Highlights for October 18, 2001

I. Key Department/Bureau News
Nothing to report this week.

II. Agency Work on Presidential Initiatives

• NBII to Promote Standards at the OFWIM Meeting November 4-7 in Portland, OR: Sharon Shin, of the USGS Center for Biological Informatics, and Bruce Wescott, Intergraph, will team teach a half-day workshop on metadata standards and program implementation, Tuesday, November 6th at the Organization of Fish and Wildlife Information Managers meeting. Sharon will also present "NBII Activities: the National Biological Data Profile and NBII Thematic and Regional Node Activities" on Wednesday, November 7th. OFWIM is a nonprofit organization that promotes the management and conservation of natural resources by facilitating technology and information exchange among fish and wildlife information managers. (Sharon Shin, Denver, 303/202-4230).

• NBII in New Publication on Ecological Forecasting: The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is highlighted in Ecological Forecasting: Agenda for the Future, a new publication produced by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Ecological Systems (CENR-SES). This four-color, educational piece examines ecological forecasting and its potential to help the science community enhance the way it anticipates and manages ecosystem change. Ecological forecasting, an emerging field, predicts the effects of biological, chemical, physical, and human-induced changes on ecosystems and their components. The NBII is a Web-based system, coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey, which focuses on accessing and integrating biodiversity and ecosystem information. The publication acknowledges that such a system will be essential for ecological forecasts. Other agencies involved in the CENR-SES interagency partnership include the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the Smithsonian. (Ron Sepic, Reston, 703/648-4218)

III. Notable Congressional Activity
Nothing to report this week.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries
Nothing to report this week.

V. Key FOIA Requests
Nothing to report this week.