The NBII Mid-Atlantic Information Node (MAIN) is a collaborative project between the USGS NBII, Virginia Tech's Conservation Management Institute, Penn State Institutes of the Environment, and other regional partners to facilitate access to and encourage use of biological resource information across the region. NBII worked closely with these regional stakeholders to develop a strategic plan that provides guidance for node activities. The MAIN encompasses Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Scientific and natural resource management professionals are active in the region, resulting in an abundance of datasets that are often computerized but not easily integrated into the public decision-making process. Our approach is focused on encouraging coordination and cooperation among these professionals in order to provide the tools for data sharing, integration, and visualization that support the management, conservation, and restoration of the region's biological resources.
The Mid-Atlantic region is unique in its ecological breadth. While dominated by the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, the region's natural features vary widely, from Frasier fir forests in the Central Appalachians to important wetland areas such as Blackwater Marsh and the Great Dismal Swamp. The region is also characterized by a range of biological resource problems and stressors, including a large and rapidly growing human population. Issues such as pollution, endangered species, invasive species, acid precipitation, habitat fragmentation, urbanization, transportation, sprawl, and water quality are the subject of much public discourse. These factors combine to create a strong need for coordination and collaboration among the many stakeholders involved in biological resource management.
Please use the information below to contact us with any questions or comments you may have about the Mid-Atlantic Information Node.
