ODWC
Geographic Information System (GIS) Agency Plan
Progress Report: August 2001-June 2005
Goal I: Develop and manage geo-referenced data
related to fish and wildlife resources in
Concept: The ODWC has
accumulated vast amounts of natural resource data collected and archived in
varying formats and locations throughout the state. While our agency is “data
rich”, there are those that would consider us “information poor.” A logical
strategy is needed to facilitate the transition between data and information to
us, our constituents and to other agencies and organizations. Most of our
collected data has some spatial component, thereby making GIS the obvious
template for efficient data management throughout the agency.
Objectives:
1. Link existing and future databases collected
by ODWC to the GIS.
Strategies:
-Integrate data into relational databases. (What are relational databases? They are data that can be linked by common attributes such as location, time of year, species, collectors, collection gear, etc. Someone looking at some piece of data can, therefore, see other data that have a common “relation.” An example of this type of database is the ODWC license file.)
Action Item:
-Hire or reassign
personnel to integrate existing data
-Set standards for
future data to be integrated
Progress:
-Layers
were accumulated for the data viewer and shared on the agency FTP server
-Standard
language was added to the agency cooperative agreement used in funding
university research projects, requiring contractors to provide ODWC all spatial
data created or purchased, in electronic format
2. Establish long-term financial commitment for
GIS
Strategies:
-Develop upgrade
and maintenance budget for hardware, software and personnel
Action Item:
-Ensure support of
administration by continually showing value of GIS
-Articulate vision
of what GIS will be and can do and continue to communicate vision message to agency
Progress:
-An
inter-divisional Federal Aid Grant (FWT-1-P) was secured to continue funding
the data viewer after the WCRP grant expired; financial support for the grant
was provided by Wildlife, Fisheries, I&E and Natural Resources
-The
data viewer was used to support species distribution layers needed for the
Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (funding from Natural Resources,
T-2-P)
-The
GIS lab was supported financially with contributions from I&E (work
station), Natural Resources (software), Wildlife (plotter) and Fisheries
(digitizer)
-GIS
was used to assist with ODWC lawsuit regarding
-GIS is
being used extensively in the quail management project identifying focal areas
for conservation efforts on private land
-The
data viewer was showcased at the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies 2004 annual meeting and has been highlighted in Outdoor Oklahoma
magazine and television show
-GIS
committee represented the agency with an interactive station at “GIS Day at the
Capitol” in 2004 and 2005
-Preparation
of this annual progress report
Goal II: Promote and
facilitate to agency personnel the collection and analysis of spatial data
related to fish and wildlife resources in
Concept: As with any new
technology, it is important to educate agency personnel in the potential value
of GIS. While not all personnel have a use for GIS, all personnel who collect
any kind of data have a potential interest in GIS. All data occurs somewhere,
thereby giving it a spatial component. Whether it’s animal population data,
arrest records, magazine subscription information, license data, manpower
statistics or a wide myriad of other information, GIS can assist in managing
and analyzing this type of information. The learning curve does not have to be
steep nor do fellow employees have to be completely on their own in acquiring
this knowledge. A logical progression of this type of knowledge acquisition,
facilitated through this plan, would be to introduce the concept of GIS,
explain the use and value of GIS, train interested personnel in GIS techniques
and, finally, develop expertise through the use of GIS.
Objectives:
1.
Introduce employees & administration to the concepts and
capabilities of GIS.
Strategies:
-Technicians and
above - Show-and-Tell sessions to show employees what can be done with GIS;
hands-on trial with GPS/GIS
-Support staff –
show how final product on our web page can make their jobs easier and help
answer constituent questions
Action Item:
-Develop canned
presentations for regional meetings, division meetings, district
meetings, staff meetings, Wildlife Resource
Professional class, commission
meetings, etc.
-Use W-O-G
(employee newsletter) as another source for GIS information dissemination
Progress:
-Presentation
on general GIS concepts, use in law enforcement and the digital atlas, to the
Wildlife Professionals class (October 2002)
-Presentation
on quail focus area research project to Commission (December 2004), Wildlife division
(April 2005), and I&E division (April 2005)
-Four
W-O-G articles featuring GIS (August 2001 – GIS use in the agency, committee
plan insert; September 2002 – Responsive Management activities, including
fishing license holder GIS project; October 2003 – data viewer and GIS
Committee; August 2004 – data viewer evaluation, insert on usage instructions)
2.
Acquire and provide employees access to GIS software and hardware.
Strategies:
-Determine the
best way to distribute software and hardware – which employees at which
levels?
Which locations?
Action Item:
Progress:
-Used
grant funding to offer high-speed internet service installation and six months
of service to all six regional field offices, in an effort to improve access to
the data viewer; three offices used the funding (
-Secured
space for and set up GIS Lab in the
-Set up
the FTP site for sharing GIS data
-Wildlife
division purchased two GPS/PDA units
3. Provide
training & continuing education opportunities to employees on the use of
GIS.
Strategies:
-Evaluate needs
for training and continuing education throughout the Agency
Action
Item:
-GIS
Committee will recommend training opportunities to Human Resources Coordinator
-GIS
Committee will facilitate additional continuing education opportunities
through interactions with outside GIS
professionals
Progress:
-ArcView Basic Training workshop, January 29-February 2,
2001 (5 attendees from Fisheries, 6 attendees from Wildlife, 2 attendees from
Law Enforcement, 1 attendee from Natural Resources)
-ArcView Advanced Training workshop, June 11-13, 2001 (6
attendees from Wildlife, 7 attendees from Fisheries, 1 attendee from Natural
Resources)
-Data
Viewer Training workshop, March 5 & 6, 2003 (63 employees attended one of
four 2-hour sessions)
-Transitioning
from ArcView 3.x to ArcGIS
8.x workshop, May 22-23, 2003 (4 employees attended)
-WHIP
Technicians and Private Lands Biologists received two days of ArcView training in November 2003
-Kurt
Kuklinski attended the Organization of Fish and Wildlife Information Managers
conference in 2003, with special conference emphasis on GIS.
-Greg
Summers and Kurt Kuklinski attended a Server Administration training course in February-March
2004
-Greg
Summers and
Concept: Just as
the ODWC depends on other local, state and federal agencies for information
under their domain, so do they depend on the ODWC as a source for accurate and
timely data on our state’s fish and wildlife resources. Non-governmental
entities such as universities, NGO’s and our customers also depend on us for
information. It is our innate responsibility to efficiently share our findings
with those not only in our own agency but also with those outside who can
benefit from our data. However, some of the data that we maintain is from
ecologically sensitive areas whose locations must be guarded under strict
guidelines.
1.
Develop ODWC GIS resource inventory as a shared-use archive for all
natural resource
managers, state and federal agencies and
the public.
Strategies:
-Develop and
implement an Internet Mapping Server (IMS). (An IMS is an economical and
efficient method to “serve” data and information to interested parties through
the internet. It involves specialized, web-based software that provides a
user-friendly platform for spatial data acquisition. Its capabilities can range
from the simple, providing of maps of certain areas, to the more complex
offering of Arc View shape files.)
Action Items:
-Determine
priorities and schedule for when data get served (which data get served first)
-Track access –
who is using what and how often? Helps
set priorities for what to
serve and proves value of service
-Periodically
evaluate IMS for improvement
Progress:
-A
consultant was used to assess the status of GIS within the agency, make
recommendations, and design the basic IMS (2001-2003).
-The
ODWC Digital Atlas (data viewer) went live to the public in the fall of 2003, using
a contract for third-party hosting.
-The
IMS contractor began tracking usage of the WMA Digital Atlas in December
2003. The number of individual logons
ranged from approximately 150 to 3,750 per week (in the weeks of 1/1/2005 and
11/08/2004, respectively). The number of
map images created for users ranged from approximately 150 to 120,100 per week
(in the weeks of 1/1/2005 and 1/15/2005, respectively).
-A
significant portion of every GIS Committee monthly meeting during 2003, 2004
and early 2005 was devoted to discussing the IMS contract and changes needed on
the Digital Atlas.
-Significant
changes to the site were made during 2004, including the addition of over 100
species distribution layers for use in the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation
Strategy planning.
-Plans
are underway to host the IMS in-house by 2006.
-The
GIS FTP server was established in September 2003, to share all layers displayed
on the IMS.
-The
FTP server averages approximately 150 logons per month and serves nearly 34 GB
of data to GIS users.
-GIS
data have been shared through the FTP server with multiple outside parties,
including the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Department of
Transportation, Cherokee Nation,
2. Develop and maintain a catalog of spatial
data for
Strategies:
-Determine what we
will serve (our data, that of others) and what data we will just provide
direction to (data road map)
Action Items:
-GIS committee
look at needs assessment, prioritize data layer needs, find existing data,
construct catalog and provide on-line access
Progress:
-FTP
server shares data from the IMS
-The
GIS website provides a link to the FTP server
3. Set standards and specifications for GIS data collected by ODWC. In order for a database to be usable by parties other than those that created it, certain specifications and standards must be maintained. Many of these are set forth as recommendations of the Oklahoma GIS Council.
Strategies:
-Use FGDC (Federal
Geographic Data Committee) standards
-Decide scale,
projection, quality, etc.
-Require metadata
-Protocol for
updates/edits to data
Action Items:
-GIS committee
will consult with consultant
Progress:
-Working
with the IMS contractor, protocol for file type and standardized metadata has
been established for layers posted to the IMS
-ODWC
was appointed to the state GIS Council in August 2001
-An
ODWC representative attends an average of 11 GIS Council meetings each year
4. Administer agency GIS plan.
Strategies:
-GIS committee
will continue to work with agency’s GIS specialist (to be assigned)
Action Item:
-Hire or reassign
personnel to administer plan
Goal IV: Annually
assess the development, needs and use of spatial analysis systems in regard to
agency goals.
Concept: Most
planning of this type is dynamic, i.e. it is, and should be, constantly
changing. This
allows the plan to
continually address new needs and abandon those items no longer pertinent. To
this end the GIS Committee and the GIS Plan should continue providing direction
to the ODWC. At the same time some measure of success is needed to evaluate
whether the plan is providing that which it intended.
Objectives:
1.
Maintain ODWC GIS Committee on an annual basis.
Strategies:
-Maintain informal
and open committee structure
Action Item:
-Annually elect
committee chair
-Put out
call-for-participation to recruit interested employees
-Publicize
meetings at South Central Arc Users Group, GIS Council, GIS Day at the Capitol,
intra-agency communications, etc.
-Annually review
committee goals and operations
Progress:
-Mike
Sams was re-elected as the GIS Committee chair in June 2005
-Law
Enforcement was asked to solicit an appropriate member from the division to
serve on the GIS Committee
-Committee
membership has changed to reflect changes in employee interest (Randy Hyler replaced James Vincent, James Vincent had previously
replaced Paul Balkenbush,
-A
photo of the 2003 ODWC booth at GIS Day at the Capitol appeared in the
Wildlife-O-Gram
2.
Annually review ODWC GIS plan by GIS Committee.
Strategies:
-Set month for
annual meeting to review plan and make revisions
Action Item:
-Distribute plan in monthly packet with announcement about website with links to
examples
Progress:
-First
version of GIS Plan was distributed to all employees in the Wildlife-O-Gram
(August 2001)
-The
plan was reviewed and revised in June 2005
-Plans
are underway to share the revised plan and/or the progress report to employees
Strategies:
-Set measures of
success for GIS program
Action Items:
-Count hits on IMS
website
-IMS site visitor
survey
-Examine GIS
budget
-Count new
databases either located or created
-Count
hardware/software purchases/upgrades
-Count proportion
of employees trained
-Monitor IMS
download tracking feature
-Survey GPS/GIS
users about impact of program
-Monitor changes
in population parameters that result from GIS applications where possible
(e.g., deer regulation changes implemented in another area b/c GIS data allowed
prediction of desired results – did it happen?
Prairie dogs, other rare spp. where results
can directly be seen, etc.)
Progress:
-The
2003 and 2004-season Game Harvest Surveys were used to assess hunter use and
opinion of the Digital Atlas. Few had
used the atlas, but those that did found it relatively easy to use. The majority of hunters interested in WMA
maps preferred the continued distribution of free maps through the IMS.
-IMS
usage was tracked (see progress reported under Goal III, Objective 1)