Highlights for July 30, 1999
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

• Agencies, University Join Forces for Noxious Weed Study. On July 6, as part of a NASA-DOI cooperative technology transfer project, Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were collected over the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park as part of a study to examine the potential for detecting and mapping invasive leafy spurge in the park and its surroundings. Under this program, the USGS, NASA, the University of California-Davis, the National Park Service, and the Agricultural Research Service joined forces to support ground data collection during the week of July 5 to coincide with the scheduled NASA AVIRIS overflight from its ER-2 aircraft. The ground spectrometer data will be used for calibration of the AVIRIS data, and for creation of ground-referenced spectral libraries of leafy spurge and other plants with which it associates. It is hoped that use of advanced remote sensing techniques will enable accurate identification and mapping of this noxious weed, whose invasion of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and surroundings has become the park's primary natural resources management problem. The research team also hopes to follow up this work by comparing orbital hyperspectral data from NASA's EO-1 hyperion sensor with results from the 1999 AVIRIS mission. NASA expects to launch the EO-1 mission later this calendar year. (Ralph Root, Denver, 303-202-4232)

• BRD, GD Scientists Address Ecosystem Issues. On July 29, Ralph Root of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics and Adam Davis of the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program discussed ways to ascertain the relationships between ecosystem health and geological information by determining spatial auto-correlations of certain parameters. Use of the NBII as well as other biological data sources will be explored. (Ralph Root, 303-202-4232)
• Laser, GPS Technology Used for Vegetation Mapping. During the week of July 26, Karl Brown of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics assisted Northern Arizona University (NAU) researchers with difficult positioning solutions for Vegetation Mapping. Using laser rangefinders and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, NAU researchers will be able to measure offsets and obtain GPS coordinates of unreachable targets to assist in the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. Brown also trained staff at the USGS Flagstaff, Arizona, office in the operation of and techniques for the laser. The project will assist in classification of approximately 39,000 acres. The USGS Center for Biological Informatics provides management oversight and scientific guidance to the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. (Karl Brown 303-202-4240)

• ESA Vegetation Classification Workshop. An overview of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program will be presented at the Ecological Society of America (ESA) workshop, "Using the Proposed National Standards for the Floristic Levels of Vegetation Classification in the United States: Associations and Alliances," July 30-August 1. The ESA is working in cooperation with the Federal Geographic Data Committee and The Nature Conservancy to support and enhance the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS). The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program has been using the NVCS in its mapping and classification projects in national parks and has expanded the classification significantly. The USGS Center for Biological Informatics provides management oversight and scientific guidance to the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. (Tom Owens, Denver, 303-202-4259)

• NBII-2 Collaborations in Western Region Address Endangered Species Issues. Staff from the USGS Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach (OBIO) Center for Biological Informatics provided an overview of the National Biological Information Infrastructure--the NBII--to the Tri-County Endangered Species Act Executive Committee. The Committee consists of elected officials and other leaders, led by the county executives of Snohomish, Pierce, and King Counties, who are working together to determine how best to respond to the salmon listing. The overview emphasized the importance of an information management strategy and highlighted specific components of the NBII (metadata standards, ITIS, and controlled vocabulary) that may be useful to the group. (Jean Freeney, Seattle, 206-220-4616)

• NBII Metadata Training Workshop. On July 12-13 and 14-15, the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) and the BRD Central Regional Office hosted two 2-day NBII Metadata Training Workshops at the CERC facility in Columbia, Missouri. A diverse group of 36 individuals attended, representing BRD, NMD, NRCS, USFWS, EPA, the Great Plains International Data Network, Environment Canada, Holloman Air Force Base, and the state of Missouri. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303-202-4230)

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.