Highlights for August 22, 2002

I. Key Department/Bureau News

• USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Data Update: The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program has updated its website (http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/), adding field plots and geospatial vegetation data and metadata for Rock Creek Park at http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/rocr/index.html. In addition, Field Reconnaissance Photo Albums have been added to four parks, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Voyageurs National Park. These Albums illustrate a variety of locations in and around each of these parks and the people and activities involved with each of these vegetation mapping projects. The goal of the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Documentation is currently available for 13 parks, plus 5 parks are linked with their work ‘in progress’. Documentation includes aerial photographs, photo interpretive signature keys, field data (field sites, physical descriptive and species list data), geospatial vegetation information, accuracy assessment information, metadata, mapping reports, and links to National Park Service information about the respective park unit. The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. (Karl Brown, Denver, 303-202-4240)

• National Vegetation Classification System a Tool for Incident Management and Homeland Security: USGS Scientist, Karl Brown, will present the National Vegetation Classification System as a tool for incident management and homeland security to the California Urban Forest Conference September 12-15 in Visalia, CA. Mr. Brown will speak on the concepts of NVCS and vegetation characterization to assist disaster management and preplanning for homeland security. Wildland urban interface vegetation both beautifies and threatens interface communities with fire. Vegetation data paired with fuel types and stability ratings can assist incident management teams in a variety of natural and man-caused disasters. Scalable data on vegetation and other physical factors will contribute to modeling, planning, and managing events to contribute to homeland security in the estimated 22,127 affected communities and 11,376 with interface near Federal public lands across the United States. The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. (http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/) (Karl Brown, Denver, 303-202-4240)

II. Management Reform
Nothing to report this week.

III. Notable Congressional Activity
Nothing to report this week.

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

V. Key FOIA Requests
Nothing to report this week.