Summary of the Northwest Environmental Data-Network

Mission:

To improve the quality, quantity, and availability of regional data and related information on fish, wildlife and their aquatic and terrestrial habitats using a publicly supported approach to information systems management.

Background:

The NED approach is based on a formal information management needs assessment (300k PDF) completed in 2003 by Scientific Applications International Corporation and subsequently reviewed within the region.

Project team and MOU:

A NED Steering Committee has been established to support cooperative actions through an MOU. Current signatories include NPCC, NOAAF (NWRO and NWFSC), EPA, BPA, WA Monitoring Forum, OR Geographic Information Council, British Columbia Integrated Land Management Bureau, CRITFC, USACE, PSMFC and State of the Salmon Consortium.

Regional data management challenge:

The history of information system development in the Pacific Northwest region is, for the most part, ad-hoc. Typically, as different agencies, institutions or projects needed to manage information they mostly went about it independently, creating for example, their own databases, collection methods and reports. While there have been some efforts at consolidation or standardization they have not succeeded or been sustained across the basin as a whole.

These individual information systems are called disparate systems because they often don’t share the same operating system or language, don’t collect data of uniform quality or description and usually cannot “talk” directly to each other.

Over the last 15 years the Internet, geographical information systems, geographical positioning systems and advances in database technology have created technical ways to knit information from these disparate databases into common systems.

Many agencies and organizations legal responsibilities require decision making based on good science and in many other areas our work depends on environmental data that is: verifiable, highly defined, of high quality, accessible via internet technologies and is based on consistent or comparable methodologies and standards. Many of these needs are not being adequately met.

Response to the challenge:

NED is working cooperatively on actions and joint activities to improve the collection, management and sharing of environmental data and information. For example NED goals include supporting and coordinating production of a regional data dictionary, the common use of query tools to metadata and the development of a data networking plan with funding support. NED is interested in supporting or helping to develop agreements, standards and protocols and the technology necessary to improve data sharing and discovery across multiple regional partners, and in identifying and promoting administrative and organizational and funding arrangements needed to support regional data management. NED does not intend to be a provider or a manager of data.

With effort, organization and the adoption of information system standards and protocols it is possible to create information systems that can “connect the dots” across disparate systems. The potential of connected systems to inform and improve regional decision making and outreach is very high for (at least): subbasin plans, project planning, salmonid recovery, scientific monitoring, water allocation and power generation and many other purposes.

Operational principles:

• We need agreements to work together on the challenges
• Collected data should be available for multiple uses and levels of users.
• We must focus on the entire data cycle: from collection to storage to analysis
• Data sharing and discovery depends on common understanding of terminology and the improved use of standards and protocols
• We must work with existing regional efforts
• Long-term organizational and administrative arrangements are necessary
• Open standards for data sharing and discovery are preferred
• Compliance/consistency with state and national data protocols is necessary

Project team and work groups:

Apart from the core work of the Steering Committee, NED is coordinating consistent approaches for data discovery and sharing in and across the following subject areas:

• Salmonid Monitoring and Research
• Subbasin Planning
• Water Quality
• Regional Upland/Riparian Habitat

Each of these subject groups also has “cross content” data management issues:

• how to manage regional project and project performance data (NED is contributing to the development of consistent data dictionary elements for regional projects),
• how to network and share data (NED is deploying a Regional Data Management Portal), and
• how to consistently use spatial and temporal data (NED has developed Best Practices for Reporting Locational and Time Related Data).

Work groups have been established (or are planned) in NED for these "cross content" issues.

With others NED has sponsored workshops in 2005 (attended by 85) and 2006 (attended by 125) to complete outreach on regional data management and promote discussion and cooperation on needed solutions.

For more information on NED please contact Stewart Toshach () at 206-860-3495 or Peter Paquet () at 1-800-452-5161.