program datasets, and the possibility of analyzing them as part of a master's thesis. Datasets for Voyageurs National Park were proposed as a good first candidate for the project. (Mike Mulligan, Denver, 303-202-4242)
  
• Kansas GAP: On March 10-17, USGS Associate Chief Biologist for Information Gladys Cotter, Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach Science Liaison John Mosesso, USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) Center Director Mark Fornwall, and CBI staff members Mike Frame and Mike Mulligan will attend the Kansas State Gap Analysis Program (GAP) meeting at the University of Kansas Natural History and Biodiversity Research Center. They will meet with Kansas GAP representatives about program status and direction in the state. (Mike Mulligan, Denver, 303-202-4242)
  

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives: No report.

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.