Download Big Cypress Basin-Estero Bay Regional Research Database/Web Site

Big Cypress Basin-Estero Bay Regional Research Database/Web Site
Jill Trubey
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Marine Research Institute
St. Petersburg, Florida
In 1996, at the request of Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and the South
Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a Steering Committee was established
to develop a regional science plan for the Big Cypress Basin of Southwest
Florida. The Steering Committee was comprised of public land managers,
regional planners, researchers, and agricultural landowners.
The Steering Committee was tasked with the following three specific objectives:
1. Identify a boundary for the Big Cypress Basin region that encompasses
priority coastal estuaries and watersheds representing key land and water
resources of the Big Cypress Basin.
2. Conduct an inventory of existing research and monitoring information
within the Big Cypress Basin. This effort was intended to include input
from local research programs ranging from federal and state to private
interests.
3. Plan and conduct a series of workshops, targeting professionals involved
in environmental research, management and land use planning.
The Big Cypress Basin research and monitoring database was designed to provide
a comprehensive inventory of research and monitoring efforts within the basin.
This database of past and current projects will not only prevent duplication of
effort, but it will also enable users to identify potential gaps in the scientific
research within this region.
In 1997, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Marine
Research Institute (FMRI) began the process of assembling the Big Cypress Basin
Regional Research and Monitoring Database by interviewing more than one
hundred researchers from various agencies. FMRI staff held on-site meetings
with each scientist, because mailed inventories and questionnaires generally have
minimal response. This proved critical to the success of the database. Over time
the database has improved significantly with the migration from inventory level
entries to FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee) compliant records. In
2001, the project boundary was extended to include Estero Bay. Today, the
database describes over 200 ongoing and historical research and monitoring
projects. Currently, the database is stored in a Spatial Metadata Management
System (SMMS) format.
A database-centric web site has been created to allow users easy access to the
project database. This site is hosted by FMRI at http://ocean.fmri.usf.edu/bcb/.
The web site’s primary applications are the database and spatial query tools that
allow users to interactively query the database and produce FGDC-compliant
metadata reports for specific research projects. The web site allows users to
access detailed information describing the scientific research occurring in the
BCB-EB region.
The database query tool is a ColdFusion web application that allows users to query
database records (research projects) based on database fields such as category,
organization, theme keyword, place keyword, year started, and project status.
The spatial query tool is an Arc Internet Map Server (ArcIMS) application, which
allows users to identify research projects that have been and are being conducted in
specific areas. Background layers, such as imagery, roads, hydrology, and
managed lands, are available to help guide these spatial queries. Key additional
site components include the following: a project overview page, a BCB-EB links
page, a calendar and a project documents page where meeting minutes can be
posted.
The goal of this project is to develop a current and accurate database that contains
documentation for all projects within the basin. Continued success of the database
and web site development requires the on-going participation of scientists.
Identifying new research and improving existing project descriptions will provide
up-to-date information that will allow managers and researchers to track science at
their desktop.
Trubey, Jill, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Marine Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue Southeast, St. Petersburg,
FL, 33701, Phone: 727-896-8626, Fax: 727-823-0166, [email protected],
Information Systems