Highlights for April 7, 2000
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• USGS Vegetation Map Aids Leafy Spurge Research. The recently completed vegetation map for Theodore Roosevelt National Park produced under the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program has proven to be a valuable tool for another USGS research effort. Ralph Root of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics is working with a team of researchers who are testing imaging spectroscopy for detecting and mapping leafy spurge infestations in the park. Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were collected in 1999 over the south unit of the park to examine the feasibility of using imaging spectroscopy as a technique for automated mapping of leafy spurge. Because leafy spurge was one of the vegetation types included in the park's new vegetation map, scientists are using the map to more accurately locate and extract spectra for this noxious invasive on the AVIRIS imagery. More information on the leafy spurge application can be found at http://biology.usgs.gov/hwsc/leafsp.htm; background on the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program is available at http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ . (Ralph Root, Denver, 303-202-4232)

• Coming Soon! Expanded VMP Web Pages. A new Web page is being readied that highlights applications of the data developed by the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP), illustrating the wide variety of uses being made of VMP products (e.g., park management, fire management, research, habitat modeling, and planning). They are provided in the hope that an application described for one park may promote a similar or modified application at a different location. Although these applications are not funded by the VMP, they are successful outgrowths of the program. Watch the VMP Web site http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ for this exciting new page to appear on or around April 17. The VMP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program. (Susan Stitt, Denver, 303-202-4234)
• USGS Experts Review GIS Studies. Maury Nyquist of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) has been requested to peer review an article for Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, the scientific publication of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. The article under review examines accuracy assessment of various geographic information systems-based viewshed delineation techniques and the likely causes of inaccuracy. Tom Owens of CBI is peer-reviewing an article for Regulated Rivers, a scientific journal pertaining to research and management of large regulated rivers. The article under review examines methods to determine the historical vegetation patterns of the Illinois River and compares those data with contemporary data derived from remote sensing methods. (Maury Nyquist, Denver, 303- 202-4217; Tom Owens, Denver, 303-202-4259)

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives:

• NBII Goes to Kindergarten. On April 3, Mike Frame of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics provided Denver-area kindergarteners with an interactive opportunity to view the National Biological Information Infrastructure (http://www.nbii.gov). Students and teachers enthusiastically explored the information accessible through the NBII, learned how it gets there, and talked about how both students and teachers can use this exciting biological information resource. Students were provided with handouts for use in viewing the Web site at home with siblings and parents. (Mike Frame, Denver, 303-202-4260)

• NBII Metadata Training Update. Jennifer Gaines of the USGS Office of Biological Informatics and Outreach and Judy Buys of the USGS National Wetlands Research Center will team-teach a one-day metadata workshop at the USGS Leetown Science Center on April 7, assisted by training host John Young. On April 17-18, Sharon Shin of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics, along with Gaines, will conduct a two-day workshop at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC), assisted by training host Scott Nelson. Shin will then travel to the GLSC Lake Superior Field Station April 20-21 to provide station staff with a two-day workshop. All computer-based workshops use MetaMaker 2.3, developed by the USGS. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303-202-4230)

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.