FYI ... Please forward to folks you think would like to participate .....
Dan


High-quality hydrographic data are critical to a broad range of government
and private applications. Resource management, infrastructure planning,
environmental monitoring, fisheries management, and disaster mitigation all
depend on up-to-date, accurate, and high-quality hydrographic data. The
U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program is initiating a new
series of virtual seminars to highlight the uses of hydrographic data.
These seminars are intended to share success stories from users who have
solved real world problems using hydrographic data, provide information
about the National Hydrography Dataset and related products, and provide a
virtual forum for users, similar to what might be encountered in a
conference setting. These seminars will be presented every six to eight
weeks and feature applications and speakers from different disciplines.

Connections are limited, and you will need to register to attend these
seminars. Please visit
https://usgs.webex.com/usgs/k2/j.php?MTID=td76813289c0e4179e77dffc9a0056bfb
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUxMDIwLjUwNDM1NjUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MTAyMC41MDQzNTY1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MjA3MzAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9c2FpY2hlbGVAdXNncy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPXNhaWNoZWxlQHVzZ3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&103&&&https://usgs.webex.com/usgs/k2/j.php?MTID=td76813289c0e4179e77dffc9a0056bfb>
to
sign up. After your request has been approved, you’ll receive instructions
for joining the meeting.
Seminar 5 - Thursday, November 5, 2015 - 2:00 PM Eastern - One HourUSDA
Forest Service Watershed Condition Framework: An approach for assessing and
improving watershed condition Mike Eberle - USFS Surface Water Program
Leader, Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air & Rare Plants

*Abstract* - The USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) has developed a
nationally consistent, comparable, and credible process for maintaining or
improving the health of watersheds across all national forests and
grassland called the Watershed Condition Framework (WCF). The WCF is a
comprehensive approach for proactively implementing integrated restoration
on priority watersheds on national forests and grasslands. The WCF
structures the way the Forest Service approaches watershed restoration by
targeting implementation of integrated suites of maintenance or improvement
activities in those watersheds that have been identified as priorities for
restoration. The WCF also establishes a nationally consistent
reconnaissance-level approach for assessing and classifying watershed
condition, using a set of 12 indicators that are surrogate variables
representing the underlying ecological, hydrological, and geomorphic
functions and processes that affect watershed condition. In late 2010, the
Forest Service assessed the condition of over 15,000 6th level (12-digit)
HUCs containing National Forest System lands. Since then, over 250 Priority
Watersheds have been designated and over 200 associated Watershed
Restoration Action Plans (WRAPs) have been developed. Partner engagement
has been an integral component of the WCF implementation. During the
session, participants will be led through the WCF map viewer website (
http://apps.fs.usda.gov/WCFmapviewer/
<http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTUxMDIwLjUwNDM1NjUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE1MTAyMC41MDQzNTY1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MjA3MzAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9c2FpY2hlbGVAdXNncy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPXNhaWNoZWxlQHVzZ3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&104&&&http://apps.fs.usda.gov/WCFmapviewer>),
where the public and partners can view the results of WCF planning,
including priority watersheds, WRAPs, the watershed selection process,
estimated costs, and involved partners. Session participants will learn
about plans for future work in the WCF process, focusing on the
availability of watershed condition data and tools for the upcoming
watershed condition reassessment.

*Biography* – Mike Eberle is the Forest Service’s Surface Water Program
Leader. Since coming to the FS in January 2011, his work has primarily
focused the agency’s implementation of the Watershed Condition Framework
through the development of policy, technical resources, and national
guidance. In addition, Mike has assisted with the effort to implement the
agency’s National Best Management Practices Program. Mike has worked for
the USDOI’s Bureau of Land Management as its Water Program Lead and as the
US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region’s Chief of Water Resources,
in Portland, OR.

*Lightning Talk 1 - Preserving High-Quality Riparian Vegetation - David
Richey*

*Abstract* - To protect and preserve water quality in the McKenzie
Watershed, the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has developed a Payment
for Ecosystem Services (PES) Voluntary Incentives Program (VIP). The
program is designed to preserve high-quality riparian vegetation in the
McKenzie Watershed by remunerating landowners for keeping such vegetation
stands intact. One important consideration in the construction of such a
program is the Program Area. The Program Area defines those lands that can
be considered for inclusion and enrollment in the VIP. In order to create a
program area that is accepted by program participants and funders, the
delineation method should be:

   1. Science-based
   2. Easily explained to a lay audience
   3. Repeatable in other watersheds
   4. Useful for program analysis and evaluation.

In developing a program area for the VIP, we have examined two different
geo-spatial models for delineating the riparian area based on geomorphic
characteristics. After examining two models, we decided to use the Active
River Area Model developed by The Nature Conservancy (Smith et al., 2008).
This presentation briefly covers model implementation and considerations in
defining the program eligibility boundary.

*Biography* – David Richey (BA, Biology, Oberlin College; BLA, MLA,
University of Oregon) and is a Senior GIS Analyst at the Lane Council of
Governments in Eugene, Oregon. He has practiced spatial data analysis for
20 years with a research and professional focus on agricultural and
riparian landscapes. His current work focuses on the McKenzie Voluntary
Incentives Program, a payment for ecosystem services project protecting and
restoring riparian vegetation, for the Eugene Water and Electric Board.

*Lightning Talk 2 - Streamgage Drainage Area Boundaries - Curtis Price*

*Abstract* - The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun an effort to serve
watershed boundaries for its continuous-record gages in alignment with the
seamless, locally-reviewed Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) polygons.
Because gage locations are not located exactly on WBD boundaries, a method
was developed that, given a user-supplied watershed polygon and pour point,
a) clips and conforms the input polygon to a WBD polygon boundary, b)
merges any “upstream” WBD polygons, and c) recalculates area.

*Biography* – Curtis Price is a Physical Scientist and GIS Specialist with
the U.S. Geological Survey. He has been supporting GIS applications as a
member of USGS' Enterprise GIS team for more than twenty years. His
research interests include raster data analysis and landscape
characterization.


Dan Walters
National Map Liaison for ME, MA & RI
USGS
196 Whitten Road
Augusta, Maine 04330
207-776-1293
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