An Automated

Species Tracking

System

by Jerald Farringer

Office: RS 140

Background

It appears that BLM professionals

are no longer able to do more with

less. It now appears that we are

lucky to maintain the current level

of activity. In order to assist with

information handling problems,

we have a species tracking system

developed in MS Access that allows

for tracking of species occurrence,

habitat, condition, etc. The basis of

the system was the Special Status

Species Tracking (SSST) developed

on a UNIX/Informix platform.

However, that system requires a

tremendous amount of software

support that the general user cannot accomplish and for which user

support is becoming more difficult

to obtain in a timely manner.

Discussion

Recent FOIA requests have highlighted the fragility of the existing

wildlife data systems to recover data

in a usable format. The Species

Tracking System was developed to

address data access problems and to

provide an automated system that

the users can customize to their

needs. The STS runs on Windows

with MS Access. It is a simple

menu-driven system that allows

users to track data in the forms

shown below. Clicking on any one

of the twelve buttons will open data

entry forms for that particular

information area. Taxonomy, population and habitat site id must be

completed before additional data

can be entered.

Installation of STS is a one step

process: Copy the provided

STS.MDB file to the directory

that you want to use for your

wildlife type information. Start

MS Access through the

Start/Program/Microsoft Access

route, or by an Icon on the desktop

if you have one. When you start

MS Access a list of database files

appears with the first choice being

“more files...”. With the initial use

of STS, select “more files” and then

choose the path to the directory

where you put the STS.MDB file.

Once there, double click on the

STS.MDB file and the STS program will start and display the

“Front Page” menu described in the

next part. The next time you start

MS Access, STS should be one of

the choices on the initial list and

can be started by double clicking

the file name.

All data entry forms have three

things in common, a button to add

a new record, a button to search for

RESOURCE NOTES

NO.12 DATE 05/17/00

Range

Wildlife Biology

Create Species in Create Population Create Habitat Sites in

Taxonomy Form Habitat Site ID Form

TAXONOMY Form POPULATION Form HABITAT SITE ID Form

HABITAT OBSERVATION ADMINISTRATIVE

INFORMATION Form DATA Form

Form

PLANNING OBSERVATION STATUS

DATA Form LOCATION Form INFORMATION

Form

GO TO EXIT THE

Dtabase SPECIES Close Form

TRACKING

SYSTEM
an existing record, and a button to

close the form. Several forms have

buttons to access additional forms

where you can provide supplemental information. If you have added

new data or changed an existing

record, using the “close form” button will save the new data. If you

use the “escape” key, the new data

will NOT be saved.

Information is tracked essentially

three ways, by SPECIES, by POPULATION, and by HABITAT.

When entering data into the system, it is necessary to complete

the above three forms first. If subsequent observations or other changes

in data occur, you can utilize the

existing population/taxonomy/habitat site data so you only need to

enter it once.

All data is tracked by species and/or

populations. It may seem strange to

track an individual animal as a

“population,” but for locational

purposes and to help identify

possible larger populations, it

becomes necessary. The location

information can be utilized by Arc

View for a graphic view of species

distribution.

Perhaps the most usable feature

about STS is that it can be easily

modified to meet the users’

needs, either through changing

existing data elements or by

adding new data elements. All of

these changes can be quickly

modified to merge into the existing format or an entirely new

data base can be created.

For the user that is comfortable

with using data bases, data query is

very simple with a “point and click”

type query language. For casual

users of the data base, standard

reports can be quickly formatted

and saved for future use.

Conclusion

The STS program was developed

to run on a PC under Windows

with a simple menu driven system

that can be quickly modified to

meet specific user needs. The data

resides on the users local PC and is

under their control. The system

will expedite external requests for

data. Being able to map “populations” will allow for easier identification of habitat overlap by species,

shifts in population locations, and

shifts in pattern of use. More

importantly, it can provide information on T/E and sensitive

species in a timely manner that can

be used in biological assessments

and EAs.

Contact

Jerald Farringer, 

BLM NARSC

Denver, Colorado 

Phone 303-236-0142, 

FAX 303-236-3508, 

jerry_farringer@blm.gov

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Range

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Resource Notes are intended to be early

announcements of technical and informational topics for

Bureau of Land Management personnel and some of their customers.

Information in this Resource Note is based on the opinion and

experience of the author and has not been peer-reviewed. Conclusions

and opinions expressed herein do not

necessarily represent those of BLM. Use of trade names does not

imply U.S. Government endorsement of commercial products.

If you have received a copy of or found out about Resource

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mailings, please send the following:

NAME, TITLE, MAILING ADDRESS and a list of the two or three

subject areas that you are most interested in or that most directly

relate to your job. Send this information to Phil Dittberner, BLM,

RS-140, P.O. Box 25047, Denver, CO. 80225-0047 or

phil_dittberner@blm.gov or FAX 303-236-3508.

If you would like to prepare a Resource Note for

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Thank you for your interest in Resource NoteS.