IRICC Meeting Notes

February 3, 2004 9:00-4:00

 

Duane Dippon IRICC Co-Chair (BLM)

Full agenda for the day with the goal to re-inventory agencies tasks, interests, technology, user groups and build a network of partnerships and support.  MOU for IRICC has full Regional Executive support both from Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.  IRICC is still part of our agency organization with an important role to play.  Here to identify how to help each other accomplish today’s tasks.  Identify techniques and what corporate agency data is being maintained, and what data agencies are looking for.

 

Terry Hobbs (BLM)

Currently moving to Citrix Server Farm, have pre-release of ARC9 with master sets of base data housed on the new servers.  By 2008, Bureau to complete implementation from ARC Library/AML’s to SDE and ARC GIS environment.   Actively involved in maintaining Hydro Clearing House (Dan Wickwire).

Base Data DEM, DRG’s, and DOQ’s seamless datasets for Oregon/Washington with 1-degree coverage into Idaho/Nevada/California/Canada.  Datasets are 10-meter resolution with 90,000 x 85,000 pixels, very large files with feature level metadata.  Working through ARC GIS vertical integration between themes building seamless statewide data for all themes.  Interagency vegetation mapping is online.  Data Integration workshops scheduled for March/April Hydro-Clearing House.  ARC IMS Public site is functioning.

 

Kim Rivard Co-Chair (FS-R6)

IRM re-organization implementation began in May 2003, creating Customer Service Area’s CSA’s with 3-5 National Forests per CSA.   IT/GIS/WEB/Geometronics support services provided through CSA’s.  Data Assets & Geospatial Services Program Group, with Kim as the manager, includes geometronic program areas, remote sensing, aerial photography, cartography and the Data Standardization Group with Ken Adee as the lead to coordinate standardization of FS corporate layers and Debi Kroeger, as data administrator.  Nora Holmquist is the manager for Data Systems Program, including Geospatial Tools Group and Oracle Group.  FS Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) has Oracle application modules for Water, Terra, Fauna, Air, Geospatial Interface Tools, Human Dimension all developing spatial components.  National Application INFRA contains Oracle and spatial components for road/range data and ALP houses Oracle and spatial cadastral and property information.

A-76 Competitive Sourcing IT-Services, Most Efficient Organization (MEO) bids were due Jan. 31, 2004 affecting hundreds of employees.  Decision expected in April.  GIS is not currently under study.

Working on ARC GIS plan, testing ARC SDE loaded by CSA.  Region 6 implementing SDE at CSA level other FS Regions may be implementing at Forest Level.  Business process re-engineering is being conducted in other functional areas of the FS. 

 

Bob Mobley (FS-R5)

Northern/Southern Province Organization, working for Data Stewards in the Regional Office under a functional organization, coordinating with Natural Resource/GIS/IRM.  Goal to have National Applications up and working by the end of 2004, preparing for challenges moving to ARC GIS/ARC SDE while waiting for the National applications to complete migration to the new platform.

Not centralized, work for the Forest not Regional Office, strength is from working at local levels.

8-10 years ago tried province organization and it didn’t work.  FACTS application, used for management of ground disturbing activities information, includes fuels data, prescribed data, needed for monitoring getting good data captured for where disturbance occurs.  NRIS-Water, 1:24,000 on FS lands done in March, funding used to capture crenulated streams into water.  Some work on 7th field watersheds.   NRIS Fauna installed on Forests.  Core Layer funding for finalizing layers for use with FS scripts to move into SDE.  Soil, Dev Rec Sites/Trails Heritage, ALP finalized boundary, ownership. Vertically integrate existing spatial covers.  R5 Remote Sensing Lab-Sacramento working on vegetation 1:50,000 updates. Survey & Manage Species using the Fauna(Wildlife) database rather than ISMS.

Dr. Dave Hulse, (University of Oregon)

EPA funded effort affiliated with NWFP, joint Federal & University consortium, Pacific NW Ecosystem Consortium.  Four million dollars over three years, set of layers available on website. Willamette River Basin Planning Atlas, document published  (Sold Out).  ARC IMS tools at Oregon State University.

Institute for Natural Resources, functional at state level like the Natural Resource Council functions on the national level.  Conducts studies, scientist serve as neutral reviewers.   Web based portal support for future approximately six months away, serves as public access to data, with library function, with little or no GIS software needed.  Other efforts like Lane Council of Governments, Metro 2040, regional efforts are taking on their own studies.  Efforts of integrated partnerships are producing results such as the Willamette Restoration Initiative and Oregon Plan for Salmon.

 

Cy Smith (Oregon-Geospatial Enterprise Office)

Oregon Spatial Data Clearing House moving to ARC9, datasets moved into Oracle with SDE.

Using ARC IMS to provide data access with simple applications. Utilizing ARC Metadata Server.

OSU Virtual Oregon group, incorporated metadata, framework data with Geospatial One-stop link.  FGDC clearinghouse node through Geospatial One-stop state link is now functional.

ESRI is software of choice, working to get state license that would allow local County Governments to purchase at reduced cost.  Building framework layers through processes of collection and integration.

Thirteen defined layers with hazards being the newest layer added to the framework.

Transportation committee built the data model in coordination with 330 road authorities.  Part of participation in developing the model was to identify the funding mechanism.  Public safety, emergency call answering points, is contracting to have the centerlines input into GIS.   Find ways to work smarter not harder, funding mechanism is key.   Working with USGS, FEMA, and other federal government agencies to coordinate.  OGIC establishing access policy, working on model Oregon State, Fed, Local, and Academic.  Support the URISA model for GIS certification, active board member for URISA, Oregon Chapter.  National coordination achieved between states through participation in the Western Governor’s Association.  Building business case to present to the Governor in March.

 

Doug Terra (Oregon-Watershed Enhancement Board)

Working in collaboration with the Natural Resource Institute, OWEB-board members, citizens and federal partners, the Oregon Plan focus is on bringing folks together without bureaucracy.  Constant inclusive communication focused on what the needs are, what common questions are, what decision making process is required.  Local restoration groups working on the ground, 5-10 years.  Endorsed by OGIC and OWEB board approved strategy.  Generating a virtual library, the Willamette Basin Study now into portal, through the Basin Explorer models natural resources, economic development and public safety.  Collaboration fosters understanding of users needs and partners people with questions together with knowledge management system (contact info), information management system (tools) and data management system (clearinghouse/standards).  Oregon Plan basin level collaboration/communication Request For Information (RFI) is on Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board website, response generates understanding of user needs, what people have what questions, facilitates partnership to bring clarity to the Oregon plan.   RFI is aimed at building a basin level prototype.  Monitoring team is also working hard on collaboration efforts.  IRICC has endorsed the Oregon Plan model of collaboration in work. 

 

Dave Wischer  (Washington Department of Natural Resources, DNR)

Lost eight positions, Carrie Wolfe is now working with internal data stewards bringing standards in.

GIS Manager struggling with funding cuts the primary focus is on DNR not external associations.

Still committed to data conversion from hydro to framework, western watersheds done and eastern watersheds should be done by June.  Some work continues on data integration between state and federal agencies.  Transportation work has been deferred while work on hydro is being completed.

Adopting framework model for cadastral, shared effort in the state.

The Citrix server farm is currently running in test mode.  Core data sets are centrally located from migration to ARC 8.3 software.   Developing migration plan for SDE/Oracle.  Working through the issue of how users will edit data in SDE issues with topology rules, feature datasets and challenges of vertical integration between themes.  Five ARC IMS sites, two on the internet and three internally.  Working on problem with Client server/web form, Oracle not supporting the client environment.  .Net was adopted for development, it is quick to learn and easy to use to develop simple applications.  Using ARC Server/Arc Engine with Moxie Media software.  Support User Group approach to the business changes, finding a common ground and providing a forum for discussion or software issues.

 

Dale Guenther (FS R6 Fire & Aviation, State & Private DADA)

Putting together the Engine/Tender Contracts, working through the issue of how to manage the Sensitive Information OMB Certification on the WEB.  Preparing GIS Fire Contracts, to provide support to incident management, would like agreements in place before fire season, using FedBizOpps.   Have a vacancy announcement out for Interagency GIS position, will be coordinating and gathering data sets, providing data coordination and warehousing function.  Position is located out at the airport.  Working with the PNCG, director level interagency group, in support of fire, with a chartered subgroup to provide seamless data sets and develop standards.  Planning on having hard drives preloaded with incident data to provide to GIS support personnel when arriving at incidents.  Developing a single source fire boundaries data set.

Data Administration representative for State/Private, Fire, Aviation, Ecology participated in a national level Data Management Conference.  This effort was initiated through Nancy Graybeal, presenting the need for our national applications to establish and use corporate tables for standard data.  State codes, organizational code this type of standard data needs to be warehouse managed with assigned data stewards.  Tactical subgroup outlined draft reference data to standardize.  Strategy subgroup worked on strategy to present to the national Information Resources Board.  Spring workshop scheduled to work out tactical implementation and layout policy.

Kansas City Computer Center NITC website (located in KC with hub in Fort Collins)

Department of Agriculture has working agreement to facilitate web access.

 

Randy McIntosh (NWIFC-Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission)

Worked on the Salmon & Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Project (SSHIAP) for the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife currently assigned to work with the NWIFC.  The Tribes are an integral part of cooperative management of natural resources, to network, coordinate and collaborate with.  They have a functional data portal.  SWIM, is the Salmon Watershed Improvement Management system.  Working with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife on cleaning and routing salmon distribution working through the framework process to get their changes into DNR.  Monitoring strategy for Western Washington determining state of watershed health.  Using ARC 8.3 have copy of ARC IMS. 

 

Dana Collins (BPA Bonneville Power Authority)

Currently going through IT reorganization, uncertain where GIS will fit into the organization.

Working on transmission lines for the state of Washington.  Projects meet fish flow, adjust power grid, and adhere to entitlement agreements.  Interested in other agencies updated GIS themes.  Have GIS data for Substations and Utility lines.  Using ARC GIS 8.3 going to ARC 9 using SDE.  Cleaning up existing data sets for conversion to NAD83.

 

Roberto Morganti (NWFP Northwest Forest Plan Monitoring Program)

Inter-agency effectiveness monitoring works in partnership to monitor the implementation of the NWFP.  Monitoring Aquatic Riparian/Watershed health, Old Growth Vegetation, Northern Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, Social and Economic components within Oregon, Washington and Northern California.  Tribal Government consultation module is also part of the monitoring program and provides for in person communication with over 76 tribes.  General Technical Reports (GTR’s), are the NWFP guidelines followed, what was the effect to critical habitat species populations, economic stability, respecting treaty rights, adaptive management practices.  Providing scientific credibility and peer review at the 1:24,000 scale monitoring an area of 100,000 sq miles of which 81,000 sq miles is federal lands. Effectiveness monitoring is both broad landscape and site specific.  Old growth vegetation monitoring is at 5-acre resolution.  Road and stream crossing, sampling rather than complete coverage.  Land use allocations, zoning needs to be at the scale of 1:24,000.  Looking at system approaches.  IVMP-Interagency Vegetation Mapping Project is at 25-meter resolution, using to identify old growth stands across the NWFP area.  Eight demography areas, site specific interactions needed for owls and marbled murrelet, how big is the population, where are nesting locations, composition of stand important or are the just looking for big trees?  Social Economic Model is a sampling model, questionnaire.  Information data sets of Land Unit Allocations, Roads, and Streams are still not available for the extent of the NWFP.  Interpretive Report is due in 2004.   Working through the scientific, analytical and information management challenges.

 

Steve Lanigan (AREMP Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program)

Multi Federal agency funded to increase effectiveness of monitoring efforts.  Using random sample of 250 watersheds, sampling 50 watersheds per year with a rotation of five years (6th Field HUC).  Watersheds chosen using random distribution, mostly on Federal lands.  GIS data collection includes IVMP for OR/WA vegetation and CalVeg for CA, Roads utilizing best available data and streams reach scale, random site selection.  Using decision support model to evaluate what condition the watershed is in.  The watershed condition score is determined, evaluation of condition distribution analyzed to determine maintaining or improving conditions of the watershed.  Migrate monitoring results to NRIS (FS)/ARAIMS (BLM) or Oracle Data Base.  Develop agency crosswalks for protocols, funding and coordination.

The following GIS layers are critical to this program (AREMP)

            6th Field Watershed                              Landslides

            1:24:000 Streams                                 Harvest History

            Vegetation (IVMP)                               Fire History

            Roads layer w/ attributes

 

Jennifer Bayer (PNAMP Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership)

Provide a forum for coordination of interagency Watershed and Salmon Monitoring Programs in the Pacific Northwest.  Respond to mandate for coordinated monitoring, share resources and data, enable more cost effective and compatible monitoring.  Increase accountability of natural resource management actions.  Technical groups are established for watershed condition evaluation, project effectiveness, fish population monitoring and data management and exchange.  Steering committee provides interaction with agency Executives.  Expand efforts beyond Northwest Forest Plan to more broad geographic scales with the goal of a fully integrated monitoring program.  Seeking funding for project coordinator position. 

Expand beyond NW Forest plan to more broad geographic scales. www.cbfwa.org/rme.htm

 

Stewart Toshach (CBCIS Regional Project Team)

Regional Information System challenge accountability for project performance, ability to answer scientific questions, need for an up-to-date consistent regional data network.

NPPC/NOAA Fisheries initiated development of a Cooperative Information System for the Columbia Basin, and engaged SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.) to survey, engaged focus groups and came up with forty-three recommendations of what would be needed to develop a comprehensive information system.

Findings included lack of authority of mechanism to fix the problem of inconsistent datasets, no leadership to take on the problem of disperse data sets, need to develop common protocols, inventory data and consolidate of information.  Need a Regional network strategy, building on existing data management efforts, target area to focus for advancement, develop a regional administrative data stewardship framework with a focus on sharing and locating data.  Need to develop data network for standards and protocols including project performance, data collection, data reporting and sharing, quality assurance, metadata, and document the deliverables, location data, map coordinate projection, sampling stations, calendar date and data dictionary all should be included.

PNAMP user group (biologists/scientists/others) define the aquatic monitoring program. Then translate aquatic monitoring into data management needs, define data management, coordination and administration needs. Developing the potential data network of coordinated regional aquatic monitoring through data collection methods, statistical sampling ‘frame’, data qa/qc triggers, metadata templates and data sharing specifications, rules and tools.

 

 

 

Rich Kang (Northwest Fisheries Science Center-Seattle)

Engaged in tactical data management issues, providing tools, mechanism to share data.  Rather than email and static web pages engaging in all encompassing project tracking system and collaborative website.  A one-stop project archive providing forum for discussion with capacity for documenting what members have discussed.  Utilizing oracle to add and track more than just GIS project related plan and products ability to include member contributions, their write-ups and discussions.  In business collaboration with Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) created database to query and share through oracle forms in oracle database.  Building tools for their scientist’s and collaborators, working with a number of agencies, pilot studies providing this service.

http://webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/index.asp

 

Bill Bogue (USEPA-Seattle Regional Office)

Very excited about and interested in presentation at CBCIS Regional Project Team meeting this morning, demonstrating efforts of the Pacific NW Water Quality Data Exchange Project.  Connecting databases via pre-established data exchange templates.    

Will arrange for demonstration of EPA sponsored National Environmental Information Exchange Network, approach for exchanging environmental data between federal EPA, states and other partners.  Demonstrates success for exchange of water quality and facilities information.

Have established a working model to automatically/semi-automatically accomplish data set updates.

EPA technical innovation dollars are available to tribes to collect data.

Has a high interest in interagency collaboration and coordination.

 

Dan Avery,  (USFWS R1+Calif. & Nevada Operations)

The national agency will most likely join in the efforts with Department of Interior, draft regional strategy for GIS, should be out mid/late summer.  GIS functions within programs.  Current effort is underway to index data and input into the spatial data contract database, to increase communication and accountability of data purchases.  Using ARC 8.3, have a team working on what it means to move to ARC9.  Concerned that they still be able to serve data to the public during the transition.  SDE/SQL server and IMS site to provide data to the public, also secure IMS sites working with USGS Fort Collins connecting to test use.  Interested in data exchange between agencies.  Have Critical Habitat and Refuge Boundaries available.  National effort is underway to define a critical habitat standard.   Fort Collins to house the data product and layers used to build, providing IMS functionality and a single Critical Habitat Layer on one site for everyone to use.  Using data Geospatial One-Stop Portal.

 

Stan Allen (Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission)

Sponsor of Stream Net, Bruce Schmidt is the Program Manager, now spending 80% of his time in California.  Decentralized organization, regional driven biologists, data techs/field techs hired locally.

CalFish cooperative public website www.calfish.org.  Working on restoration project data, database system development and template for other restoration data.  Working on Fish Tagging Recovery (Adult Salmon Monitoring) workshop in Santa Cruz.  Coastal California involved in an all-encompassing monitoring plan.    100K NHD line work routed and fixed, state wide hydro coverage.  The 1:24K NHD is being completed in pieces throughout California.  Southern Forests being done first, Northern California should be in Personal Geodatabase by mid March.  Forest line work generally matched cartographic feature files.  Pit Tags/main stem passage information.

 

Ian Reid (NRCS Portland)

Agencies national priority is conservation planning, working with the private sector to develop plans to conserve soil.  Provide Customer Service Tool Kit with a spatial component.  Modernizing, using ESRI software, plan to migrate field office applications to ARC GIS9.  County level database is aggregated to national level, checked out to Field Service Center.  Lead agency for Soil Survey Program, survey is completed through in-house processing of data, currently using ARC8.3 migrating to ARC GIS Geodatabase.  National Agriculture Imagery (NAIP), 2-meter color imagery.  Agency sponsors a Geospatial Data Gateway, for data transfer through ftp or on CD, DRGS, DOQS, Tiger Data, census, transportation, hydro. Interested in hydrology efforts.

 

 

Group Discussion facilitated by Duane Dippon (IRICC Co-Chair (BLM))

 

Rich Kang is willing to collaborate with IRICC and provide resources and put together database in support of inventory of what data is available, who the data steward or point of contact is.  Long term, mid term, and short term process, verifiable, traceable, data management, potential for collaboration. 

 

IRICC group has not previously sponsored web access for showing what layers are being developed regionally.  Initiatives are developing inter-organizational to agree upon protocols, standards and stewardship.  Data Quality Act, when making management decisions, need to look at whether the data is the right data to use.  Goal is to build maintainable datasets, not just a snapshot in time. 

 

IRICC membership expressed consensus to build an inventory of the business data that is maintained by each agency.  Send list of what data agency has with FGDC standard metadata and what projects agency is working on to dkroeger@fs.fed.us for inventory posting.  Setup infrastructure to assist folks in getting there jobs done.  Squeeze value out of existing datasets.  Inform members of agency efforts, like Fish & Wildlife Service critical habitat on national level. 

 

Interest expressed to provide a forum for sharing of technical experience and functionality of GIS Software Versions, Geodatabase, WEB Services, a technical user group to communicate with.

 

Future meetings strategy discussion identifying topics for consideration such as IRICC website, models of successful collaboration, how to assist with coordination and integration of data, identifying opportunities to further support and providing a deliverable product to address common issues like Presidents Forest Health Initiative, State Framework Efforts, Salmon Recovery, Monitoring etc.

 

CBCIS Team asked for representative from Forest Service to replace Dale and representative from IRICC.  Duane Dippon will represent IRICC and Debra Kroeger will represent FS R6 Data Administration.

 

Scheduled IRICC 2004 meetings dates, April 29, August 5 and November 2.

Attendees:

Duane Dippon                    Kim Rivard

Dan Avery                          Jennifer Bayer

Bill Bogue                           Dana Collins

Dale Guenther                    Terry Hobbs

Dr. Dave Hulse                   Rich Kang

Steve Lanigan                     Randy McIntosh

Bob Mobley                       Roberto Morganti

Ian Reid                             Cy Smith

Stan Allen                           Doug Terra

Stewart Toshach                 Steve Waste

Dave Wischer                     Debra Kroeger