Spatial Datasets

Here's is a look under the Data Basin hood this week:

1.  Functional Enhancements:

The software develpment team is working toward a deployent of updates later this week.  This will include better handling of emails / in-system messages and several other changes described in last week's update (Tiger by the Tail). 

In my August blog post about abstaining from plastic, I referenced a site describing the detrimental effects of plastics in our oceans and briefly mentioned the “garbage patch” in the North Pacific Gyre. Many people allude to this large concentration of plastic waste when appealing to the public to ban plastic bags or increase plastic recycling programs. Recently, there has been some debate about the actual size of the plastic waste expanse in the North Pacific Gyre.

 On behalf of the Southern Sierra Partnership, I am delighted to post our recently completed Framework for Cooperative Conservation and Climate Adaptation for the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains and associated datasets.

Over my career I can’t recall how many paper napkin maps I have digitized into datasets.

The theme of the annual Ecological Society of America meetings this year was climate change. One talk I listened to really stands out in my mind. Tom Stohlgren (USGS Fort Collins) gave a thought provoking talk about the role of invasives  species (harmful plants, animals and diseases from other countries) in shaping the world we live in.

I'm a new subscriber to Data Basin working on climate adaptation for The Nature Conservancy's California field program. Part of my position supports a cooperative conservation planning process in the southern Sierra by forecasting potential vegetation responses to future changes in climate. My goal is to help put a face on what climate change may mean for the species and places our group cares most about.

In the entryway to the Conservation Biology Institute offices is a map we printed in 2004 of the Late Seral Forest of the Pacific Northwest, that was displayed in the American Museum of Natural History.

Protected areas are important to each person in their own way.  Be it a special spot, a rare habitat or unique ecosystem, we all have our reasons for caring.  While I care deeply about the intrinsic value of protected areas, I also care about the data that helps us catalog these places.  One of CBI’s recent projects is PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition) dataset, a national inventory of protected areas.

Conservation is all about place, so it is not surprising that mapping plays an integral part in successfully addressing today's conservation challenges. A couple of years ago, the Wilburforce Foundation asked me if our organization (Conservation Biology Institute or CBI) would be interested in helping develop a new website that would address the common disconnect observed between conservation science and conservation practice paying particular attention to mapping solutions. Their original vision and support has allowed for the creation of this important new website - Data Basin.

We're now part of the way through the 2009 ESRI User Conference in San Diego, presenting our redesign of Data Basin (more info on this later). So far we've had several great meetings with folks to show them Data Basin and get new ideas of things to build to better address their needs.

See us in the Conservation Hall (ballroom 20d) until Thurs at 1:30 PM. Lots of exciting new developments to show off!