U.S.G.S. - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Bird Banding Laboratory
12100
Beech Forest Road STE-4037
Laurel, MD 20708-4037
January 6, 1999
Dear
Bander:
This is the second in what we expect to be three letters communicating decisions and plans stemming from the review of the North American bird banding program. In our first letter (September 24, 1998), we mentioned the availability of the Review Panel's final report and recommendations (The North American Bird Banding Program: Into the 21st Century - available at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/nabbpcvr.htm, and we described the process for moving from panel recommendations to decisions and actions in the bird banding program. Briefly, in that process, an interagency implementation team was established to guide improvements to the banding program and operations of the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL). The Implementation Team identified six priority areas in which to focus efforts, and then appointed Task Forces to refine panel recommendations in these areas, and to develop specific plans for implementation. In consultation with BBL, the Implementation Team considers Task Force recommendations relative to the Review Panel's report, and agency needs, policies and resources, and then makes final decisions for BBL to implement and communicate to banders.
In our first letter, we also communicated new policy and procedures resulting from the Data Release Task Force. In this second letter, we present results from Task Forces that worked on Electronic Data Management, Location Data, and Ancillary Data. Our next letter will cover priority areas Recapture/Resighting Data, and Permit Policies and Procedures. The Task Forces have completed their work in these areas, but final decisions of the Implementation Team are pending.
Electronic Data management: The Review Panel placed particular emphasis on enhancing electronic data management at BBL to take advantage of the widespread availability of personal computers, the Internet, and user-friendly software. The Electronic Data Management Task Force concurred and made more specific recommendations that BBL develop a new database and computer system based on the client-server model with the capability for Internet-based communications and transactions with banders. The Implementation Team accepted these recommendations and established October, 2000, as the date for completion of the new computer system and means for interacting with banders.
Simply put, we will be converting from a primarily paper to primarily electronic means of communication with banders. The BBL web site http://www:pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/ will serve as our primary point of contact with banders, as well as the general public. Currently, our web site includes revised band size lists, longevity records, totals of birds banded and recovered by species, and general information on bird banding written primarily for the public. Enhancements to the web site will be aimed primarily at serving banders and increasing banding office efficiencies. Via the Internet, banders will be able to :
BBL is well along in developing a new computer system to facilitate this transition. The current BBL computer system, which was designed for in-house, batch-controlled processing to a hierarchical data base is being transformed to a client-server configuration using an online, relational data base. Banders with their desk-top computers will be the primary external "clients" accessing the BBL server and web site via the Internet and familiar browser software. BBL staff who edit data, fill band orders, process recovery reports, etc., will be the primary internal clients.
Having banders manage their banding data and submit banding schedules electronically will be key to the success of the new system. To facilitate this, BANDMANAGER is being developed for PCs with windows and NT operating systems. A version for PowerMac users may also be developed. BANDMANAGER will include a comprehensive manual, context-sensitive help, and extensive code references and checks. BANDMANAGER will enable banders to
A Beta version of BANDMANAGER is currently being tested by numerous banders. We expect to release a finished version to all banders in the spring of 1999. This will give banders more than a year to become familiar with the software and begin submitting electronic schedules. Our goal is to have all banders submitting schedules electronically using BANDMANAGER by October, 2000, when we convert over to our new system. The software BANDOPS and CGS (Computer Generated Schedules) currently used by numerous banders to submit banding schedules, will be phased out, with the best features of them being incorporated into BANDMANAGER.
It should be obvious that for this new system to work, all banders must have access to, and familiarity with, personal computers and the Internet. Thus, if you have not yet entered the computer era, now is the time to begin planning and developing your personal capability for using the new system.
Location data: For many decades the standard for precision of banding records has been the 10' block of latitude and longitude, which at 40 degrees latitude covers slightly more than 100 square miles. At one time, this gross level of precision was deemed sufficient for most analyses of banding data, especially waterfowl data. Also, truncating to the 10' block minimized record length, once a serious concern in data management. Today, however, with technological advances such as GIS and abundant computer disc space, the 10' standard is no longer sufficient or necessary.
The Review Panel recommended as a minimum replacing the 10' standard with a 1' standard. The Location Data Task Force concurred and refined that recommendation. The Implementation Team agreed and has established that 1' will be the new standard for reporting banding and recovery locations.
BBL will require that banders report banding locations on schedules at the 1' minute level of precision as soon as we are able to process them, but not later than our projected October, 2000, date for converting to a new computer system. When the 1' standard is in place, we will no longer verify coordinates for banding locations; the onus will be on the bander to correctly determine and report her or his banding locations. We are advising you of this new standard and requirement now so that you will have ample time to determine 1' precision for your banding locations. We believe that with the maps, gazetteers, mapping software and inexpensive GPS units available today, banders will have little trouble graduating from a 10' to a 1' minute standard. As we get closer to implementing the 1' standard, we will provide procedural details, and we will post information on our web site to help banders determine 1' locations. BANDMANAGER is being developed to accommodate 1' precision in banding records.
Ancillary data: The Review Panel recommended that BBL expand the current basic banding record to include weights, measurements, fat scores and other ancillary data collected by banders. The Ancillary Data Task Force recommended that only ancillary data of administrative or management value should be incorporated into the banding record at this time. These data include (1) how aged/how sexed codes; (2) a series of codes to indicate quality of data, changes and corrections made to data, and verification of records; and (3) individually coded auxiliary markers that can be linked to band numbers. The Task Force recommended that, at least for the present, ancillary data that are collected inconsistently and have no broad management or scientific application (weights, fat scores, measurements) should not be incorporated into the banding record and database. The Implementation Team accepted these recommendations. Thus, the only ancillary data to be incorporated at this time are items (1)-(3). These data will be incorporated as soon as the new computer system permits, but not later than October, 2000. Procedural details will be sent to banders later. BANDMANAGER will include fields for these three items, as well as an option for banders to include the other ancillary data in their own records and database if they chose to.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of these coming changes. We solicit your comments and suggestions about how to make these various changes as convenient as possible for the bander to adapt to.
Sincerely,
John Tautin,
Chief, Bird Banding Laboratory