Presentations from the
7th Annual OFWIM Conference
Baltimore, Maryland
November 1st-5th, 2002

WRIS/GAP/NDIS and ReGAP: Evolving Information Systems: State, Federal, NGO Data Sharing and the Future (a State Perspective) (Schrupp)

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) and other state agencies, charged with statuatory responsibilities to manage and protect the wildlife of the state, have long traditions of collecting scientifically based information for use in managing the resource. The geographically dispersed staff of professional, biologically trained field personnel (Area and District Wildlife Managers, Habitat, Terrestrial and Aquatic Biologists, and Wildlife Researchers) have provided institutional opportunities to collect important observational information. Early development of the Division's Wildlife Resource Information System (WRIS) provided the people, hardware and software for the collection, storage, retrieval and analysis of data on the States wildlife resources. Much of this information has been delivered back to the scientific community and our publics via web-based technologies like the Natural Diversity Information Source (NDIS: http://ndis.nrel.colostate.edu ). Federal agencies have similarly mandated responsibilities for the protection of our wildlife resources, vested in many management and regulatory agencies (USFWS, USFS, BLM, EPA, ACE, etc.) that have developed their own institutional information resources, with many of these evolving to web-based resources. Much of this work is being catalyzed by the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) endeavors. Additionally, universities and non- governmental organizations have programmatic interests in the wise stewardship of our wildlife resources and their own pools of expertise for the collection, analysis and dissemination of scientific information. Given the mosaicked nature of public and private lands on which to manage these resources, all parties have acknowledged the need to manage our resources on an ecological unit basis. The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) efforts [and more recently, Regional Gap Analysis (ReGAP) endeavors] have provided an effective method for integrating , encapsulating, and evaluating information from these varied sources. As with any evolving technology, limitations encountered in its implementation have suggested new opportunities for developing new information, models, tools and capabilities. We will review these and discuss the multi-institutional benefits that await our collaborative efforts.