Current Natural Resource Information Management Conditions  Diversity of Information Content  Spatial Scale - from genes to ecosystems  Temporal Scale – that’s biological science  Both biological and non-biological information  Numerous Formats  Napkins to GIS including tabular, graphic, text, video, audio, physical specimens  Providers provide data – Users seek knowledge

Current Conditions (cont.)  Numerous Independent Locations of Holdings  Desktop corners, old floppies, hard drives, libraries, websites, home offices, back rooms  More Mandates Regarding Collection, Management and Dissemination  EO – “standardized documentation”  NEPA – provide environmental effects of management actions to decision makers & public  FOIA – access to federal documents  Unit and Project “Mandates”

Current Conditions (cont.)  Multiple Stakeholders  Providers - data “owners”, support staff, archivists, budget personnel, webmasters  Users – resource managers, K-PhD, business, policymakers, researchers, public interests  Numerous Controlled Vocabularies & Thesauri  Integrated Taxonomic Information Service Database  Global Change Master Directory Keyword List  NBII Thesaurus (early 2001)  WMC’s Recommended Watershed Terminology  NRCS Climate Glossary  “Local” and Individual Keyword Lists

What do I need? Where can I find it? How do I get it? What the Information User Sees Clara Weaver

What the Information Provider Perceives I’ Mandate Citation I really want to make my information available, but at what price? Fred the Fish Biologist

Worldwide Web You Say? Look Again  550 Billion Documents Available - 1 billion indexed through conventional search engines  Quality Assurance? – anyone can contribute and “recontribute”  No Standards for Vocabularies – a “tree” is not always a tree  Is the Information Sustainable? When was it produced, has it been updated?

Challenges  Easy Access for All Levels of Expertise  Turning Data into Knowledge - Usable  Making Contributions Simple  Low Cost  Interoperable Searching  Persistent Information  Provide Quality Assurance  Encourage the Use of Standards