Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Curecanti National Recreation Area

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Curecanti National Recreation Area has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site.  Curecanti National Recreation Area products include aerial photography - graphic of orthophoto mosaic, spatial orthophoto data, and flightline index; project report - photointerpretation key, vegetation descriptions, vegetation key, photos of map class, and accuracy assessment; field data - graphic of field plots, field database, physical descriptive for plots and species list for plots; geospatial vegetation information - graphic of vegetation communities and geodatabase; accuracy assessment information - graphic of accuracy assessment points, and contingency matrix;  metadata, and a link to NPS information about Curecanti National Recreation Area. The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred four park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

(Photo: Curecanti National Recreation Area, courtesy of the Vegetation Characterization Program web site.)

USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) San Diego EcoInformatics Expands MultiTaxa Database

The USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) San Diego EcoInformatics group is continuing to expand the Multi-Taxa database by working with partners outside of the region. Datasets from the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) and National Park Service (NPS) are being evaluated for inclusion into the database. The partnership with the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program is continuing as we work toward integrating BIOS and the USGS MTX into their data management practices. For Further Information Contact the USGS San Diego Field Station.

(Photo: Golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia). (Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Vegetation Characterization Products Now Available for Kings Mountain National Military Park and Morristown National Historical Park

USGS-National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Characterization Program (VCP) documentation for Kings Mountain National Military Park and Morristown National Historical Park has been completed and is available on the VCP Web site.  The goal of the VCP is to classify and map the vegetation communities of National Parks that have a natural resource component. Complete documentation is currently available for one hundred four park units and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge units. The VCP is managed by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics in cooperation with the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The USGS Vegetation Characterization effort includes the management and upkeep of the VCP protocols, Web-based access to the standards, and the Web-based access to NPS Vegetation Characterization program finished products.

(Photo: Kings Mountain National Military Park, courtesy of the Vegetation Characterization Program web site.)

New Datasets Available Online at Biogeographic Information and Observation System (BIOS)

Five new datasets have been submitted to the Biogeographic Information and Observation System (BIOS). BIOS is the California Department of Fish and Game hosted infrastructure in the state to provide access from a single location to key biological datasets for habitat conservation planning and other activities by researchers and managers. Four datasets from CalTrans San Diego of vegetation mapping and sensitive species surveys from 2006 were submitted as well as a dataset of Wandering Skipper survey data conducted by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

(Photo: Screen capture of the BIOS online's California Department of Fish and Game - IMAPS Viewer)

Using Interactive Biodiversity Information System (IBIS) Data in Decision Making

The Northwest Habitat Institute used their Habitat Value System called Combined Habitat Assessment Protocols (CHAP) to resolve a 25-year old issue regarding the loss of wildlife-habitat caused by the construction and operation of Willamette River basin dams.  CHAP works in conjunction with the IBIS data sets, which are supported by the USGS National Biological Information Infrastructure Program (NBII). The mitigation for these losses is called for in the Northwest Power Act of 1980. An initial Settlement Agreement for $103 million was reached by the Bonneville Power Administration with the State of Oregon. These impoundments inundated 17,791 acres and using CHAP findings the Settlement Agreement calls for 26,537 acres. The CHAP approach gives Bonneville Power Administration and the State of Oregon a scientific rationale that is being explained to the public to justify the acreage amounts.

(Photo: Logo from the Northwest Habitat Institute web site)

Pacific Biodiversity Infromation Forum (PBIF) Pacific Islands Roundtable

The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas met in Apia, Samoa, this past summer. A key topic for the meeting was the monitoring and reporting of conservation efforts in the Pacific. PBIF currently chairs the monitoring working group. PBIF also supports the monitoring effort by providing online access to the reporting form(s) and maintaining the database for review and analysis. The Roundtable reviewed the results and supports the nascent reporting program.

(Photo: Lobelias in the understory of a native Hawaiian wet forest, Puu Kukui, Maui. Image: Elizabeth Speith (Public Domain))

Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC)

The USGS-NBII Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) has joined the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) Land Conservation Cooperative. The Node will serve as the data manger for PICCC projects and provide leadership for data management, development of the data model, and serving as the aggregation point for data and information related to climate change on Pacific Islands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has provided initial funding to allow USGS to participate. PBIN joins the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystem Research Center in this effort.


(Photo: Maui, Hawaii Coast Line. Credit: John J. Mosesso /life.nbii.gov)