This draft project list was reviewed and refined during our 7/23 IRICC meeting. This work plan will be similar in structure to last year’s plan (see www.reo.gov/iricc). Each of the draft projects were reviewed, with updates provided on existing projects and fuller descriptions and scope discussed. At our next IRICC meeting project elements will be prioritized and described in greater detail. Work groups and participating agencies will be identified. The work groups will then establish individual project plans and timelines, and then reporting back to IRICC.
When this plan is finalized it will then be presented to the Resource Executive Interagency Council (REIC). IRICC was chartered under the Record of Decision as an information advisory group to the REIC. The issues and work plans of IRICC will directly affect the agencies under the RIEC. It is important that the agency executives understand these impacts.
Please review the following list of potential projects. A brief description is provided, but should not be interpreted as a complete nor final outline for each project. These elements are in no particular order. Draft project list for IRICC 2003 work plan:
Existing Projects:
1. Coordination of watershed boundaries.
Goal: Maintain the 4th through 7th level watersheds in a consistent manner across federal and state agencies. With the final release of the NW watersheds (7/3/02), agencies and individual are using these coordinated boundaries in a variety of projects and analysis.
Project Update: These boundaries are now being review by the NRCS for including into the national watershed dataset. The goal now is to maintain updates to the boundaries in a coordinated fashion, to ensure that changes proposed are consistently reviewed, applied, and distributed. The REO has contracted with ESRI to update the existing Hydro Framework Clearinghouse (http://hydro.reo.gov) to include watershed boundaries. This update will be delivered in September, with testing to follow.
IRICC: Federal and State agencies should continue with the excellent coordination which has taken place to date. The Watershed Clearinghouse will require testing, agency data stewards trained on the functions of the clearinghouse, and support provide to update the data coordinated through the clearinghouse.
2. Development and maintenance hydrography dataset.
Goal: Develop a consistent dataset of spatial and attribute hydrography information across all federal and state agencies.
Project Update: Workshops were hosted in May to integrate various hydrography data set into one on 49 basins in the PNW. These were successful, and these decisions by the hydrologists and existing data is now going to a contractor to begin the merging of data. The final result will be 2 datasets, one in NHD format and one in LLID. The LLID format will be loaded into the Hydro Framework Clearinghouse.
IRICC: Significant resources have been committed by the FS, Oregon, Washington and BLM in this effort. IRICC members should focus on how to continue this support, and provide additional. We need to begin the process of scheduling integration workshops for this winter in order to continue this process. The need is that with the clearinghouse operational that potential users need to be made aware. IRICC will need to brief the executives, listing the project and it’s benefits. California Forestry, Fish and Game, Park Service and FS have developed a 1:24 hydrography LLID coverage. This will include a cross reference to NHD. It is near completion. Intent is to include this in the clearinghouse. Densification is an issue with some teams. For those areas where areas have not been densified the Monitoring team would be willing to help bring those to the same level. Coordination is needed with the Power Planning Council coordination efforts.
3. Transportation information coordination.
Goal: Intergovernmental
Resource Information Coordinating Council (IRICC)*, and by extension, the
Regional Ecosystem Office (REO), has committed to the cooperative development
of a transportation dataset encompassing Washington, Oregon, and northern
California. That resource will then
support many levels of operations, research, and analysis throughout the
region. In order to meet the broad
requirement for a single transportation dataset, our immediate goal is to
collaterally compile a comprehensive coverage for all of Oregon and Washington
of the best available transportation data for all ownerships, thereby reducing
redundant data collection efforts and bridging to a future shared road data
clearinghouse.
Project Update: A workshop is scheduled for 12/11 to begin this project.
IRICC: Support the development of this baseline transportation dataset.
4. Coordination on Restoration Project Tracking.
Goal: Coordination the collection and distribution of aquatic restoration project information.
Project Update: REO has compiled BLM, FWS and FS data for 1998 - 2001 projects in addition Pacific States Marine Fisheries has been coordinating with California on entering their restoration projects into Streamnet and will be distributed through the Calfish web site. Idaho and Mont have also input data. An interagency effort to restore culverts on FS and BLM lands has decided to use the REO tracking system (IRDA) to track progress on these culverts.
IRICC: Continued support for tracking restoration project information. . Continue to Coordinate with Columbia Power Planning Council project and their efforts. An extensive information needs analysis is being conducted by contractors for the Council, interviewing many agency representatives. IRICC should focus on coordination with this effort.
5. Interagency web site coordination.
Goal: Develop an interagency forum where agency web masters can share information and coordinate web sites.
Project Update: The IRICC web page has been moved from www.iricc.org to www.reo.gov/iricc. Meeting minutes, project information, etc, is now being posted here.
In coordination with agency web sites Scott Erkert is coordinating a forum group. Several conference calls have taken place with positive results and sharing. One focus now is coordination with state agencies. Meeting minutes should be published on the IRICC web page. An update on the group is suggested for the next IRICC meeting.
6. Project: Land Use Allocation (LUA) Update.
Description: Since the 1994 implementation of LUA’s, land
management agencies have been correcting and updating LUA’s. The goal of this project is to coordinate
these updates, compile a new LUA regional map, and to analyze the changes on a
regional basis.
Progress: A team of agency planners has been convened from
BLM, FS, FW&S and REO for Oregon, Washington and California. An update strategy has been developed,
clarification of LUA descriptions developed, and a data call drafted. This data call will be initiated with the
REO, with each agency then compiling this data from their field units. The REO GIS expects a high workload for
compiling and analysis of the agency data sets.
Delivery of this product is expected January, 2003.
New Projects:
7. Coordination of approval and implementation of IRICC data standards and standard data sets with state and federal governments.
Goal: The IRICC charter establishes a process for federal executive approval when data standards and standard data sets are proposed. This project will facilitate the adoption of datasets at the federal and state levels, coordinating with the established state processes for adopting standards.
8. Coordination with the NFP Monitoring team on storing, maintaining, and distributing data.
Goal: Similar to item 4 above, extensive coordination is needed with the development of Monitoring information and it’s maintenance in coordination with IRICC data sets.
9. Can ESRI technology of Geodatabase and ArcIMS be used to share and distribute data.
Goal: This new technology offers the possibility of meeting some basic user requirements for data sharing. At this time there is little operational experience of this technology. Develop a team to investigate this technology, pilot it and report back on the possibilities.
11. Coordination of cut history or activity tracking.
Goal: There are a variety of agency, project and monitoring requirements for tracking land management projects across agencies. Currently the only coordination is through the restoration project tracking and IVEG (Interagency Vegetation Mapping Project), contains a change detection component, but was not develop to track activities. The Monitoring team is compiling some of this information. FWS in Region 1 is developing a tracking db. Now developing a business process study, and developing an interim db without a spatial component. NMFS has a section 7 database, but does not have a spatial component. BLM is discussing the development of an agency database. The monitoring team is developing a compliance database, tracking projects according to the Forest Plan. An update from NMFS would be appropriate.
13. Coordination of ISMS species information and the national heritage program. ISMS and Heritage is coordinating. An update should be scheduled from the team on ISMS and this coordination. We will look for an update from the ISMS team on this coordination.
14. Fish/Hydro information coordination. Bring together the major programs regard fish and hydro db projects and needs analysis to get an understanding on all that is going on. Stan Allen coordinate the development of a one day workshop, with REO and IRICC support