Highlights for July 23, 1999
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• Virtually LUHNA. A Land Use History of North America (LUHNA) Virtual Conference is currently under way until July 31. The goal of this conference is to review and evaluate current LUHNA products and to gather input to define LUHNA for the future. A second virtual conference is planned for August to review the development of CP LUHNA (Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau). Join in at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~caucus/luhna.html; home page at http://biology.usgs.gov/luhna/new/. LUHNA is jointly funded by the USGS and NASA. The project strives to understand the relationships between human land use and land cover change, and assesses implications for the future. (Susan Stitt, Denver, 303-202-4234)
• OBIO Assists FRESC IM/IRM Activities. On July 28-29, staff from the USGS Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach and its Center for Biological Informatics will visit the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) to discuss major accomplishments within the information management arena at FRESC, current abilities/skills, and FRESC's ultimate vision for information management related to BRD information resources management activities. (Mike Frame, Denver, 303-202-4260)

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives:

• OBIO-WERC Team Up with UC-Davis. Capitalizing on issues of common interest, including California science databases, staff from the USGS Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach and its Center for Biological Informatics will visit the USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) and the University of California-Davis July 26-27. The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and "NBII-2" concept as well as other ongoing projects at both sites will be major topics for collaboration. (Mike Frame, Denver, 303-202-4260)
• NBII-2 Collaborations in Western Region. Staff from the USGS Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach (OBIO) and its Center for Biological Informatics will meet with Western Region staff on August 5-6 to discuss the next-generation NBII, known as "NBII-2." The meeting will be hosted by the University of Washington. Participants will describe the OBIO-President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology vision for NBII-2, discuss Western Region coalition capabilities with respect to biological information, and identify future prototype/pilot projects the group will undertake. (Mike Frame, Denver, 303-202-4260)

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.