Columbia Basin Data Center 

4/24/06 

The Vision 

The development of a Columbia Basin Data Center will provide extensive benefits for the 

entire region. It will provide a much needed outlet for comprehensive, high quality data 

that can be used by policy makers, technical experts and the general public. It will also 

work with the Council and Bonneville to ensure that data gaps are filled, standard data 

protocols are followed, and data quality is maintained. 

Problem Statement 

In May 2000 the Independent Science Review Panel wrote a report on the inadequacies 

of the data system for Columbia Basin fish and wildlife. They noted that there were 

significant data gaps and significant inconsistencies in the way that data were collected 

and reported. They recommended a systematic approach to address a wide variety of 

tasks including an inventory of existing data, a survey of unmet data needs, proposals for 

filling data gaps, and development of standardized data collection and reporting 

protocols. 

The Council’s 2000 Fish and Wildlife Program addressed many of these same issues. 

The Program promoted the new vision that necessary data would be collected in a 

standardized fashion and made available through the Internet. First, the Program called 

for, “The Council to initiate a process for identifying data needs in the basin, surveying 

available data, and filling any data gaps.” It was anticipated that the Council would adopt 

a set of standards that would then guide data collection. To this end the Program stated 

“The Council will initiate a process involving all interested parties in the region to 

establish guidelines appropriate for the collection and reporting of data in the Columbia 

River Basin.” Pursuing this concept, the Program stated, “The methods and protocols 

used in data collection must be consistent with guidelines approved by the Council.” 

Finally, all of this information needed some place to go, so the Program also stated, “The 

Council will initiate a process for establishing an Internet-based system for the efficient 

dissemination of data for the Columbia Basin.” [p. 33] 

Many of the same problems first identified by the ISRP in 2000 persist today. There is 

no comprehensive data inventory available for the Columbia Basin that identifies data 

gaps and no projects have been approved or even proposed to close those gaps. The 

Council has yet to approve guidelines for collecting or reporting data and there is still no 

Internet access for broad categories of Columbia Basin Data. 

Through voluntary, collaborative efforts we have reaffirmed the problems identified in 

2000 and verified a broad-based interest in resolving these problems. In particular the 

Northwest Environmental Data network has coordinated a broad variety of parties to 
work on these issues. The following proposal builds on those initiatives and moves us 

forward in resolving them. 

The Proposal 

The current effort to resolve these issues has benefited from the broad representation of 

numerous agencies and tribes. It has, however, suffered from the absence of a single 

entity with the responsibility and resources to move forward. This entity, with the 

working title of the Columbia Basin Data Center would be charged with ensuring that 

important data necessary to understand the status of fish and wildlife in the Council’s 

program are adequate and available. The Data Center would not be responsible for 

collecting and compiling data. That function would remain the responsibilities of project 

sponsors and fish and wildlife managers. No analysis would take place at this Center. 

The Data Center would, however, be responsible for ensuring that the full array of 

important data--for hatcheries, harvest, hydro passage, and habit--are available, reliable 

and adequately documented. The Data Center would work with the Council and 

Bonneville staff to identify and remedy shortcomings in the current system. 

The Data Center will have the following primary responsibilities: 

1. Internet Access. It will be responsible for maintaining a high level web site that 

would serve as a portal for existing data. This site would be user friendly for policy 

leaders, technical experts and the general public. It would rely on standard protocols as 

necessary to ensure that data from different regions and from different sources are 

compatible. And it would offer sophisticated web based tools for graphing, mapping, and 

consolidating data. 

2. Data Gaps. It will be responsible for conducting inventories of existing data and 

determining the existence of data gaps. It would be their responsibility, in consultation 

with various entities in the region, to facilitate approaches that would resolve gaps. 

Unresolved data gaps and proposals to resolve them would be reported to the Council and 

BPA. 

3. Data Integrity. It will provide oversight over data quality, ensuring the integrity of the 

data. It will do this by periodically reviewing the procedures used by different entities to 

assure data quality. 

4. Data Standards. It will propose standard protocols for data collection, data reporting, 

and data quality to be considered for adoption by the Council. These protocols would be 

applied to BPA funded projects as stated in the Program 

In order to achieve these results the Data Center must establish and maintain a reputation 

for neutrality and objectivity. At the same time it must continue to work closely with the 

many entities in the region that are users or purveyors of data. One approach for 

consideration would be to establish an advisory committee modeled on the Northwest 

Environmental Data Network. 
It should be emphasized that the Data Center would by itself have no responsibility for 

actually collecting data in the field, a task often associated with monitoring activities. 

Instead, the Data Center would either be the recipient of this data or it would access it 

after it has been posted by others. 

Implementation 

In order to achieve this vision there are several important steps that need to be taken. 

Bonneville, in coordination with the Council, will need to convert the vision outlined in 

this paper into a more precise statement of work that support a request-for-proposals. 

This is the type of work that lends itself to a competitive, RFP process. In selecting a 

contractor for this work, Bonneville should ensure that it: 

1. Can implement the tasks on schedule. 

2. Can maintain a high level of integrity and neutrality. 

3. Identify where data are collected but not publicly available. 

4. Remains independent from the data collection process. 

If Bonneville finds that the proposals are inadequate or too expensive they could consider 

developing the Data Center in-house. Bonneville developed a sophisticated project 

tracking system, Pisces, that promises to provide considerable value to the regional fish 

and wildlife effort. This new Data Center is more than information technology, however, 

and will require a somewhat broader set of skills. 

Bonneville will also need to develop a budget proposal for this initiative. As it does this 

they are encouraged to develop a more comprehensive data management budget that 

includes all of the existing data management efforts in the region. The comprehensive 

budget should ensure that there are no duplications of functions and should identify 

efficiencies that can be gained by concentrating these data management functions in one 

single entity.