PARK SCIENCE 

A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BULLETIN 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

VOLUME 4 - NUMBER 3 SPRING 1984 
SPRING 1984 

SCIENCE 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

A report to park managers of recent and ongoing research in parks with emphasis on its 

implications for planning and management 

Resource Management Computer Applications: 

The Park System’s Developlog Response 

Channel Islands NP Develops 

Microcomputer Based Info System 

Information Crossfile 

Mlcracomputer - New 

Tool of Communication 

3 

This issue of Park Soence IS devoted to computers and parks. As guest editor, Anne Frondorf has done a Herculean lob - collecting Inform&on from all comers of the National Park System on how the various areas are 

movmg into the Computer Age. 

10 

11 

Everglades System Facilitates Data Transfer 

IBM Personal Computer Lab Showcased 

Regional Highlights 

System Application for Fire Management 

Data Analysis Management in Remote Fields 

Big Thicket Computer Capabilities 

Driven by Resource Management Needs 

Tension Headache #84 Users and Computers 

River Use Model Aids 

Management of VIsItor Flows 

VIsitor Data Facilitates 

Resource Management 

Visllation Census 

From Washington. D.C. : 

Microcomputers Afford Flexibility 

From DISC 

12 

12 

13 

14 

17 

17 

18 

20 

What comes through on these pages is the over-archmg principle of all systems: The System Self-Designs. 

There seems to be no otherway. In spite of all the logic with whichour linear minds tell us that these things should 

be planned and coordinated and orchestrated from above, the successful system stoutly refuses to grow that 

way. Instead, 11 begins in obscure comers and niches *all over the map” - adaptlog to a need here, an idea there 

-and then reaching out with tentative feelers for connections. 

tiomputet technology and the uses to which it can and WIII be put had to arrive on the scene together. When 

that happened, the seed sprouted everywhere, like “emergent properlies.” Eventually, these filaments will Interconnect more firmly and become, instead of many systems, a system. 

As a new, syslemlc way of accomplishing planntng and work, this system comes with the full complement of 

new perils and problems. One of these-the potential tyranny of the computer - IS discussed by Celia Walker, 

who urges users not to take ‘NO’for an answer. (The old, frustrating deadend that used to read ‘It IS ourpolicy 

not to ’ IS being replaced by a new atbttrary negative: ~The computer will not allow it.” Walker warns: ~Make 

sum it’s the computer and not just some lazy human being.‘) 

Information Crossfile offers additional cautionary computer notes, ranging from dead serious to hilarious. 

But overall, the message on these pages IS one of a powerful new tool, emerging in concert with the needs if IS 

suited lo handle. The Idea is to inform, through this issue. every corner of the Park System about what every 

other comer is up lo in the use of computers. Every item has a contact name and address. Rubbing mends to. 

gather can make sparks; this issue should slart a fire. 

20 Guest Editorial 

21 

21 

22 

22 

23 

Elucidation Blues 

With a plethora 

Of words 

This spew1 issue of Park Snence IS focusing on %formation Management and Natural Resources in the National Park Serwce.“ Our Intent IS to provide users-and potential users-of computers, word processors, and 

the entire spectrum of Information management technology with a forum in which to exchange ideas and compare notes on the application of this technology to resource management and research ISSUBS. 

Items descrlblng current or antictpated information management actlvifies relating generally to natural resource management and research are Included from every Region and more than two dozen park umts. Wherever possible. the name of a contact pawn has been given so interested readers can find out more about a particular type of equipment, program 01 software package, or application. 

This is anything but a Static field and it is lmpodant that we all continue to look for opportunities to communicate 

what we are dolog or plan to do. Two such communication opportunities are described I” this issue’ the “Softwxe 

Clearinghouse,’ being developed by the WAS0 Office of Information Management, and the Sewtcewide electronic “Bulletlo Board System.’ accessible to anyone wth a terminal and telecommunications capability 

In coordnating this special wx I have been tremendously impressed with the energy, enthustasm. and initlatlve displayed throughout the Service on this topic. I am grateful to all who contributed to this issue, as well as lo 

Jean Matthews for her efforts in bringing it all together. 

Anne F. Frondorl 

Biological Resources Division, WAS0 

Hides himself 

Like a squid 

Conform 

Mention of specific brand names is necessary to the dewptive task undertaken I” this issue. It should not 

be construed as endorsement by the National Park Service. 

/ want fo be scene. 

Nor herd, said a wayward 

Young swngbok, as I( spl~r. 

Know “our place, sad 

The leader, wh/ch is together, 

And clubbed the erram back, 

Giving it the Gesellschaft. 

Glossary: 

Bit is one-eighth of a byte 

Byte IS a umt of data 

8 bits equals one unit of data (a byte) 

Baud means ‘bits per second’and mdicates rate of transmission. 
Resource Management Computer Applications: 

The Park System’s Developing Response 

Editor’s Note: The grouping hereunder IS a representadve sbce of the Nal~onai Park System as ndrvidualparks have responded to /he capabilitfes Inherent m computer technology 

Community or Recreational-Assimilation 

One of the major problems I” a” Isolated area like 

Big Bend IS the difficulty in receiving information from 

the “outside world.” Lack of television and radio reception may be praised by some, but a person totally 

deprived of tnformatio” in a” information age probably is not going to possess a complete set of SOCIOcommunicative tools. A community may live without 

“60 Minutes,” the “Superbowl,” and “HIII Street Blues: 

but can it compete socially or intellectually with communities that have access to a variety of media 

stimulants? 

clentfor “se by all park staff. 

I” Sor~na 1983, $125,000 in PRIP (Siqnificanl ReFrom Big Bend 

The 730.000 acre Blq Bend NP is one of the moat 

remote National Park; I” the contiguous United 

Slates. Located on the US’Mwcan border in souihwest Texas, the nearest grocery store is over 100 

miles from park headquarlers and the nearest town of 

any size is over 250 miles away. Spanish IS a primary 

language, much 01 the park has no telephone service 

and many of the residences receive their only “outside” news from shod-wave radio. Because of the 

par& resemblance to late 19th century Mexico, 

many people believe that lnformatio” dissemination 

and management are restricted to the telegraph and 

pony express. This view perpetuates the ~Goodbye 

God, I’m going to Big Bend” syndrome. Actually, behind the sleepy adobe facade there loves a” active 

modern information management program that consists of three separate sub-programs: Telecommunication-dissemination; Community or recreational-assimilation; and Administrative-networking. 

Administrative-Networking 

I” October 1982, the park purchased a” ALTOS 

series 5 computer system. The multi-user system can 

run ufider either CP!M or MP’M II. The basic configuration Includes five-megabyte hard disk drive, a 5’/4 

inch floppy dsk drive, three T&video terminal sla- 

[ions and a Diablo 630 printer. While the basic system 

is small, it has catapulted certain time consuming administrative tasks into microsecond technology. Rewriting operating programs (10-575‘s) once took 

hours; it can now be done I” minutes, and recalculations can be completed I” seconds. 

The real time sawng may be found I” information 

sharing. A division stores its budget I” the computer, 

which then can be accessed by administrative personnel who, with a few simple entries, can generate 

a status of funds or make administrative changes. I” 

addition, the park uses the comp!ller to generate billing, maintain vehicle mileages, information storage, 

flllng, and general word-processing Including lists, let. 

ters and mailings. The park already has outgrow” the 

system and IS investigating the possiblity of acquiring 

a larger Data General System which will be directly 

compatible with other park and regional office equipment. Once installed, the park system will be able to 

talk directly with those other systems - further increasing the efticlency and networking capabilibes. 

Telecommunication-dissemination 

In 1982i83. telephone operations (which were in 

the AdmInistrative Division) and the park radio system (which was in the Ranger Dlwsion) were combined Into a Telecommunication Center operated by 

the Division of Interpretation and Visitor Serwes. 

The move streamlined the entire Information flow in 

the park and consolidated it in a centrally-located 

pbsitio”. The majority of information exchange deals 

directly with wtor wv~ces - telephone information 

requests, weather and road repotis, etc. The Dispatchers, who are traIned in both interpretation and 

law enforcement procedures, deal through a multichannel radio system with Customs Patrol Officers 

stationed in the park and U.S. Border Patrol. 

Residents of Panther Junction (park headquarters 

area) banded together to form a non-proht TV cotporation. I” 1983. the “club” slgned an agreement with a 

cable company to Install two large satellite receiving 

dishes and a residential cable system which, combined with a” improved translator system, provides 

subscribers with a wide variety of FM radio and televiSIO” programs including the Spanish International 

Network (SIN) for the 35-40 percent of the rwdents 

who speak Spanish. Two small residential areas in 

the park still have no TV or radio reception, but the 

club is working to have satellite receiwng statlons I”- 

stalled in those remote locations. 

To the uneducated aye, Big Bend may represent 

the epitome of historic information management. But 

wthi” the wilderness setbng, there is a plan and a 

certain modern sophistication. Therein lkes the 

paradox - Big Bend NP is a combination of 60 millkon year-old mountains, state 01 the art satellite receiving stations, vast expanses of wilderness, computers, old adobe buildings, microwavetelecommunications - and people. People talking with people is 

the bottom line in information management. 

Bob Huggins 

Big Bend NP 

Texas 79834 

From Big South Fork -... 

The Big South Fork NatIonal River and Recreation 

Area, a developing park unit on the Cumberland 

plateau, eventually WIII contain more than 100,000 

acres. The area’s resources are diverse and the related resource management data base IS growing 

dally. The staff realized early I” 1983 the need to develop a” automated data base and to procure computer hardware and software as early as possible to 

prevent future storage, retrieval. and analysis problems. Networking possibilities also were consIdered. 

The first computer equipment was purchased I” 

Spring 1983, wth the main hardware components including a” IBM-PC mlcrocomputer with two disk 

dnves, a” AMDEK monitor, a” NEC letter quality 

datsy wheel printer, a Hayes Smallmodem, and a” 

Orange electronic protection device. Software purchased included dBase II, Multiplan, Wordstar (with 

Mailmerge), and Crosstalk. In Summer 1983, a Corvus 10 MB hard disk system was purchased in anticipation of large data base. Originally, a one-computer 

system was believed to be adequate for parkwide use 

by all diwsions. We planned for dBase II to be used 

for all inventory/data base work, Wordstar for word 

processing, Multiplan for budget work, and Crosstalk 

for networking (particularly for electronic mailing and 

to tap other Information systems). However, it was 

$00” realized that one terminal would not be suff3 

source Pro&n) mo”,es was approved for work relaiIng to mIneral developments and associated water 

quality problems. Computerizing the data base was 

the only logIcal approach to managing these problems effectively given staffing constraints, so we deslgnated a large portlo” of these monies for development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) 

using a” IBM-PC and dBase II. 

Major hardware purchased for this GIS system I”- 

eluded a” IBM-PC with two disk drives, a” EPSON 

FX-100 dot matrix printer, a CONUS ZOMB hard disk 

with mirror, a” HP 7470A planer, a GTCO “DigiPad 5’ 

digitizing pad, and a” IBM color display monitor. We 

have a contract with the University of Tennessee 

Space Institute (UTSI) I” Tullahoma, Term., to davelop this GIS system. UTSI already had developed 

a mapptngldata base system for vegetative types I” 

the Recreation Area under a previous contraCt and 

WIII add 20.30 Yhemes” (e.g.. roadsIt& water 

areas, endangered spews sightings) IO their existing 

system. The development of software 10 allow for 

various analyses and revisions of data also is a parl 

of their contract. This system IS to be ready by Sep 

tember 1984. 

As we await the llnal GIS system, we continue to 

work with our first IBM-PC system. Currenlly we are 

preparing a” oil and gas well data base using dBase 

II and compiling water quality sampling data using 

Multiplan. Wordstar IS being used for plan preparation and daily correspondence. Crosstalk soon will be 

used to tap other park and agency information systems and for electronic malllng. Once adminlstratio” 

begins using Multiplan extenslvelyfor budgeting, Rasource Management will be able to make accurate 

budget adjustments as needed. Also planned are the 

hiring of a computer clerk and a proposal to acquire 

a” IBM-PC system for the Obed Wild and Scenic 

River - another park area administered by the Big 

South Fork NRRA Headquarters. 

Michael Duwe 

Big South Fork National River 

and Recreation Area 

P.O. Drawer 630 

Oneida, TN 37841 

From Biscavne NP 

The Parts Hewlett-Packard 9825T computer with 

68K user available RAM memory was purchased by 

the Southeast Region in 1979 as pall of a Hydrolab 

water quality monitoring system and was updated in 

1982. This computer is used to edit, compute values 

and store bay and reef tract water quality data. In 

1984 it will be used for statistical analysts of the 10 

year bay water quality data base. 

The Hewlen-Packard computer also IS used to 

compute and store monthly visitor use data and produce yearly cumulative totals. Other uses Include 

storing addresses, printing mailing labels for public 

sewice announcements, programs to list and locate 

dive equipment, training and program needs, and 

dwe logs for park divers. 

Currently our sporl and commercial fishing creel 

survey data base, begun in 1976, is stored on the 

Wang computer at Everglades NP (EVER) South 

FlorIda Research Center, where weekly, quarterly 
I I E 

The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. 

and yearly slal~st~cal analysis of recreational and 

commercial flshlng IS done. Analysis of the first five 

year data base is in progress. 

The Park purchased an IBM Personal Computer 

(PC) with 840K memory in September 1983. Intl~ally, 

commumcation with the EVER computer to store 

fisheries data IS planned to save time spent m transportation of personnel lo and from the Wang. Eventually this data base may be transferred to the IBM-PC. 

Due to mcreased memory capabillty of the IBM-PC, 

the water quality data base stored on the Hewlett. 

Packard computer may be transferred to the IBM-PC 

Storage 01 exotic plant control data is planned to 

summarize work reports, evaluate herbude efficacy. 

and schedule follow-up treatment 

We hope to develop a multi-dimensional data base 

mlormation retrieval system which would catalog and 

make retwable all Information, utlkzlng a coordinate 

base grid system developed in such a way that data 

could be input and verified by the user on an lndivldual 

data point, data set, or subset basis. This system is 

parl~cularly attractive since all data bases would not 

have to be placed on the computer at one time. The 

result would be that d&rent types of data or data 

sets could be compared or evaluated separately. AC. 

cess to other agency data bases also may be pass,. 

ble. 

Other park uses of the IBM-PC Include programs 

lor tracking park administration wantory, personnel, 

budgets and tralnlng needs, Ranger case incident reports and as an ald in mtetpretive program planning 

and Statistics. 

Past problems wth the park computer Include lack 

of interest and fear of the computer, lack 01 knowledge of computer capablllties, mabil~ly to use or program the computer. and the press of other critical 

duties on personnel wth computer knowledge. TrainIng of all personnel who will directly or indirectly be affected by computer capabiltties and use IS needed 

The park needs employees htred speclflcally to 

schedule computer use, determlne and define needs. 

write programs, put data on the computer. and train 

In-house employees on capabIlity and use. 

Linda C. Dye 

Biscayne NP 

P.O. Box 1369 

Homestead, FL 33030 

From Blue Ridge Parkway 

In October, 1982. the Blue Rldae Parkwav took delkvery of lhree Vector Graphic Model 4-30 r&omputers Each umt Included the CPM operating sys. 

tern. an integrated software package (database, 

spreadsheet. word processing. graphics, and communicatlons). a printer with graphics capabllity, a 

modem Ior telecommunications and 5 megabytes 01 

hard disk storage. The Parkway already had several 

Apple II Plus computers running the MOSS (Malntenance Operations Schedulmg System) program. 

Pror to acquiring the hardware and software. Supt. 

Gary Everhardl eslabllshed an Inter-diwonai committee lo examine Parkway informatIon needs. wantory computer appllcatlons, and survey software and 

hardware conflguratloos. During 1983. several appllcations were up and runnmg with excellent results I” 

the area of profectlon IIncIdent records) and accldeot 

IlIes safety electromc mall word-processing personnel records training ~nventaws. property management. monthly and annual interpretation and vis- 

~tor services reporls. budgel and volunteer hours and 

DAY 

20.6% 

NIGHT 

61.8% cc! DUSK 

11.8% 

DAWN 

costs In addltlon experimentatlon was conducted 

with direct visitor mfarmation access programs. 

Blue Ridge Parkway IS exploring several appl~catlons in resources management. RM Spec. Larry 

Freeman IS working on a database file to store informatton lrom the Parkway’s 400.plus special use parmlts and letters of agreement related to agricultural 

use. lncludlng names of landowners, fence lines 

acreage I” pasture. hay, crops. etc. The program wll 

automallcaily compute any fees Involved. 

The agricultural use lile is just one example of a 

database appllcatlon whtch is essentially an electron~c file system with a surpwng degree of sophIstic&on. Other appllcatlons the Parkway intends to 

explore Include an endangered plants inventory acid 

rain observation file, stream analysts, vista burning 

program, bear management, forest disease data, 

fisheries, exotic plant control, hunter parking permits, 

etc. The Parkway’s incident ftle (a database cons~simg 01 mformatlon lrom Case lncldeni Records. Form 

10.343) IS being modified by developing a sews of 

incident codes specific to resource management actlvlties. 

5.9% 

Figure 2 

Deer Caused Motor Vehicle Accidents 

Light Conditions-1983 

lated accidents occurring during different lighl conditlons. These examples were generated in a matter of 

minutes using the Vector Graphic’s plotting routines 

automatically accessed by Ihe database program. 

One application useful In all functional areas is 

word processing. Recently the Parkway rewrote its 

Resource Management Plan and accomplIshed the 

task in a lh!rd of the time It would have taken to manually draft and edit. Corrections, additions, and revisons can be mseiied easily into the orIgInal to reflect 

future program changes. 

Another example of micro-computer appilcaiions IS 

the use of telecommumcations software and a 

modem to access scienlific databases over telephone lines. The potential related to literature 

searches, abstracts, etc. is just beglnning to be 

realized by park personnel. Some of these databases 

are surprisingly cheap compared to alternative acquisition methods. 

Frequently, the Parkway staff finds computerized 

data useful in ways not orlglnally anticipated. For 

example, a recent resources management project on 

the Parkway was interested in data related to motor 

vehw& accidents involving whttetail deer. The computerized motor vehicle accident flle was examined 

and valuable lnformatlon quickly retrieved. Two 

examples of this type 01 Information are illustrated in 

Figures 1 and 2 Flgure 1 is a bar graph showing the 

number of deer-related motor vehicle accidents by 

District. Figure 2 shows the percentage of deer reMuch of the P&s work I” 1984 IS evaluat!ng the 

feasibility of microcomputer applications in resources 

management. The staff has learned that although 

ceriain types of data and informalton can be kept on 

a mlcrocompuler, It IS sometimes eaw and more efficient to continue the task manually. Whether it is 

practical 10 computerize depends to a large extent on 

the volume of data and the need for seleclive or 

sorted retrieval. 

Tony Bananno 

Blue Ridge Parkway 

Ashville, NC 28807 

FIGURE 1 

Deer Related Motor Vehicle Accidents By District-1983 

B 
3 

The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. 

From Canaveral 

National Seashore 

Canaveral began 11s In-house use of an IBM-PC 

nearly two years ago. A single unit was purchased; 

lhls was complemented by two other employeepurchased IBM-PCs. Basic work has been accomplished I” word processing, spread sheets and 

data accumulation, along with electronic mail. 

Following are the computer programs, listed by the 

software or language used, together with the tasks 

they perform. 

Basic Language 

A monthly tide table calculated for the Canaveral 

beaches 

A mailing list to produce mailing labels for var~ou~ 

park interest groups. 

Word Processing (Word Star) 

Draft and fInalwe Resource Management Plan and 

Interpretive Prospectus. 

Biweekly staff meetings and park in-house newspaper. 

VisiCalc 

Spread sheet for monthly expenditures and programming for fiscal year. 

dBase II 

Inventory control on radio communication system. 

Personnel data InformatIon. 

lncldent data accumulation for L!E Management 

deasions. 

Profile on vehicle B & Es. 

Mosquito quantity and spews for pesilclde juslification. 

Data base production for t,me utlllzatlon. 

X Talk 

P&r&g fire weather forecasts and submiswn of 

fire Information. 

Submissron and receiving of informatIon from 

SERO. 

One interesting devised program is the develop 

ment of a profile for breaking and entering a vehicle. 

The experiment is beginnmg to produce factors that 

indicate the most probable location, time. month, etc. 

that an lncldent will take place. All stable canditlons 

were considered for the data, including temperature, 

day of the week, cloud cover, month, cars m parking 

lot. holiday, etc. A total of 31 vaws data elements 

was entered Ior each incident A form was designed 

for gathering these data as a supplement to the normal repming reqwements. simple and easy to make 

out. It lakes about 30 seconds to enter each sheet of 

information Into the computer. II is hoped that the 

data WIII help us select areas and time of patrol to decrease this activity. 

Dennis Kuenzel 

Canaveral National Seashore 

Titusville, FL 32792.6447 

From Crater Lake 

MomtarIng the production, distribution and usage 

of waler supplies throughout Crater Lake NP has recently been improved by the development of a computer model. The Water System Model was developed on the Parks Datapoint 1900 computer utllizlng 

MULTIPLAN, a spreadsheet program that facilitates 

tabulation of numeric data. The program provides for 

the entry of metered production and usage values on 

a monthly basis and automatically calculates unmetered figures based on dlstrrbution to various park 

and concesston operated areas. 

Through its capablllty of automatlcally adjusting dependent values, the Water System Model also provides a means of analyzing pumping requirements or 

forecasting conservation needs. 

The Crater Lake Limnology research program collects approximately 400 pieces of data per week in 

the basic monitoring schedule. When this IS combined with USGS gaging information and data from 

special invesiigatlons into nutrient chemistry atmospheric mputs and ground water discharge, the data 

volume becomes unmanageable by conventional 

means. Since the program is mandated by PL-97-250 

for a period of 10 years, the park qwkly recogmzed 

that computerized storage, retrieval and manipulation 

of the information was a necessity for accurate determinatlon of trends in Crater Lake’s water quality 

Utilizing park base fundlng and SRP lunding for Lake 

Research, the park has: 

1.) Purchased a 256KB, 1OMB hard disk Wang Profewonal Computer with associated statistics. 

programming, communications and graphics 

dtware; 

2.) Begun the development of telecommunications 

connectlons to the Oregon State University main 

frame computer for large data base manipuiaItons; and 

3.) Begun working with the CPSU at OSU todevelop 

a water qualIly data program for the Wang that 

will allow input directly from the park of data that 

are compatlble with the OSU main frame StatIstIcal analysis packages. 

Additional uses of the Wang PC include a Crater 

Lake research bibliography, a program for prescribed 

fire fuel loading calculations, and word processing for 

Resource ManagementlBackcountry operations. 

Jon Jarvis and D. Hanson 

Crater Lake NP 

P.O. Box 7 

Crater Lake, OR 97064 

From Glacier NP 

Since August 1962. Glacier National Park (GNP) 

has maintained an interagency agreement with 

Flathead National Forest to develop a digital geog 

raphic information system (GIS). Impetus behind the 

agreement has stemmed from regional interagency 

cooperation and expertise within both agencies for 

developing automated inlormation systems. Benefits 

Include the ability to address shared resource problems that are reglonal in scope. a standardized technical jargon and methodology, increased interagency 

communication, and opportunities for reduced cost. 

The GIS will be relevant to about 6,000 mi’ (20,000 

km’) within northwestern Montana. It will not only inventory and monitor resources, but also analyze 

data. User options will exist to merge two or more 

data planes to formulate higher, more complex levels 

of information. 

The project goal IS to Implement an operational ‘inhouse” system that addresses a broad spectrum 01 

resource and research issues. Such a generalized 

approach permits maximum flexibility and requires 

many independent data bases. Data bases completed for the entlre project area Include two Landsal 

land cover classifications (dating lrom 1979 and 

5 

1961), elevation. slope, aspect, polittcal boundaries, 

and subdrainage boundaries. For about 35 percent of 

the project area, data bases are complete for roads, 

I&, logging activities, streams, lakes, islands. and 

an ecological land type classllicatlon developed by 

the Forest Serwe. Addttional data will be added m 

the near future tncluding pwpilation. lightning ignition, forest age classes, fire history. forest disease 

s~tas. wildlife winter ranqe, land ownership, and olher 

land use types or facilities. 

Washinaton State Universiiv is asslstlnq the pro)- 

ect, pro&g computer hardware and s&are supporl Digital files are created in rastor,‘image format 

for each data base -a process that usually requires 

prerequisite steps such as map draning, digitizing, 

and vector file generation. The files are then reglstered to a UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinate base. Most functions are accomplished within 

the scope of image processing using batch VICAR; 

IBIS and mteractive I25 system 575 software. A 

Numonics series 2400 digitizing tablet is used to generate the vector map files. 

Once operational, the data base will reside with 

Flathead National Forest and/or GNP. A need WIII 

continue, however, for maInframe computer assi% 

iance when old data liles are updated and when new 

flies are created. The capability will exist to display 

and analyze subsets of the data on image processlng 

hardware planned for In-house purchase. Thus, the 

system should be readily available for local rasourc~ 

managers and field personnel. 

Data base compatibility development by field personnel, and proximtfy to field operations are ~mportan! factors determining an information system’s success. 

Carl H. Key 

Glacier NP 

West Glacier, MT 59936 

From Grand Canvon 

Grand Canyon NP has a DatapoInt 1600 mlcroprocessor with 120K of user memory 1OMB hard disk, 

printer, and Iwo floppy disk dnves. The parKs River 

Subdistrict has both a teleprinter and an 6200 

Datapoint terminal, which is currently linked to the 

USGS DEC PDP-11 system in Flagstaff. The park 

also has had a centralized word processmq _ system 

for Several years. 

The oark recentlv acouired two IBM PC’s (with 

most~oithe optional bell; and whistles) for the’ Resources Management Dwision. The plan is to develop 

several data bases pertinent to cave inventones, 

backcountry useltmpatis, research permit issues, 

cultural resource inventories. ad almost infinitum, 

using the data base management system dBasell. 

There is also the potential for a third IBM PC in the 

park, assigned to the Maintenance Division, for inhouse applications as well as remote access to large 

maintenance-related data bases currently malntained 

at Boetng Computer Services. 

We’re currently struggling with our most corn. 

prehensive sofhv&hardware proposal to date: automating our backcounlry reservation and permit system. Our average number of permits issued per year 

IS currently 14,000 totalling more than 64,000 user 

nights and encompassmg an advance reservation 

period of 15 months. I?s a tough proposal because 

the resultant system must be the most “user friendly” 

available (due to the number of temporary seasonal 

staff that will use it) and wtually fail-safe (we alma@ 

have fist fights in the permit wailing lines, can you 

imagine what would happen if we had to sayourcom- 
The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. 

puter system went down?) 

What we feel we need in a data base managment 

system and the extent and type of files access 

suggests a hardware conflguration beyond IBM PC! 

Apple/&c options, but the jury IS stall out We also 

want to assume responsibilily for our own backcountry use statistical analyses, currently performed for us 

by the University of Washington CPSU on a monthly, 

quarterly. and annual basis. 

Finally, we derive weral pasltive benefits from our 

mutual agreement with the USGS Computer Branch 

in Flagstaff. While our time-sharing on their DEC 

PDP-11 system (for river use statistical analyses IS 

not cheap, we derive the ban&s of top-notch expertise and sincere &rest in the parrs natural resources from the USGS ADP staff. Having their factiity withln driving distance has provided technical asslstance at linle or no cost upon occasion. And there 

IS lust no substitute for their level of ADP capabtllty 

knowledge when you’re living on lkmlted money. 

Pat Phelan 

Grand Canyon NP 

AZ 86023 

From Great Smokv 

Mountains NP ’ 

The Resources Management Division of Great 

Smoky Mountains NP recently acquired an IBM-PC 

unit. Accessory equipment inclludes a Haynes 

Smartmodem Model 1200, Epson Printer FX-100, 

two floppy disc drives on the system unit, one expansoon unit (to-megabyte hard disc dwe). IBM Monochrome display, Grizzly power sourca, and a quad 

link board. Software supporl for the system mcludes 

Lotus 1.23 WordStar, dBase, Apple-IBMconnetiion. 

ProKey, a Random House Proofreader, and Cross. 

talk. 

Current uses are for standard budget and FTE 

tracking programs and word processing. A sidelight 

of the budget program IS the generatlon of a capital 

and non-capital property listtng for inventory and control purposes. This separate llstlng is done when a 

requsition is entered against an account by expand1ng the fields to include property quantity and descriptlon. Inventory programs also are in “se, or proposed, 

for better accountability of wildlife immobilization 

drugs, training records. wlldllfe law enforcement and 

observation records, and tar tools and equipment 

A future project that promises a useful data base 

for recreational fishery management and brook trout 

restoration efforts is the cataloging of all park 

streams, location, order, species contalned, elevational limits, tribularles, country, and state. A IInk between the DIVISIO~‘S IBM-PC and a malnframe IBM 

unit at the University of Tennessee ~(a the Smatimodem WIII allowforanalysis of data obtained in creel 

and fish population surveys utilizing the SAS program 

The IBM currently generates 150-175 Yemlnder” 

letters to potential park fireftghters that it IS time to update step tests. The park retests twice annually because of spring and fall fire seasons. The memorandum generated also provtdes the prospective flrefighter with his last step test score and dale passed 

Future efforts WIII Include AFFIRMS network interface 

on the IBM, red card records, and fire history and record storage A modlfled U.S. Forest Serwce hazard 

tree ldentlflcallon declslon key IS being experimented 

wth tar possible application in the park. 

Storage and data manipulation have proved worthwhile in managing bear relocations, mast surveys, 

bear indces. exotic wild hog removal effectweness, 

and temporal and spatial analysis of wildlife incidents 

A hog population model has abeen obtained (for an 

IBM-PC) and will be tested this year. 

Last, a resource management plan project statement tracking system that interfaces with resource 

management collecting and research activities is 

under construction. The program will display a brief 

abstract of the project, and the three principal actions 

of research, monitoring, and resource management 

concerning that project. In addition, alicollecl~ng and 

research activities concerning that project may be 

tracked and we versa. 

Stu Coleman 

Great Smoky Mountains NP 

Gatlinburg, TN 37738 

From Hawaii Volcanoes 

The Resources Management DIVISION of Hawaii 

Volcanoes NP recently acquired an IBM-PC. Using 

software, such as Ashton-Tate’s dBase //, Lotus Development Corporation’s Lotus 1,2,3 and Software 

System’s Muitimate. the PC has become a useful tool 

in analyzmg field data in feral animal control, exotic 

plant control, and nene (Hawaiian goose) restoration 

programs. The PC also is being used in many administrative functions. 

The database management system is Ideal for data 

storage and retrieval. Lotus 7,23 analysis and graphIng funclions allow data to be presented in many 

ways and can provide the manager quickly, with 

numerous opilons, greatly enhancing decision-makIng. Technical papers, as well as coorespondence. 

are handled by the word processing software. 

Specific applications so far include entering field 

obsewalions and vttal statistics in the endangreed 

Hawafin goose (new) restoration program, treatment 

data in Ihe exotic plant control program, properly inventory, livestock and hunting dog vltal statistics and 

history and budgetary records. The Research Scientist IS using a feral pig population model developed by 

Dr. Reginald Barrett in evaluating research progress 

in feral pig control methods. Although the system has 

been I” the park lor less than a year, already 11 has 

proven a valuable asset to Resources Management 

and Research. 

Christine Iha 

Hawaii Volcanoes NP 

Hawaii 96718-0052 

From Indiana Dunes 

The Science D~won of Indiana Dunes NL has developed a computer system that enables us to do a 

wide variety of data analysis tasks with ease The 

hardware consists of a Datapomt 8200 CRTterminal, 

a Datapoint 9621 serial dot (132 column width) maw 

pnnter, an IBM PC with an Asynchronous Communecations Card, and several modems. We hope to 

acqwe a letter quality printer so the PC can be used 

for word procewng and letter typing. Our piecemeal 

acqulsitlon of the total system resulted in some difflcultles. 

Using the Datapoint terminal through a modem 

phone line we can hook up to the Boeing Computer 

6 

Services (BCS) office in ChIcago and access thw 

mainframe IBM 370 computer at Vienna, Va. They 

possess the Time Sharing Option (TSO) which enables us to keypunch data sets directly into computer 

files on disk. BCS also matntains several statistical 

software system packages that allow us to perform 

many kinds of analysts. Additional programs can be 

added to the files as needed. We are also able to print 

quickly the results of any data analysis, 

One difficulty is that once data sets are deleted 

from TSO. there only are two very time consuming 

optlons for recreating the data sets; I) if the data are 

on cards they have to be reread through a card 

reader or 2) the data can be re-entered by hand on 

the CRT terminal. Of course it costs to keep data sets 

in TSO flies even when you are not using them; if you 

have over 50 files, it can be quite expenswe. 

The IBM PC solves these problems. Through the 

asynchronous card and modem phone line it is possible to communicate directly wtth the BCS computer. 

Consequently, data sets can be created and stored 

on PC floppy diskettes and through the above mentioned setup It is possible to recreate data set files on 

TSO within minutes. Other advantages include never 

using computer cards, storing data sets in a compact 

form and most Importantly, saving computer cosfs. 

Glitches on the phone line caused by poor connections can be a problem. Another problem is the requirement for a special cable so that the IBM PC can 

be connected to our high speed printer. A printer 

should be purchased with the terminal. Otherwise, 

output must be printed at a BCS office and mailed to 

you. Much time can elapse before discovering you 

made a Job Control Language or syntax error in your 

program, especially when the operator is unfamiliar 

with the software. 

Application of the system has involved the analysis 

of large complex data sets generated from research 

and applied towards solution of ~sowce management problems. Examples include the analysis of an. 

vironmental data from road salt on impacted and unimpacted portions of Pinhook Bog, analysis of vegetation data to understand the successional processes 

in razed resldentlal sites, the classiflcatlon of vegetation to develop a &-get&n map of dew&red pond 

beds, and the study of plant community patterns in 

prairie ecosystems. 

We also have used the IBM PC to store herbarium 

data and inform&n concerning the occurrence of 

rare plants. Resource management has written a program to fill out scientific lkterature request forms from 

the Interior Department Ikbrary. Other resource management appllcatlons Include storing and analyzing 

road kill stalistIcs, deer fat data, fire weather mformation and eventually, effects of controlled burns on 

small mammal populations. 

In the future, we hope to add a color graphic termsnal, increase the storage capablltties of our PC, and 

purchase addltlonal terminals. Thus, Ihe combination 

of a prmter, a terminal, and a personal computer that 

can be linked to Boelog Computer Serwes enables 

data to be stored and analyzed in an efkcient and inexpenwe manner. With such capabilItIes. almost any 

analysis problem IS solvable. 

Noel Pavlovic 

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 

1100 N. Mineral Springs Rd. 

Porter. IN 46304 
The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. em hemlock--western red cedar forestscould be retrieved bv selectinq elevations below 1200 meters 

From Isle Rovale 

lnitlally purchased for admlnistratlve and payroll 

applications, Isle Royale’s Datapoint 8620 Computer 

system is now being used for resources management 

applications as well. Located in the mtddle of Lake 

Superior, Isle Royale does not have direct telephone 

access to the Mann computer, which is located in 

Hwghton, Mich. A termmal IS hooked nto the processer w a 1200 baud modem and radio telephone to 

run applications programs. The same terminal IS also 

used as a dumb tube’ along with a matrix printer to 

connect with the AFFIRMS fire weather computer 

system. 

The Datapoint system is largely business oriented. 

so sofhvare for resources manaqement and scientific 

applications IS practically non&tent - particularly 

programs dealing with statistical analysis. Use of 

existing software largely focuses around Datapoint’s 

Integrated Elecirorw Office System or Word Processer, whose benefits are obvious in the development 

and updating of resources management plans and 

reports. For example, Isle Royale now has a complete Park Bibliography, easily updated, of over 750 

references which can be queried by key word or word 

combinations such as author or sub@(s). This application has been particularly useful in responding to 

requests for specific lnformatlon by the public or the 

research community. 

Development of in-house computer programs at 

Isle Royale for resources management applications 

is m the beginnmg stages. lnitlal efforts are geared towards the analysis of wtor use data collected from 

the Backcountry and SCUBA dung permits. For 

example, a summary list of the number of dives made 

on each of the 30 shipwrecks and historic sites is 

being used to make deciwns on the placement of 

mooring buoys to protect these significant cultural resources. Because of the t,me conwmng nature of 

writing software, a -program to write programs”called 

DATAFAST is used to build the data entry portions of 

all programs. 

Envisioned for the future are programs lo develop 

data bases and do analysis on meteorologIcal conditions, backcountry campsite conditions, and colonial 

bird rookeries. 

Craig C. Axtell 

Isle Royale National Park 

Houghton, Michigan 49931 

From North Cascades 

Wildlife observations reporteo by employees and 

visitors prwde valuable informatIon on the dislribulion and relative density of various species, thus sup 

plementing field studies by the park biologlcal staff 

Data are recorded on Natural History Field Observation cards (Form 10.257). Despite North Cascades 

NP Service Complex’s relattvely short existence 

(since late 1968). already we have accumulated several thousand completed cards. These are distributed 

among 48 mammal, 155 bird, 7 reptile. 7 amphibian, 

and 9 lish species. 

Natural History Field Observation cards are stored 

alphabetically by species and class in file &nets at 

North Cascades park complex headquarters. Al. 

though this data-storage system is adequate for reand Universal Tra&verse Mercator coordinates less 

trieval by species or class, cros&ferenclng by other than 650000E. It may be possible to more directly 

variables such as location and habitat-type is not pos- document habitat-type in 1984, when vegetation 

sible. mapping for the park complex is completed. 

A strong need for a multi-vanate wildlife data-re- Presently this system contains information on 12 

trieval system became apparent both from internal mammal and 22 bird species that are endangered, 

park-management needs and from numerous re- rare, or unusual in our area. We do not antlclpate putquests by universities, corporations, and private indi- ting data on the more common species in the comviduals. The recenl acquisition of two Datapoint com- puter in the near future. 

puters and a programmer (Roberi Borreu) facilitated Printouts can readily be sent by mall in response to 

development of a new system. requests originating outside the park complex. 

The new system permits retrieval by species, This new use of the computer has dramatically imclass, county, topographic quadrangle map, Urwer- proved retrieval of data on wildlife distribution and relsal Transverse Mercator coordinates, elevation, pre- ative density in the North Cascades park complex, 

cision (confirmed or unconfirmed), date, and ob- and could serve as a model for systems in other park 

server. Figure 1 shows an example of the printout. sewice areas. 

For most variables, ranges of values also can be Jonathan Bjiirklund 

selected. Although few habitat data can be directly re- North Cascades NP 

trieved from the cards, approximations are possible 800 state St. 

For example, most observations in old-growth west- Sedro Woooley, WA 98284 

Figure 1. Example of computer printout of wildlife-obwvation data. 

_ 

From Olvmpic NP 

Equipment: Datapunt 1560 w IOMB hard disk - 

DOS H. Will run “standalones or under ARC. 

Programs and Software: Multiplan, Datascan, 

FORTRAN, IEOS, word processing, CP/M-80 22 (in 

progress), Lemonade, DATABUS 

In the Olympic S&T Division we are using the computer primarily as a data storage and manipulation 

tool. Current applications include analysis of permanent plots in plant communities, manipulation of anadromous fish spawning survey data, hazardous tree 

records, hazardous tree monitoring, statistical 

analyses, budget tracking, wildlife management, drug 

inventories, equlpmenl inventories, and word processing. We expect to use the computer for plant 

checklIsts. herbarwm inventory museum catalogs, 

wildlife observation cards, bibliographies, scientific 

abstracts. fish scale data. wildlife movements, electronic mail, storage of weather data, fire management 

and as many other appllcafions as our collective 

imaginations will allow 

The first park computer was a Datapoint 1800 with 

a 1OMB hard disk drw we all shared. Since data 

storage and machine access were too lkmited we 

added a 1560 in the Science and Technology Division 

and two 1560s running under the ARC system in Administration. The 1800 currently IS in Mamtenance 

and plans are underway to add a 1560 in the Interpretive Division. Most of us are pleased with the 

Datapoint system but we continue to study alternatives. 

Initial use of our computer system was relatively 

slow. Each individual had to become familiar with new 

equipment and - in some cases -with computers 

in general. We have had a computer for approximately 16 months and still feel we are in the embyronic stages of how best to use the system. It is ap 

parent we need at least one and more likely two Programmenoperatorson a full-bme basis. 

To take full advantage of a computer system, considerable time must be spent on training. Staff members need to know both how to use the computer and 

how to determme what types of applications are ap7 
The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. 

proprlate for computer use Tasks that are to be handled by the computer must be carefully thought out. It 

is inefficIent as well as frustrating to a programmer to 

have someone continually changing or adding 

parameters to a program that has already been written. 

Al Olympic we are committed to broad applications 

of the system. As more of our experts on particular 

sublects become familiar with the computer as a 

‘working tool,” we find we are just beglnning to tap the 

advantages of ADP. 

‘S&ware package descriptions: 

DATASCAN - a data base manipulation tool of 

considerable powar, but operates slowly on some 

machines. 

LEMONADE - a screen generator, allows sat up 

of a “page’ on the scleen so that when data is entered I! is automatically placed in a predetermined format. 

IEOS - Datapoint’s word processor. 

DATABUS - a computer language designed by 

Datapoint. 

FORTRAN - a computer language designed for 

sclentlfic applications. 

CP’M 60 ~ an operating system used by many 

processors including IBM, Kaypro, etc. 

MULTIPLAN-a powerful ‘spread she&set up in 

rows and columns. Appropriate Ior smaller data sets 

and maklng tables or malntalnlng runnmg totals m different accounts. 

DOS H-the disk operating system on Olympc’s 

Datapoint 1560 serves computers. 

Ed Schreiner 

Olympic NP 

600 E. Park Ave. 

Port Angeles, WA 96362 

From Redwood NP 

In the summer of 1983, Redwood NPs Technical 

Services and Resource Management Dlvislons 

bought their first computer hardware Ior use in the Arcata. Calif. office. This system is used for accessing 

the Humboldt State University CYBER 170-720(Z) 

malnframe. also located in Arcala The University IS 

authorized to provide computer processing Services 

to agencies of the U.S. Government on a full cost recovery basis. This IS a parwularly anractlve arrangement for the park because of the power and speed of 

this computer and the large amount of software. Both 

are sewlced and mainlained by the University. en. 

abling us to concentrate on data input, analysts. and 

program development. 

For our first system, a Stand alone microcomputer 

was ““necessary. due loour ablllly to accessthe VIIversity CYBER. Our hardware conststs 01 a DIgItal 

Equipment Corporation VT-100 terminal and LA-100 

printer and a 1200 baud Racal-Vadlc modem for both 

the park office and the Unwerslty to eslabllsh a communlcatlon line The termlnal has the advanced video 

option, useful for scanning output from ‘canned’ 

statistical packages. A Dtgltal Eng~neerlng GENII 

Retra-Graphics board in the terminal gives us the 

ability to display graphics on the terminal screen 

We are acqwng a Tektronix graphic syslem capable of locally running the SAGIS resource management mapping software (revlewd in Winter 82 and 

Wtnler 63 PARK SCIENCE). Our needs for such a 

system are based on (1) our current mabllity to extrapolate results obtamed in statlstlcal analyses to 

generate schematIc portrayals of numeric trends and 

to generate secondaly data for input m statistical 

computations: and (2) our need for a large capacity 

graphics system that can reduce to usable form map 

base data from the lirst five years of our watershed 

rehap program. 

Our “canned” software gives us flexible, powelful 

tools that provide analysis of sample univariate or 

complex multlvarlate data by researchers with no prewus axpenance of considerable expertise. In addltron, a number of programming languages are ava~lable for “se when a task cannot be handled by conventional canned software. 

Two larger FORTRAN programs, SYNTAB. and 

ADZBED, written by the author, may have applications in other parks. SYNTAB is an interactive program that WIII produce a synthesis table for ranking or 

classifying data that have been recordcd in the iradltlonal ZM style, into discrete plant communities. 

called associations RDZBED IS an interactive menu 

driven program that WIII produce the contract specs 

that enable heavy equipment operators IO bid on 

such lobs as putting a road to bed as part of our pro. 

gram to prevent signtficant sediment sources from 

entering the mainstem of Redwood Creek. The 

Geologlsts.Hydrologtsts COTR determines which of 

five techntques to use for returmng the hillslope to its 

pre-road proflle, enws the data as the program 

prompts, and puts out the contract specifications. 

Currently the Divisions of Resources Management 

and Technical Services are jointly funding a half-time 

(temporary) computing consultant postlion, the d&s 

of which Include: (1) liaison with the Humboldt Slate 

University Computer Center; (2) training staff in the 

use of specific appllcafion programs and utilities; (3) 

writing programs for applications not available in 

canned software; (4) standardizing and archlwng 

exlsfing data: and (5) trouble shooting hardware and 

software problems. Benefiting projects provide for 

lheir own data entry and analysts utilizing existing 

personnel 

Mark Schroeder, our wldllle biologist, has collected 

a large data base that focuses on the ecology of the 

black bear in Redwood NP The largest set consw 

of relocation data for the monltorlng of h&tat use by 

bears throughout the mosaic of cutover lands in the 

expanded poilion of the park. Each relocation 01 a 

radiomstrumented animal IS coded Into UTM grid 

coordinates This generates hundreds of relocation 

points. When anaiyzlng these data for associations 

with habitat type, topography’landforms, climate, and 

possibly other instrumented bears, computers greatly 

simplify the work Avatlable sotlware also can prepare 

tables, graphs, and maps. The Information is easily 

slored and can be retrieved far reuse in Similar 

wildlife studies This data base also includes Information on food hablts hematology and blood chemistry, 

somatic measurements and condition evaluation. 

Schroeder expects the new technology to aid in I”- 

terpretatlon of the various parameters and to enhance his contribution to wildlIfe research management 

William S. Lennox 

Redwood National Park 

Crescent City, CA 95531 

From Rocky Mountain 

National Park 

Rocky Mounla~n NP IS upgrading its Datapomi system to the Model 8640. An agreement was made with 

the consulilng firm of Arthur Anderson and Company 

of Denver (through the Super VIP program) to 

thoroughly evaluale the park needs. We are now in 

the process of looking at the various ongo!ng research and monitoring programs lncludmg wildlIfe 

populalion studies, range condwns and trend 

monliorlng and vegetation studies as the first prlorlty 

Ior data processing. In the future we see the addition 

of a basic data file, research protect register, science 

library catalog, herbarium file and niildllfe obserwtlon 

files. We would be interested in what other programs 

have been developed throughout the NPS for the 

Datapoint system Bung able to utilize what already 

has been developed would certainly accelerate our 

program. 

Owng your own personal computer may offer a 

researcher a continuity in data analysis that is ~mpossible when using larger computers. As research professionals we don’t thmk twice about purchasmg 

books or joining professional Socletles. In time. the 

ownership of a personal computer may be just as 

common a “tool of the trade.” INS dlfticult to be enthwastic about writing a substantial software library 

if you know that when you are transferred the 

software probably will not be compatible with the 

computer at your new location. Also, data sets may 

require an extensw overhaul to meet the input format of the new analytical software. By owmng your 

own. or at least slicking to an Industry standard, such 

as ‘IBM compatible.’ these problems are eliminated. 

NPS researchers should begin sharing their experience with computing systems. Communication ua 

telephone lines wtll permit the sharing of nonproprletafy software. Data sets could be iransmltted for 

analysts by others who may have more apropriate 

sofiware. Calculatrons could be performed by personal computer; the results could then be transmined 

to a faclllty with higher quality output facilities, such 

as a plotter or color printer. 

The time seems right for the use of small computing systems for research. and for coordinating that 

use on a wide scale. In particular, researchers wll 

need assistance m lnterfacmg personal computers 

with mainframe systems and their associated facllities. In most cases this will consist of lifile more than 

establishtng an account al the target facility and usmg 

the personal computer as a very intelligent terminal. 

Dave Stevens 

Rocky Mountain NP 

Estes Park, CO 60517 

From Seauoia and Kinas 

Canyon 

The ‘old veterans“ of Sequoia and Kings Canyon’s 

growing array of data processing equpment are a 

DatapoInt 1550 operated by the D~won of Ra. 

sources Management. and an IBM PC III Research. 

both are scarcely one year old. 

The Da&point IS a word processing workhorse, 

prowding electromagnetic storage and conwwent 

updating of plans. such as the Natural Resources 

Management Plan, Bear Management Plan, Fire 

Management Plan, and others that reqw? extenswe 

amendment in draft and annual revisions. This word 
The Park System’s Developing Response, cont’d. 

processing capability has eased greatly what had becoma a fearsome secretarial bottleneck. 

Thanks to his previous programming experience, 

Fish and Wildlife Specialist Harold Werner has developed local programs in BASIC and FORTRAN to 

manage an extensive water quality data base that 

permits non-expert users to access and enter data. A 

co&nation of commercial and focal programs is 

similarly under development for a bear management 

data base. Although the Datapoint clearly has been 

an advantage, its limited memory and available 

software will tend to cramp new uses in the future. 

Research operates an IBM PC that IS used. at present, for data analysis, data base management, and 

word processing. The hardware continues to evolve, 

but presently is configured with 576 KB RAM, 2 DS 

DD floppy dnves, an IBM monochrome monitor with 

a Hercules graphics card, a dot-matrix printer, and 

latter-quality printer on order. We rely extensively on 

RAM (psuedo) disk software to reduce the read/write 

time that comes with floppy disks. 

The IBM is used for a large variety of tasks by the 

research scientists, techniaans, and clerk-typists. An 

on-going acid rain research project generates a number of extenswe data sets on water chemistry, 

meteorology downloaded directly from automated 

weather stations, vegetation, and a bibliography. 

Commercial data-base management, stallsbcal 

analysis/graphics, and word processing programs 

are used extensively for data input, analysis. and 

edltinglformatting tasks. Local programming to date 

has been in interpreted BASIC, but a FORTRAN compiler is available to exploit the many resources programs in that language, and we are explortng the use 

of “C .” 

In terms of console time, both computers are heavily loaded. In future we may consider a multi-user 

operating environment with additional terminals. This 

would require a hard disk to handle the additional 

storage requirements and to speed read/write times. 

In FY 1985 Sequoia and Kings Canyon will embark 

upon a long-term geo-based resource information 

system including the extensive collection and storage 

of many large Inter-related data sets. This almost certainly will require addressable memory and processmg speed beyond the capability of the IBM PC. We 

are considering for this task a “high-end” microcomputer with large virtual memory capable of supporting 

a multi-user environment, and hard disk. 

One thmg live discovered that appears to have 

been true for all the computers (now numbering 8) in 

these parks: There seems to be a several-months lag 

period before users become comfortable with the 

machines and have refined theirthtnking to where the 

machines are transformed from expenwe playthings 

to useful tools. Once that point is reached, however, 

utility seems to grow in almost a logarithmic fashion; 

so does use, as more people see the computer in acbon and want to become involved. Then comas a 

scramble for keyboard time. 

These parks recently implemented a Computer 

Management Committee to promote the most efficient use of equipment and software presently 

owned, and to provide systematic planning for the future. 

David M. Graber 

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP’s 

Three Rivers, CA93271 

From Whiskevtown NRA 

At WhIskeytown NRA, the Datapoint 1800 computer system has been in operation for about one 

year and is used by all divisions. Whiskeytown does 

not employ any programmers so the capabllities of 

the 1800 for the most pad, have been governed by 

available software. The computer is used for payroll 

functions (DIPS, PAYPERS), budgeting (MULTIPLAN), GSAvehicle tracking, law enforcement visltor 

use statistics and case incident statistics, and word 

processing for repetitive correspondence and modifications in the park fire management plan. 

Each division sees addihonal tasks which could 

use a computer’s storage and processing agility. An 

inventory and maintenance record of buildings, signs, 

and equipment would facilitate planning of cyclic up 

keep. The inventory of the Natural History Asso&+ 

lion’s materials could be updated constantly by a 

computer cash register system for the wsitor center; 

a sensitive screen. user-friendly informational terminal would benefit the park visitor. Law enforcement 

personnel could provide readily available intrapark 

communication regarding vandals who habitually 

strike national parks. (One sensitive aspect is the 

problem of adequate secunty to prevent access to 

confidential infomwtion.) 

For managers concerned with mineral leasing, a 

software program capable of providing a crossindexed listing of land characteristics by township, 

range and section would be useful. The computer, by 

telephone modem, also could gwe access to the 

AFFIRMS fire weather system, and to the lightning 

fire prediction program (LLAFFS) prwded by the 

U.S. Forest Service. Ideally. graphics capabillties 

would be of great help I” mapping of vegetation 

types, soil types, backcountry trail system, etc. Electronic mall would allow quck, intrapark correspondence. 

Victoria Mendiola 

P.0. BOX 188 

Whiskeytown, CA 96095 

From Wind Caves 

The AdminIstrative and Forest Fire Information Retrieval and Management System (AFFIRMS) is a 

user-oriented mteractive computer program designed 

to permit simultaneous entry of fire weather observations from field stations over an extensive network. 

Fire weather data may be entered from any of a number of data terminals; then those data and the associated fire indexes may be centrally archived and may 

be displayed at any terminal in the network. 

Wind Caves IS one of the first parks outside the 

PNR to use AFFIRMS from a Datapoint Computer. 

AFFfRMS uses the 1978 National Fire Danger Rating 

System as a basis for calculating fire danger indexes, 

which in turn provide fire managers with an invaluable 

predictive tool in managing fire adivitias. 

Increased use of Datapoint computers throughout 

the Park Service has made the AFFIRMS program 

available to areas that have been reliant on manual 

computations or the Texas Instruments TI-59 handheld calculator for non-archived index calculations. 

Some additional hardware may be required, depending on the walls present Datapoint equipment. 

For example, Wind Cave has a DP 1800 Processor 

with a 2400 Baud modem (2400 baud is standard 

throughout the Rocky Mountain Region for administrative transmittals). However, AFFfRMS sends at 

9 

either 300 or 1200 baud. Therefore, acombination ol 

hard-and-software was acquired to “translate” between the different rates and allow the park to use 

AFFfRMS locally. 

The interface procedures involved were developed 

by the Pacific Northwest Region and provided to the 

Branch of Fire Management, BIFC, in July, 1983. 

Once AFFIRMS is telephonically accessed the user 

must then follow the normal AFFIRMS operations. 

Paul Broyles 

Wind Caves NP 

Hot Sorinas. SD 57747 

From YellowstoneNP 

The file handling capabilittes of the Dataooint SYStern used in Yellowstone are useful for Inpining dia 

to the system. I have used it extensively to Input data 

from field forms and to manipulate the flies created 

for analysis and printed output. These programs are 

written in the Databus language and were done before Multiplan was available. Some of the work may 

be easier to enter under Multiplan, depending on the 

size requirements of the data base. Once the data 

are in a file form from Multiplan, they could be manlpulaled with Databus programs or RMS or DOS 

commands. I have also found the chain file capability 

of the Datapoint system quite useful. Two or more 

programs can be called Into service automatically 

after data are input to the terminal 

I have written seven programs. which so far are 

poorly documented but if anyone wanted a copy of 

the documentation it could be produced quickly. An 

example is RDNFPLTflext:W, a program to build a 

file of vagetabon plot data from field forms. The text 

file produced consists of a long list of records. The 

first record is a plot header that gives the plot number, 

location, and physical parameters of the s!te. Following that, each spews is listed with itscover value. In 

application programs, the plot header IS used to distinguish between plots. 

One of the next programs I plan to write will look 

through the file and find the locations of a parlicular 

species. I would be glad to correspond with anyone 

interested in such programs or other applications of 

the Datapoint systems. 

Don G. Despain 

The Greater Yellowstone Area, which includes Yellowstone NP, is using an animal tracking program for 

the griuly and black bear monitoring system. The 

majority of the 1983 information has been put into the 

system and we are planning to use this system, without backup from the previous system, in 1984. To 

date, the input program is workno well. and the 

search/selection program has provid;d us with a useful managment tool. 

Wa are using a set of programs for the input and 

analysis of the research/resources management 

data. 

I. Data Input Program (Datapoint -‘Databus” language). Data can be a mixture of literal, numeric, or 

codedtvoes. 

II, Diia Search/Selection Program (Datapoint - 

“Basic” lanouaael. 

A. T~rou$lnteraction Program 

1. User designs search for any combination 

of data values. 

2. User designs tabular output of any data 

fields in arw order 

3. Sorting of /awrds can be requested. 

6. Modules can be added to increase capabllitiesfor special reports, Mlculations, etc. 

Sandi Fowler 

Yellowstone NP, WY 821% 
DI. Jack Engle. on board the NPS vessel Pacific Ranger, uses an Apple compuler to determrne adequacy of samples faken for moni!orq populal~on dynamjcs of keep 

forest oiganrsms~ Channellsiands NP (Photo by D. Gotshall. California Dept. 01 Ftsh and Game) 

Channel Islands NP Develops 

Microcomputer Based Info System 

By Gary E. Davis 

Channel Islands NP began an ambitious natural resources monllorlng program I” 1980. The basis of the 

program IS a senes of 16 research projects. Each 

project deslgned a population dynamics monitoring 

system for a major taxonomlc group such as sea 

birds, island plants, or marine Invertebrates. In addllion to provldmg managers with information they need 

to prolecl and manage park resources, the moworlng program will satisfy Section 203 (a) of Public Law 

96-199, which requires that the status and probable 

future condition of plant and animal pop&lions m the 

park be determlned and reporled to Congress blew 

nlaliy. 

Al the outset, with normal constraw on manpower 

and funds. it was apparent that an automated system 

was needed for managing and analyzing population 

dynamics data and for preparing species lists and repolls. The design of this Resource Informalion Management System was the No. 2 priority research prw 

ect for the monitoring program and l&&sign pro&& 

followed four steps: 

1) definition of the task, 2) selection of avaIlable ap 

plication software (programs) 10 do the job, 3) selection of hardware available 10 supporl the software, 

and 4) implementation and modification of the 

selected hardware and software for the specific tasks 

of the resource monitoring program. 

The first lhree steps have been completed. The 

fourih slep IS an ongomg process that integrates the 

results of the research design sludes as they are 

completed Into a unified monitoring program. Minor 

modiftcations probably will continue at a low level as 

long as the system is I” use 

Task Definition 

Natural resource monitoring at Channel Islands NP 

requws management of population dynamics data. 

blbltographic mlormatlon. and textual material. Data 

10 

on the abundance, distrlbutlon reproductive efforts. 

recrutment, phenology, population age and sex composltlons, growth rates, and moriallty rates of a dlverse assemblage of plants and animals must be 

stored, manipulated, and retrieved Taxonomlc data 

for the nearly 2,000 species that occur in the park 

must be maintained to provide ready reference for 

wentists and managers. and to produce speclallred 

species lists lor lndlvldual islands. biogeographic 

zones, or lnlerpretlve programs. 

The scientific literature on the parks natural resources is extenwe (over 4,000 stations) and IS 

growing steadily A system ior managing this b!bllog 

raphlc mformatlon IS needed to provide managers 

with the best available lnformatlon lor timely decis~o”s, and to allow sclent~sts and reso”rce managers 

to efficiently reww prewus work on parl~cuiar reso”rces I” the park. Preparation and presentation of 

professional reports on the status of park ~?sources 
requires sophisticated word procewng and high 

quality printing capablllties. In summary this system 

must be able to store. manipulate retrieve. and prowde hard copy of digital. graphic. and textual materlal. 

The work environment also IS an important aspect 

01 deflnlng the task. Channel Islands NP consists of 

live Islands, isolated from the manland by 11 to 36 

miles of ocean. fully one half of the park consists of 

submerged lands and waters surrounding the ISlands. Much of the resource mon,tor,ng actIvlty. even 

of island-based resources. ut\l~zes relatively large 

NPS vessels, which can provide quawel~able electr~city and shelter from the weather for exlended 

periods of field work. Under these ctrcumstances, lt IS 

dewable and possible to take some aspects of the information management system mto the field to 

evaluate the adequacy of samples or confirm unusual 

observatlans wlthout lncurnng the extraordmary expense of addItIonal lield trips. The ma,or data management lunci~ons of the system must be selfantalned and at least partially portable to provide this 

capability. 

Another factor ~mpotiant to delining the requw 

ments of the system was that little. If any. mformatlon 

would be exchanged wth other automated data 

bases This system should be able to IunctIon as an 

independent tool as well as being linked with other 

systems to exchange information 

Selected s0nware 

The nature of these tasks and fhe anticipated low 

volume of mformatlon mdlcated that a microcomputer 

system would be adequate. Hewlng to the axiom that 

simple is best. we set out to select the best available 

microcomputer soflware for data management and 

word processing Two things overwhelmed us al 

once. the vast array of ~nexpenwe applications 

software on the market and the extremely high rate at 

which I, was growg. AHer struggling for years with 

maswe programs costing hundreds of thousands of 

dollars. It was astomshlng to find similar data managemenl capabllltles in programs costing $90 to 

S500’ 

At thls lime our system ut~lkzes 10 software packages lor data management, modeling, StatIstIcal 

analysts graphic presentat~an and word processing 

Three programs were selected initially for data management, and a fourlh was added when it became av 

able two years later. The Channel Islands system 

currently manages data bases with The Data Factory, 

DB Master. and MDBS Data bases “smg dBase II 

are being developed. These generalized programs 

range in complexity and capabIlIty from extremely 

simple to sophisticated They permit reswrce managers and swnt~sts with IlHle or no computer programmung ab!lity to create and use customized data files 

and reports for their Individual needs. 

An electronic spreadsheet program. VisiCalc. IS 

used to model boat and visitor use m the park for the 

momtoring program and has a number 01 administrative uses as well. SlatIsllcal analyses of resO”lce 

monltorlng data are conducted wth Microstat, which 

prowdes a wide array of descriptive stattsttcs. 

analysts of variance. correlation and regrewon. time 

sews. and nonparametrIc tests DB Masters Stat 

Pak has a more llmlted menu 01 analyses. but IS very 

converuent for use wth data stored in DB Master IlIes 

and provides most of the standard analyses. The 

Apple Stepw~se Multiple Regrewon program prov,des the capabiltty of sophisticated analyses Of en. 

wonmental !actors and populai~on dynamics 

In addition to the graphlcal displays awlable in 

these statlst~cal programs. a program called Apple 

Plot provides the system with the ability to present 

data I” a vawty of graphIcal formats. Wordstar, with 

its auxiliary programs, Mallmerge and Spellstar. provlde professional word processing capabIlIty. 

Selected Hardware 

In 1980. when the Channel Islands NP Resource 

Information Management System was being desIgned, the selection of microcomputer hardware was 

more limited than it IS today. Among the companies 

that had established reliable reputations and would 

probably s”rvve long enough to support the resources monltorlng program, Apple computers had a 

clear advantage in the array 01 available software that 

would provide future flexibility for the system. 

Nevertheless, there were several Important programs 

needed for the nlormation system that required a different operating system than that oflered by Apple. 

This problem was solved by placmg a Z-80 muoprocessx in an Apple II Plus computer to provide both 

Apple and CP M operating systems in one machine 

Wordstar M~crostat. and dBase II run under CP’M, 

and the rest of the programs in the information system run under the Apple operat,ng system. Both letter 

quality and graphics prlntlng were required, and a 

printer that could withstand the rigors of shipboard 

operations was needed These diverse requrements 

were best met with two printers: one an expenave, 

complex impact type, a Qume Sprint 5. for ofhce letter 

quality products, and the other an inexpensive dot 

matrix type, an Epson MX-80, lor shipboard operatnns and graphic displays. This confIguration of 

hardware: an Apple II computer wth aZ-80 mizroprocessor, four 5%” floppy-disk dnves, a h!gh resolullon 

wwmg screen. and two printers. supports the appllcation soHware needed for the Channel Islands NP 

Resource Information Management System 

System Implementation 

lmplementatlon of the information system is progressmg slowly as data are acquwd and analyl~cal 

and reporting reqwements are deftned by the research design studies Population dynamics data on 

sea birds, pinnlpeds (seals and sea Lyons), maw inverlebrates. marme plants, and fishes presently are 

managed wth DB Master and Data Factory files. 

These data are analyzed with Microstat and DB Master Stat Pak programs. Parkwide species lists are 

malnlained on DR Master flies A 4,000-&y blbllography on park rewurces is mamtalned on an MDBS 

tile A model for monitoring boating actlvlty in the park 

runs on VisiCalc Weather data files are being developed with The Data Factory and DB Master. and 

dBase II files are being studled for management of 

vegetation records. The first biennial report to Cangress required by PL 96-l 99 was prepared using 

Wordstar. and the preparation of a large number of 

other reports. manuscripts, and correspondence has 

been iacllltated by the system’s word processing 

capabllItles 

Park operations beyond research and resource 

management have benefltted from the establishment 

of the Resource Information Management System 

Property wentor~es. SCUBA dive logs and case incadent records are managed with The Data Factory 

and DB Master. Routine status of funds repotis are 

prepared usmg DB Master, and monthly publx use 

report data are developed and maintained on VISICalc flles Preparation and revlsnn of lengthy reports 

and plans have been facilitated by the word process,ng capablllt,es of the system Slgnlflcant cultural 

data bases on the park‘s archeological and historical 

resources are being prepared for ~nclusw in the information system Blbllograph~c information on allural resources already has been ~ncorpotated. 

As the process 01 translating research results Into 

11 

information 

crossfile 

Daniel S. Greenberg, &or and publisher of SC+ 

ence & Government Reporl an independent newsletter based m Washington. DC wound up a recent 

column with ‘two other elements” he sad he had recognlzed as ‘fairly standard in the computer trade ~ 

“The first IS that all machines are adverbsed as slmple and self-explanatory - 10 the effect of just turn It 

on and you are ready to go, which IS akln to telling 

career pedestrians that they can dwe on the interstate highway first time out The second IS that it is 

a rare salesman who knows how to operate these 

purported embodiments of s~mpllclty.’ 

_I 

Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor of computer 

science at Massachusetts lnstltute of Technology and 

a pioneer in the development oi the computer. was interviewed for the March 1984 issue of Harpers. and 

offered a dwntlng wew on what he calls “the computerfad.‘ 

‘The temptatlon.‘he said’@ send computers wherever there IS a problem IS great. The introduction 

of the computer Into any problem area, be II medlcone, education, or whatever. usually creates lhe empress~on that grievous deficiencies are being cw 

rected, that somethlng IS being done. But often Its 

prlnclpal effect IS to push problems even further Into 

obscwty ~ to avoid confrontation with the need for 

lundamentally critical thInking” 

And then there was Shoe the disheveled 

editowl owl. by Jeff MacNelly. In a recent strip. Irving 

informs Shoe that he has bullt a new word-processing 

system ‘with all the glitches removed No more worry1ng about losing your stuii someplace I” the memory 

bank - or hawng your screen jus’ go blank - or 

waiting for the prlntoutl! No str! This little beauty 

bypasses all that complex mlcroclrcultry. the floppy 

discs, the bulky pnnters. and other this and thals” 

This IS the 21st century answer to todays awkward. 

cumbersome word processors. With my new system 

you can actually compose right at the keyboard and 

get nstantaneous printout- with a foolproof memory 

and retrieval capabIlIty AND ~ the grealest 

technological breakthough 01 all - it sells for only 

5119.50. Gentlemen I gwe you the UNDERWOODI” 

management action continues at Channel Islands. 

the Resource lnformatlon Management System will 

become the focal point 01 cr~tlcal decisions wolwng 

the future of park resources. While It will be crucial 

that the system be able to manage the nformalion. 11 

~111 be even more ~mpottant that park managers and 

scientists be able to effectively manage the system 

The kind of InformatIon developed here at Channel 

Islands NP has the potential of solwng one 01 the Natlonal Parks most pressmg challenges how to do 

more high qua&y work with fewer people in less time. 

Today’s managers and went~sts need to become 

.hands-on‘ users 01 these information systems il we 

are to keep pace with developments outside of Ihe 

parks and continue to protect the mtegrlty of park reSO”lCeS. 
Microcomputer - New Tool of Communication 

By John Hoke 

In the Spring of 1980, lhts writer acquired a small 

microcomputer system - primitive. by today’s standards, and lacking many of the bells and whistles” 

current machines exhibit But this modest system enabled the war to vastly improve the efficiency and effectivenessof a host of many workaday tasks. 

A ‘Field’-Suppariing Tool 

While a microcomputer is usually associated with 

‘numbers-crunching’ its capabilities go further. I have 

used 11 frequently to help communicate Information 

about such chores as the testmg of new tools and 

technology. An example includes an effort to make 

the management of the waler bodies on the National 

Mall less costly. ‘Swimming-pool’ treatment 

techniques used earlier involved frequent, messy, 

and costly purges and cleaning of the pools. These 

systems now are kept healthy by managing them as 

self-sustaining, self-cleaning living aquatic ecosystems. But thrs involved making many changes in our 

maintenance techniques and the use of new tools. 

Complete with Pictures 

Each change in technique had to be tested first. 

The writer would photograph the trial operation with 

polaroid shots-and than quickly dash off the whole 

thing on the microcomputer, while the memory of it 

was still fresh. Using a word-processer program, ihe 

story-telling sequential aspects of the effort could be 

set down, with gaps left rn the evolving text to accommodate those pictures that best illustrated the test effort. The final result was usually a one or two-page 

treatment then run through a copier for distribution to 

staff and mamtenance forces who would have to 

make the system in the future. Bemg a ‘one-man’ op 

elation and used to being strapped wilh the multipledrafts process lhat so often attends going from Idea 

to final copy, I found Ihe microcomputer process was 

fast and got Ihe results quickly into Ihe hands of those 

who needed il. 

To Make ‘Spreading the Word’ Easier and Faster 

These mlrvreporfs were not works of art (although 

polarold pictures reproduce well on a photo-copfar in 

good condition), but they guaranteed that everyone 

involved had a clear understanding of whatever new 

process was being explained. On occasion. from start 

lo finish the time lapse was one of overnight delivery. 

Subsequent refinement made these papers publishable in journals with wider distribution. 

Simple Chores Made Easier 

While also respected for ifs ability lo handle vast 

amounts of data, equally appreciated is the easy way 

the mwxomputer handles such mundane chores as 

writing up flawlessly-executed requisitions and other 

administrative ‘formulary.’ For example: you can 

“blank out’ a basic DI-1 form as a small mini-program 

you can store on a disk. Ikthen becomes a snap to 

call it up when needed and just ‘“ill in the holes’ with 

specific ordering information. When you print it out on 

the 13-l form itself, everything falls m the right blocks 

and lines of the form. Should it be a frequently requisitioned item, this, 100, can be stored for future call 

up, revision, and re-ordering. 

Their Use as ‘Word Processors’ 

Will Always be important 

While microcomputers are noted for handling numbers and data manipulation chores, their potential 

really is much broader. The typical resource management project consists of hvo major tasks: Collection 

and analysis of data and conversion of this summary 

data into graphic and, ultimately, written format. 

Somewhere along the line it IS equally Important to 

write up whatever you are doing in clear, concise 

English. 

New Programs Combine These Abilities 

The resource manager wrll find that new microcomputer technology Includes combined data-managing 

and ‘writing’ software that can help provide the krnd 

of bottom-line results rn Ihe format best understood 

by management staff These new “lniegrated’ programs make it easier both to gather and analyze data 

- and then to render it in a form easily understood 

by people of many differing disctplines. 

A Microcomputer is Simply a New 

Communications Tool 

Resource management specialrsts and related pro. 

fessionals will find the microcomputer an effective 

communications tool. Aside from its ability lo produce 

results in a hurry ii is uniquely able to render results 

with greater clarify With a microcomputer one parson 

- one mind -can stay on top of the process, from 

beginning to end. Often. the vital element of clarity 

becomes lost when too many people, lapses of time, 

and sometImes even lapses of memory occur during 

the execution of work. 

Their Programs Make Them Flexible Tools - 

For Everybody 

With the ever-growing kinds of programs the microcomputers can use - available at a nominal cost 

compared with almost any form of fixed-station computer or word-processing systems-a microwmputer system can be as varied as the tasks thal face 

NPS resource management. To make sure that what 

comes out at the end of the process will be readable, 

it is suggested that the data-related programs you 

select also include a good word-processing program. 

(And this includes hardware capable of producing letter-quality copy: Unless it is of superb, almost deceptive quality, dot-matrix printing of textual material 

gives many readers - particularly editors - a 

headache.) 

You Don’t Have to Know Something 

Special to Use Them 

You do not have to know touch typing to utilize 

word processing programs with these systems. With 

a word processor program any kind of typing is made 

worlds easier; correcting mistakes is a snap on a 

microcomputer - regardless of how well you can 

type. 

There Is No Microcomputer for All Seasons 

Our diverse prolesslonal roles rule out fIndIng any 

basic. or standard microcomputer system - something everyone WIII use. Trying to find a single system 

that can network the whole National Park Service, 

and thus be cheaper-by-the-dozen. can be hazardous. Their baw wrtua - flexibility - may well be 

sacrificed IO the process. Developing a smgle vehicle 

that will fly, land on the water, sall on it, travel submerged, crawl out on dry land and then traverse it - 

and do all these things fast - sounds like a great 

Idea. It may even be possible lo make a vehicle that 

does all these things but there is doubt that it could 

do any one of them we//. No such vehicle exists - 

and lhls goes for mlcrocompulers, too 

The key to any search for uniformity lkes in selecting sobare programs that are wdely used by the 

many mlcrocomputer syslems now available - prograins that can “talr to almost any system. If you 

select compatible software program packages. 

equipment choice can lhen be confined to hardware 

that handles graphics requirements best, IS easily 

portable (for use m the Peld) or otherwise best meats 

some Individual or special requwment. 

They Can Really Reduce Costs 

The Darnell Institute of Business indicates that the 

cost of doing a standard letter-from idea to malled 

envelope - has risen to $7.60. Hewn lies another 

mundane, but fruitful, use of the microcomputer. 

Many communications can be moved via a short note 

attached -one that you quickly compose and type 

yourself. The use of formal letters and memoranda 

thus can be reduced. 

Using a mtcrocompuier vastly simplifies filing 

needs: Reams of copy can be stored on small floppy 

disks. Whole filing cabinets full of stuff will 111 on 

maybe a dozen of them - in a small box on the 

corner of your desk. Professionals who are bereft of 

(or must share) secretarial support will find this feature 01 padicular benefit. And with the ‘search-andfin8 capabilities of the microcomputer, records on 

disks are worlds easier to find. 

They Can Vastly Expand the Scope of Your Work 

Microcomputer capabilities are mind-boggling and 

often frighten the timid. But the instrument remains no 

more than a fine new tool. The use of only a fraction 

of its potential can result in savings that more than raturn the Investment, compared to doing business “the 

old way.” And those who have reason and ability lo 

exploit the technology’s full potential will find they 

have increased incredibly thetr professional scope 

and productivity. 

Hake IS with the NCR Division of Resource Management and I/rsrtor Protection. 

Everglades System Facilitates 

Data lLansfer 

By Rick Dawson 

In the process of managing the natural resources 

of Everglades NP and Ft. Jefferson National Monument. many types of information are generated. This 

information may have its genesis in formal research 

studies or in natural resources monltormg programs. 

However, all of these data can be used to assess the 

condition of the resource and evaluate corrective or 

mitigative measures. The massive loads of dala gen12 

erated in the programs w&d are currently being 

put on two data management systems. 

One system (512K CPU, 8 interactive terminals, 

BOMB hard disk drive, .75MB triple floppy disk drive. 

O-track tape drive, drum plotter, card reader, and high 

speed matrix prtnter) is housed at the South Florida 

Research Center and primarily handles data concerned with research studies. The other system 

(256K CPU, 8 interaCtive terminals, BOMB hard dtsk 
Irive, .50MB dual floppy disk drive, daisy wheel 

,ri”ter-plotter. and high speed m&IX printer) IS 

loused I” the Resource Management sectlon and 

ximarlly processes data accumulated from monitorl”g and resource manlpulatw studles and programs. 

Both systems are Wang Model 2200 MVP 16 bit processors and are equipped with AIMS PLUS Software 

packages. Since the systems are esse”liaily ider$ 

cal, da baa?” the two are transferred easily for integratio” and analysis. 

cupies about 5MB of Storage. 

The major resources problems affecting the park 

currently are centered around water management. 

fisheries management, endangered SpeCleS mO”ltOr- 

,“g, management of exotic vegetation. fire manageme”,, and backcountry camps,te utllkzatio”. Addltlons,,y, programs are being developed 10 handle budget- 

‘“g and personnel, training. case-l”clde”t repOrtI”g, 

special use permits, and collecting permits. Both SySterns are capable of supporting word processing: the 

rewxe management system is equipped with the 

Wang word processmg software. 

Utility of the current hardware IS twofold: data entry 

editing, and analysts: and. data management for, Use 

r,” ma,“frame systems. These hvo uses are crltlcal 

s~“ce many of the studies that contribute data to fhelr 

respective databases requre prelimi”av StatIStIca’ 

analysis in order to test for significance a”d generate 

reso”rcefli”ess reports. 

However, many of the problems being studled. 

along with the re~wrce use and abuse bel”g mo”ltored, may be influenced by water management 

strategies. Therefore, to gain a clear underSta”dl”g 

of var~c,us ecosystem forcing functions it WIII be 

“ecessary to integrate many varied databases with 

those colleded and assembled by the hydrology research group, This Integration may require Pre-treatme”! pdorto analysis on a time shared manframe. 

The databases on-line on the research Ce”ter SYSfern are: hydrology. wildlIfe, mar~“e resOurCeS, a”d 

vegetation. Of these, hydrology IS ,the largest a”d 

most complex. It is subdivlded Into into files dealmg 

with water depth at monitoring stations. discharge, 

estuarine tidal data, temperature, and preClpifat~0”. 

The analyses to which these data are subjected are 

m&y standard statistics but include reports and Pr* 

dictions of flow/discharge. 

The research vegetatlo” database co”Cel”S Itself 

with data generaled from evap-tra”Splratl0” studies. 

these da will be used to determine thd amOU”t Of 

water 10% through evapo-transpiration for the eve”- 

tua, deve,opmeot 01 a park water management 

model. This database requires ZMB 01 storage Much 

of the software used for the analysis of research 

databases is custom deslgned for a specific database 

and a desired product; however, there IS a” I”Cr’SaS- 

,“g level of “se of the AIMS PLUS app!lCatlO”S 

generator for routine data management fu”cto”S. 

The resource management databases are marl”e 

resources, fire, vegetation, and backcountry camps,tes. The ma”“e resources database ConSlSt of data 

collected by recreai~onal fishermen creel census. 

mandatory catch log reporting by commercial and 

proless~~“al guide hsherme”, llsh length measurements, boa, toiler ramp counis, actual boat COu”!S 

jawal census), and commercial’gulde fishing permlttee Information. These data are managed IO be reported on a variable time increment basis with Standard statistical treatment of the database selected 

This database contains 40MB of data colleded from 

,958 lo the present. Uses for these data are 10 

monitor harvest and effort on the park fishery. Also, 

they can be conveniently integrated wl!h the research 

age_grwvth database for a mole d&led a”alySlS Of 

finflsh populal~ons and their response to e”Vlro”mental and human impacts. The database has the ablkty 

to generate the 270 commercial and professlo”al 

guide fishing permits wued per year. 

The flre database is concerned with management 

of the extensive library of llre data collected by the 

park since 1952. This database occupies about 5MB. 

The vege,at,an database stores data collected 0” 

park exotic vegetation and farmland recla~atl0” projects. These data are analyzed 10 determIne the extent and effects of exotic vegetation contlol work and 

,,, document ~ucce~~i~“al vegetation changes 0” 

abandoned farmlands within the park. They OCCUPY 

about 7MB of storage. 

The system provides data for a monthly Sy”OPSlS 

of hydrological conditions which IS distributed tO all 

park divisions. The water re%“r~eS database OCcupies about 17MB of storage. 

The wildlife database handles collected i”fOrmatl0” 

on ospreys, bald eagles. alligators, and freshwafer 

fishes. I” the case of ospreys and ‘@?S. “eSt Xtlvity IS recorded with subseque”t a”aiySeS f.0’ pOPUla_ 

tlo” size, “estlng success, and envlronmenta~ 

parameters that may affect their productlvlty. Data 

collected on alligators records such parameters as 

nesting success, food habits, and age-growth,. Freshwater f,sh data are concerned primarily wth food 

habit stud,% The majority of the analyses performed 

0” the data are to determlne the ma@ prey items for 

each species along with the frequency Of OCCUrIe”CB 

and percent volume of the prey Items. 

The research marine resources database cO”tai”S 

information from on-going studies o” shrimp abundance and seasonal distrlbufio”; Coral reel W&i 

quality; and, sportfish age-growth. All these StudleS 

require standard statistical analyses to be pedormed 

on their data sets. The appllcat10” Of these PrOdU,Cts 

~111 be to determine habitat preference (shrimp), Impact of onshore development and human ImPa! 0” 

coral reefs: and, length-age relatlonshipslmorlalIty Of 

s&?&d sportHsh populations. Thts databaSe OCThe backcountry campsite database utilizes i”fOrmation collected from the backcountry permit program and provides data a” site use at backcou”tv 

facilities. It requires about 4MB for storage. MOSt of 

the fisheries and backcountry “Se databases are 

analyzed with custom designed so~are, whereas, 

all of the fire, vegetaBon, and budgetl”g sOftware has 

bee” generated us,“g AIMS PLUS. 

Coincident to the maintenance and use Of these 

databases, we are currently developing programs for 

the entry and analyw of Case Incident Reports and 

fish kill investigations. On both systems resides 

software for the tracking of funds, budget prOjeCbO”S. 

and FTE’s. 

Besides prowding the capabililies for more efflCie”t 

maoagement and storage of data collected by 

monitoring and research programs. the real benefit Of 

these two identical systems lies I” the relative ease 

,,f transfer of data between researchers and resource 

managers. Th6 integration of data will deliver the Uftlmate goal of both programs, wh!ch IS a” \“creased 

understanding and more competent management Of 

a” extremely complex ecosystem. The tool to accompllsh this goal will probabiy be a fully integrated 

model of the Everglades ecosystem. The development of such a model would be impossible without 

versatile and adequate automatic data prOcessl”g 

equipment. 

IBM Personal 

Computer Lab 

Showcased 

By Dominic Donavio 

For the past hw years the NPS Southeast Region 

has bee” developing microcomputer capabIlitIes 

throughout the parks of the reglo”. These efforts 

have resulted in a network of over 50 IBM Perso”al 

Computers (PC). Concurrent with this effort. the GAlege of Forest and Recreailo” Resources at CiemSOn 

University has been engaged I” 8 program IO UPgrade the management of “atu!al areas through a reglonal i”formatlo”icommu”icatlon network. The U”Ivers~ty’s program received major Impetus through the 

locat~o” of a” NPS Cooperative Park Studies U”lt 

(CPSU) I” the College. One of !ts mlssions IS to assist 

in developing the regional NPS computer system. 

The College viewed the National Park Se~lce‘s de 

veloplng network as a model that should be emulated 

by other federal and state land management agenWS. 

As both programs developed, It became clear that 

the capablllties of the techoologles were OutstrippIng 

the capablllbes of the users to make full and creative 

use of the systems. Both orga”lzatlO”S were Concerned that the personal computer network would fall 

short of its promise due to human Constraints. 

To address this problem, the College of Forest and 

Recreation Resources and the Clemson CPSU aP 

proached lnternat~onal Busyness MachInes. 1°C. 

(IBM) seeklng the company‘s cooperatlo” and 

partnership I” developing a tralnlng laboratory featUring the IBM Personal Computer. In September. 1983, 

IBM responded favorably to the request. 

The pioposed laboratory will be located 0” the 

Clemson University campus adjacent to the CPSU 

and WII provtde network links lo the NPS system. The 

laboratory will be wed to accommodate PC to PC 

commun~catio” PC to main frame (the Clemson IBM 

3081) commu”/catio”, and stand-alone PC capablllties. 

IBM is waving the lab as a showpiece 0” “@work. 

i”g possibilifies and is therefore considering InSi&- 

t,,,” of the most advanced commU”lCafl0” Systems 

avaIlable for the Personal Computer. 

Equ,pme”, for the laboratory will Include 19 IBM 

personal computers, wth a least one of each model 

type being represented: printers. l”,StructiO”a~ prolecfro” mo”~tors. modems. and a variety Of aPpllCafl0” 

software. I” total, the grant from IBM IS expected 10 

approach one-quarter mllllo” dollars. 

This facility IS being viewed noi only as a showpiece for displaying sophisticated equipment. but alSO 

as a model of federal, slate, and pm’ate Sector COOPeratio” and partnership. The combination Of the res,,urces and talents of the three organlzatlons has resulted in a mutually beneficial, cost-effedlve means 

of meeting the needs of each organlzatlo”. 

Donavro IS Research Coordinalor at the NPS 

CPSU, Clemson Un~versily 
regional highlights 

North Atlantic 

The North Atlantic Region’s Division of Planning 

and Resource Preservai~on has purchased a small 

computer system, based on a Hewlett-Packard 

9845C microprocessor with a color CRT, a 9674A dlgltlzer, a 9872A 6 pen plotter. a 9895A flexible disc 

dwe, a 26316 lmpacl prtnter. and a 9871A daisywheel printer. The Division of Management and Operations. (encompassing Natural Resource Management and V~s~lor Protection) has acquired a Datapo~nt 

system, which includes an 1800 microcomputer with 

two diskette drives and a dot matrix printer. Since the 

Wallatlon of these two systems several program operations have been automated with new computer 

applications be!ng developed 10 assist research, 

planning and resource management efforts. 

For example, m the Office of Scientific Studies. 

momtored air and water quality data bases have been 

computerized and vegetalion. soils and shoreline 

maps have been digitized from recent aerial pholographs and hlstorlcal maps These computerized and 

dlgltized data are easily displayed in graphic form on 

the 9872A for mlerpretatlon by staff scent,sts and reSOUE managers. Vegelatlon maps such as the Frre 

island Natronal Seashore Vegetation map shown in 

Figure 1 have been used extensively m field research 

protects The F!re Island maps have been used in a 

fire ecology research protect as well as to ldentliy air 

quality sensitive vegetailon. 

The quantilawe nature of the dlgitlred maps permits numerical analysis of vegetation change or, as in 

the case of shorelme maps. the rate o! shoreline 

change can be determined. Temporal variabllay m 

shorelIne mobility trends range from Ihe long-term 

(l50-year coverage afforded by NOS ‘T sheets) to 

the shot%term intervals 01 recent aerial photography. 

The area changes also aie combined with selected. 

dlgilized beach proflIes to yield the volumes for sedlment budget analysis. The monitored data and diglttzed maps are updated perIodically to show resource changes in response to nalural and anthropogenlc sowce disturbances. 

Resource managers in several park units in the Re. 

glen (three to date) have easy access to this system 

usmg HP 65 remote terminals These areas have 

begun to lelecommunicaie resource mlormatlon for 

analysts and storage. The terminals also are used to 

relrleve meteorological data from remote automated 

weather statIons (RAWS). RAWS transmtt 

meteorologtcal data through the GOES salella to 

several surface locations. allowmg the measurement 

of wealher condaons al remote park areas These 

data are accessbe through the AFFIRMS system for 

“se in calculating fire weather 

New appllcat~ons planned Include calalogulng all 

natural resource reference material, which IS located 

I” the regional office and available for “se by regional 

and field sclenllsts, resotmx managers and planners 

The Office of Plannmg and Design will use Ihe HP 

9645C as an enwonmenlal stmulator for the Battle 

Road Developmem Concept Plan being prepared for 

Minute Man NatIonal Historical Park. The impact of 

proposed Scenarios 101 Route 2A (running through 

much of the Park) on cultural resources and visitors 

~111 be assessed by means of three dimensional computer graphic slmulailons of the Banle Road Corridor. 

This process also WIII be used to help guide the final 

slilng of a through-park bIkeway Most Importantly. 

the simulation capabIlity will help park management 

to prepare well documented responses to State and 

RegIonal lransportallon proposals and to better plans 

for preserving the mtegrlly of the historic Battle Road 

The Datapoint 1800 system in the Diwon of Management and Operaf~ons includes a Uwersal Data 

System IUDS) 212A modem (300 01 1200 Baud) 

which connects the DatapoInt muocomputer. using 

telecommunlcallons 10 other computer systems m 

the NPS as well as lo other agerues (such as BLS 

Inquire Data Bases and AFFIRMS). A Co-axial cable 

connects the Datapolnl 1800 to the ARCNET syslem 

which uses the Datapoint 6600 as a flle processor. 

With access lo the 6600 system ilocated m the NAR 

lnformatton Management Dlvislon within Ihe Dlrecforate of Admlnlstral~on) the storage capabilily of the 

1600 m!crocomputer is greatly mcreased. Several 

NAR parks also have DatapoInt systems so. with use 

of modems. natural resource mformalion can be 

transferred eleclronically 

Management and Operations obtained the 

Datapolnt 1800 last year and the development of 

computer applwtlons for managemenl of Natural 

Resource data has begun. For example. wildfire reports (Form Dl-12Oii are now entered on the com- 

-IRE IS VEG(NF-4R) Dl@‘Z9:H7,7,1 I Ynl “-=PC=‘rRRS_SHflDBU*H 
putar as they are rewed from the parks. The Multiplan software allows easy access to ftre recor$ and 

quickly tabulates reglonwide totals of variables such 

as acreage burned and expenditures related to the 

fires. The AFFIRMS system has been used to access 

and r&we weather data to use in fire weather calculatlons. Special Use Permits also are on the 

Datapoint system usmg Multiplan. 

This year the 1984 Pest Management Program 

submiwons (FORM 10.21A and pestlclde use l0g.S) 

will be entered on the microcomputer. This WIII faalltate rqonal and WAS0 wew and allow rapld 

searches for control measures currently I” “Se at 

NAR park areas. Access 10 WAS0 computer Systems 

may eventually allow submission of pest management reports uslog the computer. 

The North Af/anf;c ari;cle was prepared by Mary K. 

Foley, Rolf Diamant, James R. Alien, and Nora J. 

Mitchell 

Southeast Region 

For several years Clemson University has Mnducted a resource management training lnstitula for 

NPS. In Spring 1993. a mlnicourse ln mlcrocom,puter 

applications was offered for the first time. coverlog 1) 

an lntroductlon to basic microcomputer concepts, 2) 

hands on application of a resource management 

computer program, and 3) mtroduction to database 

management. 

The hands on resource management computer 

program (called RESDEMO) was developed by the 

Clemson CPSU I” consultation with the Ranger actlwties dlwsion of SER to provide resource managers 

with examples of how microcomputers could help 

them dothelrjobs more effectively. 

The RESDEMO software package is a self eXplanatory pn,,ne query system that allows easy access to 

the following kinds of InformatIon: %?r~lCes and 

facilities in specific parks, emergency procedure information. rasourca management project statement 

Information, and a listing of resource management 

experts around the country. 

If, Ior example, you wanted general lnformatlon 

about the Great Smoky Mountains NP, RESDEMO 

would provide you with the parrs address. phone 

number, a brief description of the park. and a list of 

the facilibes and services awlable. YOU could alSO 

access all the parks in a specltic state or ragIon: you 

could specify the order of the listing: you could list the 

parks alphabetically. by date of establishment. or by 

s,ze (acreage). 

With respect to emergency procedure InfOrmatIon, 

RESDEMO provides inlormatlon on how to deal with 

emergency situations You could list fire emergency 

procedures for either structural or wi!dlde fires. 

search and rescue procedures, natural disaster procedures, law enforcement emergency procedures 

and 011 SDIII or abandoned chemical container handling procedures. 

One of the most useful aspects of RESDEMO IS 

the abllkty to obtain resource management proiect 

statement niormatnn by park or entlre ieglon 

RESDEMO WIII identify cost, person year, priority. fIScal year, and project descrlptlon ~nlorm?$on. Totals, 

COSIS, and parson years Ior selected pro]acts are automallcally provided. For example, you can ask for a 

statement of the natural (versus cultural) pro@ 

having a priority 01 one to SIX for Biscayne and,Graat 

Smoky Mountains NPs, mcludlng a list of projected 

costs lor I-5 liscal years. This request would result in 

a list of all the natural resource management projects 

for Blscayne and the Great Smoky Mountains that 

have a priority from one to six, as well as iha %Imated cost and person years for the fiscal years t-5 

for each project. You would also reca~va the totals 101 

each park along with the grand totals for both parks. 

Finally, with RESDEMO a resource management 

specialist could access a listing of resource management experts on a park, state, or expert area basis. 

Phone numbers, addresses, and parks I” which the 

experis have had experience are provided. 

RESDEMO was written “sing dBASE II and r”“S 

on an IBM Personal Computer with 128K of memory 

CONTACT: Dominic Dottavio. NPS ‘CPSU. &VXOn 

University Clemson, SC 29631. 

Pacific Northwest 

During the past year. the College of Forestry. Oragon State Uwers~ty, has offered three Introductory 

rmcrocomputer workshops for resource ma”agarS. 

Ed Starkey of the NPS CPSU has served as a co-dlrector. An additIonal workshop is planned for June 19. 

20,1984. 

Ob@e of these workshops is to familiarize resource managers with the general operation Of rrwrocomputers. No prwous experience with computers 

IS required. Instructional format combines lectures 

and dnxsslons with ample opportunity for ~handson” axpawnce. Participants are introduced,to a sariety of commercially available programs, $h examples and exercises emphaslzlng managarlal appiicationa. lndiwduals contemplating the selection of 

microcomputer hardware and/or softwe find the 

workshops especially uselul. 

CONTAC? Ed Starkey at 503~754-2056 Or the Conference Asas/ant at 503 754-2004. 

National Capital Region 

The 14 parks of the NCR are in an area marked by 

rapld enwonmental change. A systems approact! - 

w!th the ald of computers - IS needed Ior creating. 

storing. updatIng. and accessing natural and Cultural 

resources data to assist park managers and their 

slaHs in making appropriate decwons. With the guidance of the Science and Remote Sensing Sections 01 

the Denver Sanxe Center, the NCR is developlog a 

computerized system for use in the parks and in the 

Regional otilce. Currently all data are being entered 

into computers in DSC for later use by the Region 

and parks as hardware becomes available. During 

FY 1984 various types of hardware mcludlng software 

packages with graphic and dIgIta! plo$ng capabIlIties 

WIII be examined toward developlog mhouse capabtlity by FY 1985. 

As part of this program the entire Region was flown 

during FY 1983 to obtain color infrared photography 

and aircraft multispectral scanner data for all park 

units. PhotoInterpretation followed by ground truthing 

IS bemg completed on a systematic basis, one park 

at a time. while at the same time several plots or 

themes involving soil groups. hydrogaology. boundanes, roads, ira~ls. utllitles and other land use patterns are being prepared I” digital form. 

Once basic resources are mapped and the cornputerizad data base is created lor each park, a mu!- 

titude at analyses can be accomplished with a mlnlmm 01 me and money. These analyses may invOlVe 

lntegratlon of several themes that can, be quickly 

wwed v~acomputer capabillbes, enhancing the decision process. Examples include fire management 

planning, exotic spews management, vegetabon 

management, wildlife management, wetlands management, historic scene restoration, agricultural leas15 

ing programs, and changes in adjacent land usa 

practices. The computerized approach I” managing 

and planning park resources WIII immeasurably, Improve the NCR capabllities to respond to environmental chanaes. 

CONTACT: Stan Lock, NCR, 1100 Ohio Dr. S. W, 

Wash,nglon. D. C. 20242. 

* * * 

From Malcolm Wilbur, aiso at NCR, CornaS word Of 

CPT Word Processlog equipment installed ln all 

parks and most offices in the Regional Dlractorala. 

Most of these CPTs have telecommunlcatlons cap* 

blllty. most commonly used to send massages between the parks and RegIonal offices. 

In the evolution of NCR’s telecOmmunicatlonS 

capability will be the implementation of ” Regional 

Electrorw Mall system, using the axlsiing Servicewide Mallbox and Bulletin Board. The Mailbox iS 

for more formal memos and may only be recwad by 

those specified by the sender. The Bullat!,n Board, 

less formal, is Intended to function as aclaar\oghouSe 

Ior questloos, suggestions, and ideas on any topic 

the user cares to address. 

* * * 

A computer based inventory and information SyStam has been Initiated for the nearly 2.000 elms 

which comprise the major arboreal component of the 

Monumental Core of Washington. D.C. Development 

of this system by Ecological Services Laboratory stati 

was spurred by the need 10 prepare an annual r,apOd 

for the city-wide Save-the-Elms taskforce and 1” r* 

sponse ,o the expressed need for such a System In 

the NCR Central resource management plan. 

The system takes advantage for a” exIStlog SarIaS 

of grid maps utilized by Ihe electrical utilkty, PEPCO. 

Each map represents a 1000 sq. ft area on a Scale of 

1 inch 10 50 feat, which permits good visual spacing 

of the elm trees. The tree locations were plotted in Ihe 

field by startlog from known points and maasurjng 

distances using a measuring wheel. After belog 

plonad on the map, elm locations were llxed, by 

suparlmposlng a gridded mylar. Each tree on a glVen 

map was prowded a three diglt X coordmate and a 

three dlglt Y coordinate. corresponding to the mapjocatloo. Data were collected on each tree lncludlng 

spews, we. condition, location features. etc. These 

data, a backlog of hlstorlc data and future data On 

these alms WIII be entered I” a soon to be acqulrad 

computer system using a data based management 

package (DBMS). The intent IS to compile data and 

develop them into a tracking system which WIII yield 

the loformation needed for a more eflectlve elm man, 

agemaot system. This system is designed so that It 

can be expanded to Include other COmponentS Of the 

landscaoe. 

WAS0 

The NPS has its own electronic Bulletin Board Sy+ 

tern, available (tree of charge) as a Communications! 

message exchange system lo anyone. Servicewlde 

To use the system, all that is required is a terminal. 

microcomputer, word processor, etc. with asynchr@ 

nous telecommunications capability (i.e., a modem). 

The system runs on the Hewlett-Packard 3000 

minicomputer in Washington. 

Users may read, write, and exchange messages 

with other users throughout the Service. Massages 

are “oosted‘ under various topics. Users can create 
new topic araas as the need arises. 

The WAS0 Natural Resources Gfhce is interested 

!n promoting the use of the Bulletin Board as a communicatlons medium for park and Regional Office 

natural re~owcas staff to share ideas and compare 

notes on various natural resource sublect areas. 

Some iniilal natural reso~rca topics now on the Bulletin Board include Pest Management, Natural Resources Traimng Opportuniiles, Exotic Plants, 

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Fire Ecology, Man 

and the Biosphere, and Energy, Mimng and Minerals. 

CONTACT: Anne Frondorf, B;ological Resources Division, NPS, Wash;ngton, D.C. or Keith Car< Data 

Systems Division, NPS, Washnglon, D. C. 

Midwest Region 

The SI. Croix National Riverway IS using a 

DatapoInt 8600 primarily for word procewng applications. Datascan and Multiplan software packages 

also are available. The park’s Resources Management Plan is on the system, which allow for quick 

and easy updatIng. Floral and fauna1 IISIS, cooperative agreements, and the Fire Management and Land 

Protection Plans also are on the syslem. The park 

does not presently have the personnel expertise or 

the programs to do any resowx management 

analysis or resource inventory applicallons. 

CONTACT: Wiiiam Sigafoos, Si Croix Nalionai 

Rwerway 

Alaska Region 

The Natural Resources and Science Division in the 

Alaska Regional Office has recently acqutred a Hewlen-Packard 9718-S computer wth printers, plotter, 

and communications capabtlity. The system became 

operational in October 1983. It will be used to conduct 

statistical analyses of wlldlife data, to generate fire 

hlstorles based on tree ring data, and to develop and 

manage data bases on plant community data, fuel 

loading data, etc. lnltial applications have used commercially available software. Fulure objectives inelude the development of a geographic mformation 

system. 

CONTACT: Gary Ah/strand, Alaska &g&w Office. 

Rocky Mountain Region 

Dinosaur National Monument owns a Model 1800 

Datapomt DOS processor wtth 120K. Two disk drives 

allows for 2,OOOK disk storage. A Universal Data Systems, Model 201C, modem enables data transmis- 

%on between the park and the Regional office in Denver. Commercial software mcludes Datapoinls IEOS 

(word processing), Datascan (a database-marupulation programi, and Datafast (a program IO write programs). Multiplan also IS used on the system. 

Other parks in the Regmn have wntten programs to 

track the park’s funding obligations, annual budget 

and programming tequlrements, PRIP account sla1us. and law enforcemenVcase incident statistics. The 

Regional office has written programs allowmg payroll 

information to be put directly at the park level, which 

IS much more satisbing to park employees. 

We are in the process of computerizing our rivers 

permit system. We have programs to compile commercial and non-commercial monthly boating stattstics and applicant data screens. The datascreen program has just been received and has not yet been 

tested. Use of the program materials in 1984 will da. 

pend on time available for data entry after other 

d&s, and the fundamental capabilities of the system. 

Our goal for 1985 season and beyond is to mtegrate use of the computer iti processmg boating applications and river use stattstics. This may require 

modification ot some present procedures. Ideally, the 

computer would be used to screen applicants, assign 

lottery numbers, assign launch dates and campgrounds, issue permits. sort passenger lists for repeaters, and compile monthly and annual boating 

statistics. We also use and intend to expend use of 

the computer in word processing of boating forms, 

correspondence, and other printed materials. 

CONTACT. Gary DeBusk, Dinosaur NM, PO. Box 

210, Dinosaur CO 81610. 

Mid-Atlantic Region 

Shenandoah NP has only recently utilized its CPT 

word processor in the data processing mode for resource management actwtties. The only such currenl 

computer project is the recordmg of data from the 

nearly 8,000 backcountry permits issued in 1983. 

These are entered into the TIM data base management system. Several reports summarizing lotal 

nights, group size, location, day of week, issue point, 

etc., are available. Resource management activities 

we expect to computerize in 1984 include air quality, 

backcountry Impact studies, creel census, stream 

analysis data, wildlife data, etc. We also hope to enter 

the resource management library into a library program soon. 

In other fields, the computer is used for budgeting, 

law enforcement reporting, motor veh& accident, 

manpower and equipment analysis for A76 revlaw, 

etc. Several additional computers are to be added to 

the Park for administration, maintenance and management acriwties. OH-the-shelf programs used be. 

sides TIM, Include Plan 80 (budget). FMS-80 (DBMS) 

and Compupak (CPM). 

In the word procassmg mode, we have entered 

several resowa management plans including Backcountry Management Plan, Resource Management 

Plan, and Vista Management Plan. 

CONTACT Larry Hake/, Shenandoah NF: Luray; VA 

22835. 

Southwest Region 

The Southwest Region for more than six years has 

maintained a Data General Eclipse mlnl-computer, 

used almost entirely for archeological and cultural resource programs. In 1983, the Branch of Cultural 

Data Systems mounted the MOSS gee-based mformallon processing system on the Eclipse. The 

software system, developed by USFWS and supported by the ELM and USGS is designed lo permit 

the scientific study of biological and enwronmental 

data bases using high resolution graphtcs display, 

The software is currently under evaluation. 

The Chaco Center continues to expand the capabililies of its Chaco PARKMAN data base program 

and IS anemptmg to add predictive mod&g routines 

to the extensive archeological and environmental 

graphics system. 

A program to three dimensionally model the effects 

of solstlca and other sun and moon declinations on 

La Fatada Butte pelmglyphs has been awarded to 

IBAR Associates of California. This program will use 

its base Precision Msual’s Dt3000 core graphics 

software. Dellvery of this system, which will be 

16 

mounted on the Region’s new 32 bit CPU’s, IS ex. 

pectad in October 1984. 

A fourth program, developed by Valeriana Enterpnses and kcensed to the Southwest Region, is the 

IJCREATES Foriran Generator System. This system, 

written for Data General computers, allows inexperienced users to create Fortran source codes and complete workmg programs simply by answering sets oi 

menu driven questlow. New programs have been 

wrltten usmg UCREATES for artifact curation. bibliography creation, inventory, stock room accounting. 

etc. 

The San Juan Basin Archeological data base has 

grown to mclude data on over 30,000 archeological 

and cultural sites located I” the Four Corners area of 

New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. 

In other fields. the Southwest Region expanded its 

compulerlzation most recently into the realms of otfice automation and mter-computer networking. In 

1983, the Southwest Regional Office procured two 

Data General MV4000 super mini-computers as the 

hub of a Reglonal computer network. The first was installed in February 1984. These are the same type of 

computers that the U.S. Forest Serwe is lnstallmg in 

all its installations, nationwde. The two computers 

will be used with a comprehenwe office management software system called CEO. This system includes word and latter processing, document filing 

and transfer, personnel calendar and office scheduling. The combined Data General systems will be able 

to handle up to 128 terminals. pedpherals and dlal-up 

lines. The two CPU’s will be linked using an X.25 

packet switching software package called Zodiac. 

This will permit a user to access either CPU and also 

allow the additton of other CPUs should the need 

arise. An RJE80 interface to permrt access to IBM 

Hosts has been included with the system. 

Eight of the Southwest Region‘s parks have purchased comparable Data General Eclipse m~nmcomputers in order to take advantage of mature scientific 

software developed at Region and elsewhere. and to 

participate in the planned network. Most of the Region’s 36 parks are expected to follow suit as funds 

become available. 

CONTACT: DL Waker Waf!, FTS 476.1775, 

Niche Splitting 

Nuthatch 

Works 

A ree 

Trunk 

To a Lonely Hermaphmdte 

Down 

Know 

Thyself 

Creeper 

Does 

It 

UP 

Brown. 
Systems Application for Fire Management 

By.Scoti Erickson 

Inform&on management and systems applications 

ara no stranger to the mteragency ftre management 

community. By Park Service standards. astoundlog 

amounts of ,,me and money have been invested to 

model and integrate informalloo pertainlog to wildland fire management. The NPS Branch of Fire Management, established I” 1979 by the Director, has aggressively pursued mov!ng the S~NIC~ t0 the state- 

&the-art level in systems applications. 

The Administrative Forest Fire InformatiOn Retrieval Management System (AFFIRMS) with 55 

users Serwcewide, IS the prmcipal fire management 

application in use by parks. Several other Systems 

applications, adapted or developed lor “se by the 

Service, include National Fire Weather Data Library 

(NFWDL), NPS Fire Occurrence Data Library, YOSemite NP Pilot Geographic Information System Data 

Base, FIREFAMILY, PRESCRIBE, and others. 

Exhibits 1 and 2 shown here briefly portray major 

databases and interactive/batch packages. The 

FIREPRO effort provided the mayor impetus for Sew 

Ice-developed software and databases m order to Integrate management loformation for, declslon purposes. Database work has scored mayor accomplishments I” the last two years and further advances are 

in the oHing. 

It must be noted that all the applications (other than 

AFFIRMS) are resident on the USDA Fort COIlinS 

Computer Center Univac 1184. The Univac Is a malnframe and currently utilized by Branch staff almOSt 

excluwely This centralized accesS to apppiications 

has bean a bottleneck to effective use by parks; SO 

the Branch is obtainmg Departmental approval to a* 

quire a major minicomputer. All applications will be installed on the minicomputer, decenirallzing access 10 

fore management sofiware applications. The cu,rrent 

timetable calls for having the mini fully OperatIOnat 

and available to park, regional, and national users by 

mid-1985. Several administrative and technical problems remain to be solved but the Branch of Fire Management is cornmined to providing slate-of-the-arl 

systems applications directly to end users. 

Enckson is Fire Management Spanalisl at the 

Bo;se Interagency Fire Center; So&a ID 83705. 

EXHIBIT 1 

DATABASES WHAT IS IT? SOURCE OF DATA WHAT IS IT FOR? LOCATION 

National Fira Waath National multi-agency 1300 hrs t 1 hrfire Planning for fira USDA, Fort Collin! 

er Data Ubrary collection ofcompu- weatherobserva- supprewon and Computer Center 

(NFWDL) terized historical tlons: WS form D-9b. prescribed fire use. (FCCC). 

weather data. 

FIREPRO Inven- 109 parks Serwe FIREPRO input Budget evaluation for FCCC 

tories” wide Inventories, of forms. fire suppresslo”. 

weather statloos, 

equipment, engines, 

aircraft, prescribed 

burn plots, agreements, real property 

valueestimates. 

’ USFS developed program 

** NPS developed program 

EXHIBIT 2 

INTERACTWE PROGRAMS WHAT IT DOES LOCATION 

Administrative Forest Fire InfOrmatiOn AFFIRMS has several functions’ Computer Sh 

Ratnaval Manager& System (AFFIRMS)’ 1. Fire reporting network. Sew~ce, Dem 

2. Message posbng to other users. Colorado. Tlr 

3. NOAA link to provide next-day weather sharing COntr 

forecasts and special spot foreCaStS. 

4. Calculation and ouipul reports on file 

danger. 

BEHAVE 

5. Archiving of fire weather ObservatlOnS. 

lnteract~ve design of site-specific fuel FCCC 

models and state-of-the-art fire prediction 

methods ullkzing NFFL svlized models Or 

user-deslgned models 

BATCH PROGRAM WHAT IT DOES 

FIREPRO” Ten statlstux analysis programs to proflie 

park, regional and national fire occurlance 

Also a park budgeting application for fire 

suppression program requirements. 

INPUTDATA LOCATION 

NPS Fire Occurrence FCCC 

Data Library 

FIREPRO InventorleS 

17 

- 

- 

arins 

,er, 

“aact. 

- 

Data Analysis 

Management 

In Remote Fields 

By Robert Stottlemyer 

Data management I deflne as a process for making 

data accessible and usable to others. If Ona accepts 

my definition, I, logically follows that good data ma* 

agement should also lead to better data analySlS by 

the researcher. 

Four years ago I left the plush security, of the 

bureaucracy and reentered the research business In 

an academic community. The array of InfOrmatIOn 1 

found routinely collected in field ecological study. 

which I had been familiar with years before was a 

startling change. But SO 100 was the @noiOgy now 

available to handle such data. The qUeStIOn MS. and 

IS, how to match the two, fordatagenerated in lH!IOte 

field locations. 

Severe fiscal constraints, a long-term habit 01 Cornposing on the typewriter, and faculty frustration with 

peripheral wwes on the unlV~rSlty malnframa 

made the decision to buy my first microcomputer with 

word processing software easy. This was four years 

ago. sure one can type laster on ” wordprocessor. 

but it is the library buildup that realty IS the tlma Saver. 

It IS truly amazing how much of what we do On an annual bus is repetitive. That carefully prepared 

abstract for a national meeting can, with editing. 

sewa as a progress report. Updating annual reports, 

vitas, follow wt. Fortunately. I purchased eqUIpmaRt 

from one of the three major manUfacW?rS so a formidable array of software is wallable at modest cost. 

This also was a big help when I had 10 decide On an 

SPS package 10 handle the mounting data set being 

generatad by a laboratory analyzl”g SeValal 

thousand samples a year, each with over 20 Yallables. I could easily have gone with the WerSity’S 

mainframe. But faculty colleagues encouraged ma to 

go’nxro’ali theway until Illa size dlctated otheww? 

Hardware advances have moved much laster than 

my file was and analytical demands. 

data organization and structure all too often do not 

get enough thought early I” the game. I Was iOrtU!ate 

I” having to address this question at the beginnIng, 

when we developed a ~unlversar field data form. TWO 

questions arose: <What are the types 01 entitles about 

which we have data?‘, and ‘What data do we have 

about each type 01 entity?’ Our spatial and lempO!al 

lield data requirements were similar to those Of a ~011s 

scientist, and a much modified computer-based sOlI 

wenca field form, which includes a “variable” for data 

documentation, has sewed us well. 

The conduct of field research in aSpeCially h?mOte 

sites has its own sat of quality assurance problems. 

Data documentation serves to record those “field 

contingencies~ which invariably occur with remotelyplaced field recorders. But Our work InVOlVaS falrlY 

sophlstlcaled chemical analyses of lield samples. 

and this must be done in a faclllty much removed 

loom the samplmg sites While one can easily develop 

protocols for sample handling and data racordlng 

how can their effectweness be checked? 

The key IS a vertically integrated quality aSSuraIICa 

program which can respond in a timallame SuffiCient 

to cowz, procedural errors before one or two addlt,ona, sampimg dates take place. For our work the 

need IS to merge certain field data variables with laboratory analyses lor ‘outlie? detection by regresSiOn. 
Big Thicket Computer Capabilities 

Driven by Resource Management Needs 

By Robert J. Krumenaker 

Computers have been an integral part of daily life 

at Big Thicket National Preserve for almosl two years 

The driving force always has been resource management, but all of the Preserve divwns have &grated 

automated applications into their operations. If anythmg has been the hallmarkof oursuccessthusfar, if 

has been the nllingness of Preserve staff to embrace 

the new technology. While most of our usage IS in office automatIon and canned software packages (word 

processing, database management, spreadsheets, 

etc.), we have also done m-house programming and 

development when necessary. 

Management at Big Thicket has aggressively committed itself 10 computenzallon. Yet until recently, the 

system’s growth (user interest. applications, 

software, and equipment) has been essentially unmanaged and unplanned. We have reached a 

plateau, however, where we have approached the 

limits of our Vector Graphic machlne resources. (Vector Graphic 5005, with hard disk and three tetmlnals, 

including a Tektronics graphic terminal.) It is an approprlate time to assess our computer efforts to date, 

determine our needs for the future, and plan just how 

to get from here to there. Since the computer world 

around us is changing so rapidly, anythlng longer 

than a two- to three-year plan would be too speculative. Using the Shenandoah model developed by the 

WAS0 Office of Information Management, and workIng closely with the ADP staff m the Southwesl Regional Office, we are in the midst of that assessment 

now. We hope to have produced a draft Inform&on 

Management Plan for Big Thicket National Preserve 

by March 1984 This plan will serve as an outline for 

phased system development and implementation. 

and a justiflcalion document for addItional procurement 

The overriding goal of information management al 

Big Thicket IS to develop and maintw lhe capacity to 

process, analyze. and store in-house the data and 

text necessary to manage your own resources. We 

intend to be a fully functional independent node m the 

Soulhwest Reglow computer system, with full communlcatlons capabilitles. WIthIn the Preserve, system 

management ~$11 be centralized in the Supennlendent’s office with each division or user responsible for 

the identification and speciflcatlon of its own application needs. Whenever possible, off-the-shelf software 

programs will be used m lkeu of custom programming. 

Unlike most NPS field areas, we have the luxury of 

being able to look back on a couple 01 years of computer experience as we develop our informatIon management plan. A few of the more interesting issues to 

be discussed in the plan may not be obvious to other 

parks just slarting out. They are autlmed here, with 

some 01 the thoughts thal we need to keep in mind as 

we upgrade: 

System management. Our current micro-based 

system runs itself - or so we thought until the restdent expert transferred out and took most of the expertise with him A well-run system may be able 1o 

run itself (for awhile at least) but only If careful plannlng has gone into standard operailng procedures. 

Some of the many lhlngs that need to be consldered 

~ even for the smallest ~nstallal~on - include file access and security, disk space management, system 

backups, and software and equipment malnlenance. 

Procedures need to be identified and we// 

documented Read that sentence again It IS impow 

ble to over-document a computer system. 

Staffing. The more sophlsllcated the compuler 

Data Analysis, cowd. 

This sounds simple (the heck it does!- Ed) except 

when dealing with remote sites where environmental, 

logistical, and shipping factors prevent routine field 

data transmission by mall. 

To reduce data handling and obtain field data on a 

timely basis for merging, we have replaced the field 

form with a truly portable microcomputer spread 

sheet. The unit we use for all remote sites has simple 

word processing capability allowing complete weekly 

report generation. Unlike a datalogger It should not 

be curled out I” Ihe rain. But almost any shelter WIII 

house II for it needs no exlernal power source. its 

standard keyboard and number pad. computer flexibility. and price lag of less than one half the datalogger makes 11 an atlractlve alternative. With the built-in 

modem, weekly transfer of field files across the 

phone to the lab or office muo flies is fairly straight 

forward. 

This solves our problem of timely data transmissoon, but concern about wal manual data entry remans. Very few research programs yet have fully au. 

lomated data handlmg for all aspects of the study 

There is an ovenvhelmlng urge to delegate the responstbllity of data entry I think this is very risky. Data 

entry sllll is best done by the person familiar with the 

data. and It is best done during the data collection 

process. With the low cost. efficiency and parlability 

of microcomputers. data entry by the researcher IS 

often the method of choice. 

I now have four rmcros at work most of the time. All 

reports and data analyses done by graduate students 

or research technlclans are done on one of these 

machmes. The hardware IS fully compatible, allowing 

easy edlttng of text files and analyses on machines in 

different physical locations. Machine time, especially 

in field stations, is increasing with more installation of 

sol&state recording Instruments. Perhaps most ~mpollant m the shori term has been the Improved qualsty assurance, which IS so dependent on timely data 

transmission from remote research sites. We are laking the easy lnilial steps m developing a data management system. This is considerably helped by the 

competltlve nature of the rmcro software market. 

But there are caution flags. While hardware is the 

thing thal really seems to be pushed on the consumer. I have always found software, even with a 

major brand computer, Ihe limiting factor. I m a user, 

not a computer buff. so I don’t ever expect lo be a hot 

programmer. I think you have to take a hard look at 

your data analyses and management needs before 

you can separate limiting factors due 1o hardware 

from those due 10 software. Once done, you might 

find yourself still typing on an old antique eight-b11 

processor such as thls was composed on. 

Stoniemyer is a Research Snent;si ath the NPS 

CPSU al Mich/gan Technological Univers;ty 

18 

system, the more management energy that is re 

qwed Existing park staff at Big Thicket had much o 

the expertise that was necessary, bul not the time 

(You may be surprised at how much ADP eupenencc 

some of those underpaid, overworked rangers have., 

Our solution. we have hired a Resource Management 

Computer Speciallsl. who devotes almost full time tc 

information management and planning, applicatton 

development, and system maintenance. We also 

have converted our most experienced clerk-typist to 

a Computer Operator, responsible for routine system 

operatran and backup. ordering of supplies, and word 

processing and file management experhse You’re 

probably thinklng thls is extreme, and costly. Yes it is; 

but the alternatives are more costly. To make a full 

commitment to computerization and the productwy 

gains that are possible you’ll need qualified people to 

run the system 

Training. ‘7he people element” is what dooms 

most compuler system 10 failures. Computer users 

need adequate orleniation, input, and training in 

order 10 feel that they are important elements 1” the 

‘big plciure ~ They may feel throatwed II a terminal is 

put on their desks wth the admonition to “interface:’ 

Sometimes, you just have to hold hands; other times 

let people run’ We’ve found that people get hooked 

very quickly If they have the proper supporl and eocouragement. The same folks, though. can be terribly 

frustrated wlthwt it. Don’t be fooled into thinking that 

computers or word processors are easy to use. Most 

of them really are not, and irs up 10 the system manager to make the difference. 

Ergonomics. The worfs loo new for our dlctionary. but in essence il means that people (clerks, 

rangers, managers) work best when they are comfortable. Don’t slop at green CRT screens and detachable keyboards. Ifs short-slghted to spend 

thousands of taxpayer dollars wthout looking at the 

productlvtly gains that can be made with Improved 

Ilghting. firm operators’ chars. and work surfaces at 

the correct height. It’s not much extra money. and it 

can really help. 

The rnosl interesting part of any compuler system 

is the application of the technology to solving the 

problems of the organization. Office automatton has 

already excited the clerk-typists and admlnlstratwe 

staff at Big Thicket. as well as a number of Ihe rangers and managers that find themselves writing 

memos enwonmental assessments, and planning 

documents not lo mention those that prepare 

budgets. In short. just about everybody wants his own 

terminal. Our present three ate slated to grow to at 

least five in FY84, and potentially more I” fulure 

years. Word processing, spreadsheets, and business 

graphics will be more fully integrated and used by 

more people. 

Resource management applicalions at Big Thicket, 

however, are the most exciting on the horizon and 

provide Ihe stimulus for system growth and develop 

ment. Three of the most tnterestlng are described 

here - two that we’ve developed under the present 

computer environment. and one that will soon begln 

with an upgraded system: 

Plant List. Bfg Thicket was set aside to preserve 

the most dwerse flora I” Ihe entIre NPS system. We 

have built a simple database of over 2600 records 

(one for each plant speaes), each containing 28 de. 

scr~ptlve fields. If a researcher or visltor wants to 

know what are the names of all of the yellow wildflowers that bloom in September and occur in two of the 

Preserve’s units but not in another. we can lir;d wt. 

The trick here was having the informalion wlable; 

but (t’s the computer tool that makes it accessible. 
I 1 

Big Thicket National Preserve 

Hunter’s Report 

iunting Permit Number 

Number of trips to the Preserve thus season ____~ 

Number of Anrrnals taken. 

Deer (Buck) _~~_~ Deer (Doe) _~ _~~ Squirrels __ 

Rabbits ___.~~~ Hogs 

Failure to return this report by March 1 following 

the hunting season wrll disqualify you for a permit next 

year. 

For information or assistance call (409) 839-2692. 

Big Thicket National Preserve 

Hunlina Permit 

Hunting Permit Number 

Only For the 

Expires 

Leave this copy of the permit on the dashboard of 

your vehicle so that the permit number can be read 

from outside the vehicle whenever you are hunting 

in the Preserve. 

You must obtain a copy of the Preserve’s regulations 

and a map of the hunt area for the unit you selected 

For information or assistance call (409) 839-2692. 

Big Thicket National Preserve 

Hunting Permit 

t iunting Permit Number 

C Inly For the 

E Ixpires 

Carry this copy of the permit with you whenever 

you are hunting in the Preserve. 

You must obtain a copy of the Preserve’s regulations and a map of the hunt area for the unit you 

selected. 

For information or assistance call (409: 839-2692. 

19 

Hunting Permit System. Big Thicket is one of the 

few NPS areas 10 allow regulated hunting, and just 

about the only public hunting ares in east Texas. Consequently, demand is high; we have had as marry as 

6,000 applrcations for less than 2.600 permits. Last 

year, we rnstituted a procedure where applicants fill 

out a machine-readable form, which can be fed 

through a dared-input deviceto build a database wrthout laborious keyboard entry A simple ionery program selects the permittees. Custom-designed permit forms (which include two copies of the permit and 

a hunter survey card which must be returned to enwe a place in the next yea<s lottery) are printed and 

mailed. The whole package needs to pass through 

the printer but once, and avoids envelope stuffing entirely! Last year’s experimental system will be improved this year by the procurement of our own optlcal mark reader and a friendlier driver program. With 

some minor refinements, this program could be 

adapted in other NPS areas for river trip or campslte 

permits. 

Geogaphic Information System. No longer will 

computer maps and map analysis be the sole prop 

arty of the Denver Selvice Center or the archaeologists at Chaco Canyon! We are on the verge 

of implementlog the first phase of a MOSS (Map 

Overlay and Statistical System) program in which the 

major ecological, cultural, and management,feature,s 

of the Preselve and surrounding areas wrll be drgitized. MappIng and map analysis WIII be done lotally utilizing a Tektromcs graphics terminal (acquired 

through GSA surplus) and a small multi-color plotter. 

MOSS software is in the public domain, but it requires large CPU and disk space as well as considerable sophistication to implement. Our project 1s a pilot 

for the Southwest Region, and we are working closely 

with reglonal Natural Resource and ADP staffs (as 

well as the Fish and WIldlIfe Service’s Natlow. 

Coastal Ecosystems Team, which developed the program) as we take the first steps. Our need for geoprocessing IS acute, as we strive to address the cumulawe impacts of oil and gas development within the Big 

Thicket. Fortunately, the largest hurdle - the resource mapping-already has been passed. We will 

phase in the MOSS project as our budget permits, but 

we expect to have a worklog analytical tool up and 

running for the most critical Preserve units within a 

year. 

The needs and concerns discussed on these 

pages could be met by a variety of hardware and 

software combinations. As we develop and amplement our Information Management Plan, we have 

made a real effort to identify needs and not vendors, 

since it is our requirements and goals that must drive 

our procurements, rather than the latest technology 

offered by a particular company. After assesslog the 

options available, we have agreed with the assessment reached in the Southwest Region Computer 

Management Plan: Data General equipment WIII best 

meet our diverse needs, at the lowest cost. The specific configuration has yet lo be worked out, but plans 

are underway to transfer the DG mlnlcomputer now 

in Santa Fe to Big Thicket, once it has been replaced 

by the newer system described elsewhere in this 

issue. Regardless of equipment, however. Big Thicket WIII continue to serve as the lead alea in the region in mformatlon management. It’s a role we have 

worked hard to attain. and we look forwrd to sharing 

the lessons we learn with other oark wwe areas. 
3 

Tension Headache #84 

Users and Computers 

By Celia Waker 

Without a doubt we exist I” a highly technological 

age. We approve of compulerlzed banking, appreclate word processors. and even admre automated blbliographlc searches. lo say nothlng of our 

awe for computer games These are all services provided by computers. We use them wth only slight 

hesitations and with little regard for Ihe design conslderatlons involved in creating accurate. efficient, 

and useful computer programs far our use. 

The ‘Yension headache” beglns. however, when we 

neophytes must become more deeply involved in 

data processmg. Just the vocabulary - baud, bits 

and bytes, fiopples and fllpples - could convince a 

person that two aspire” and going to bed may nal be 

sufficient. Foreseeing a longer stay in data processing, perhaps involved m computerized data management systems. one might wth justification lea the 

debilitating effects of the tension Inherent between 

two perspectives of data processing design: 

. humans control computers. determining how 

and what they are capable of accomplishing: 

and 

l computers, based on their technical restrictions, dictate to humans, structuring how functlons WIII be accomplished and therefore limitIng what will be accomplished. 

On the one hand. humans create marvelous, introcafe programs deslgned to accomplish thousands of 

simultaneous banklng transactions natlonwlde On 

the other hand, the bank clerk notifies you your address IS restricted to 12 characters because ‘the computer won’t allow more.” 

Theodor H. Nelson candidly discusses the 

“leetle (sic) white lies about how such-andsuch IS the computeis fault and not your declsoon ‘The computer won’t let us’ (means) 

WE DO NOT CHOOSE TO PROVIDE, IN 

OUR PROGRAMS AND EQUIPMENT, ANY 

ALTERNATIVES.. NOW. it is often the case 

that good and suffictent reason exists for the 

way things are done. But 11 is also often the 

case lhatcompanles and the publfc are inconvenlenced. or worse, by declsw,s the computer people make and then hide with their 

claim of technlcal necessity.” 

lndivlduals responsible for initiating data management systems must mediate belween the needs of 

the information user and Ihe requirements of the 

computer system. The goal IS to use the powerlul 

capabiliiles of the computer system (remembering it 

does have legltlmate IimitatIons) to efficiently accomplish a task defined by the user. The lollowing 

suggestlons and examples are Intended to be helpful 

I” this process 

Try to determine how immutable a software pack. 

age, Is. especially If you are assessmg a commercially 

available. pre-programmed software package The 

greater the flexiblllty offered by the software. the 

greater the likelihood of meeting the Information 

user’s needs - accompanied perhaps by a greater 

risk of offering too many possibilities and being exceswely cumbersome to use 

l can large. systemwde changes be made? 

Example can the program be w&ed on Ihe 

computer system lo accept dates in the format 

you desire (01’24,84 instead of Janualy 24, 

1984). or IS that format predelermmed and unchangeable? 

l as the program is run on the system. does II 

prowde alternatives? 

Example: after entering expenditures in a 

computerized accounting system can you exit 

the progam or must you proceed to a balance 

sub-program? 

l if the program IS purchased. is it ‘locked up‘or 

can your programmer customize the commerclally available program 10 your needs? 

Example: can you ~nserl a brief dewption of 

rwolced items as a customized part of a standard accounting package? 

. 11 the program IS purchased, can or will the 

software development firm from whom you 

purchased the programs make alterations for 

you? For what fee? Who retams ownership of 

the new elements7 

Example: will the company develop a linking 

program from your ~spread sheet’ program 

(where you can do math calculations) to your 

word procewng program (where you can 

edrt)? 

Pay spwal attention to the planning phases of designing how the entire system will funcl~on, how components will Interact, and what the accomplishments 

of the system will be and could be in the future. 

l has the Informallon user thoroughly planned 

the funclions of the program so mid-stream 

changes will be less likely? 

Example: ~111 alist of the parks need to be alphabetized, in which case the “key” to each 

park unit must be the park name, rather than 

an alphabetic or numeric code? 

l what system-wide, basx restricrlons apply to 

this type of programmlng? 

Example: a new program designs graphic displays of research results. Is the prinler capable of producing graphics? 

. at what polnl does maklng the computer syslem and the programmers “jump through a 

hoop,‘although possible, become inefficient? 

Example: a program will soti park unit Informatton to three levels (region. then unit type, then 

alphabetized park unit). but a wet would like 

the program altered 1o go to five levels. 

lndlwduals who mediate between information 

users and data mampulators (computers) oflen find 

themselves “interpreting” Ihe requirements for each 

Involved party. On the one hand, the user may not understand the necessity of abiding by computer system requirements Perhaps because of an over-estlm&n of the omnipotence of computers, the user 

may feel responsible for only the broadest scope of a 

data management system: the ends. rather than the 

meant However, the critical argument remains ‘garbage in. garbage out” 

Planning, lo a great degree determInes the quality 

of the results It behooves Ihe user to prowl his or 

her own mterests by carefully deflnlng the lnformatlon 

according to the data requirements of the computer 

system 

20 

On the other hand. the computer and its programmer may specify overly restrictive requirements or not 

appreciate the informational needs of the user. Computers do have legitimate hardware and software requlrements which are either unavoidable or circumvented only with great difficulty. People control the inammale machine, but there still exists a point beyond 

which il IS unreasonable to expect the syslem to flex. 

That point needs to be recognized and appreclaled. 

The two outlooks comprise a power struggle: 

. humans, according to their needs. command 

computersvs. 

l computers. because of technical necessities, 

overrule user needs. 

The two outlooks greatly affect computerized management dwgn and lmplementatlon, but lhey remain 

continually I” Conflict. If IS not 100 utopian to propose 

that the tension produced also can be vwwed as a 

constructive force. The phenomenon of tension in 

physical slructures and even I” humans serves useful 

purposes. and this tension IS no d&rent. It prevenls 

the user or the computer from dominating data procewng. 

The over-all efficiency of a given program is better 

sewed by strlklng an equitable and efflcienl compromise between user needs and computer requirements. Users may find that the computer capabilIties 

more than compensate for imposed restrictions. The 

structure the computer insists upon prevents the 

user’s needs from creating InefficIent and unteasonable programs. The computer system. on the other 

hand, may be challenged lo increased capabilities by 

the demands of the user. Without Ihe impetus of Ihe 

olher,, neither aspect would be goaded to the qualify 

of which It is capable. 

Awareness of the user-compuler pow struggle 

should alert data management system destgners to 

potential %nslon headaches” m store for them. However. awareness of the problem also affords opportunltles to develop creallve, efficient. and very useful 

appllcat~ons which challenge even our current ad. 

vanced stageof technoloqtcal develooment. 

Nelson. Theodor H., Computer Lib, the distnbutors. South Bend, Indiana. 1974. p 8. This unusual book is based on the premise thal everyone 

should know about computers and deserves explanatlons in layman’s terms. II deserves status as “required readlng.” 

River Use Model 

Aids Management 

of Visitor Flows 

By A. H. Underhill 

The closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 made 

white water rafting on the Colorado River through 

Grand Canyon NP awlable to almost anyone. River 

use increased from a few hundred 1o more than 

15.000 annual visitors. In 1982. over 95,000 visItor 

days were spent on the wer. A management plan for 

use and protection of the river became a necewy 

Forest Serwce studies of wilderness users lndlcate 

that enjoyment of the experience generally IS inversely propotiional 10 the number of contacts be. 
- 

a 

Visitor Data Facilitates Resource Management 

By Laura B. Szwak 

During the sumnw of 1983. a pilot project was conducted m three National Capital Region parks to gain 

planning information about park wtor composltion 

and act,w,,es. Mapping was used to record obsewabie characteristics of wtors and their actlv~ties. The 

pIlot pro@ was to develop a procedure for obtalnlng 

tween padies. Robert Lucas of the Forest Setwe 

and Mordechal Shechter of the Israel lnstltute Of 

Technology developed a Wilderness Use Slmulaiion 

Model, which simulates the man characlerlstlcs of 

wilderness visItor movements and interactions. Vanous combmatlons and numbers 01 wiors. entry 

points, trip lengths, and arrival times can be entered 

and the model simulates what occurs. Its output consists of matrices on wsual, meetmg. and ovellaking 

encounters: tables of data on arwals and deparlures: 

characterstIcs of user partes: and summary tables on 

overall levels of encounters on the trail and I” camp. 

This basic model is available on the Forest Servce’s 

Univac computer I” Foti Collms, Cola. 

In October 1981, together with Busa Xaba. Unwersity of Anona graduate student, I undetiook modlflcation of this model for rwr travel through Grand 

Canyon A program was written for an Apple rmcrocomputer to create 48 wer trips for oar and motor 

travel, varying in length lrom 6 to 18 days With this 

input data, the model was programmed for the current comblnatlon of oar and motor trips being 

launched weekly during the peak ~“mmer season, 

and a three week simulation was run. The output of 

numbers of dally encounters. anract~on site use and 

contacts, and campground use was very close to the 

actual field records. 

Is was then possible to change I” the model the mix 

01 oars and motors, mcrease or decrease the number 

of launches per day and per week. change trip 

lengths. and measure how these and other modlflcations affected encounters between parlies and the 

use Of “arlO”S locatIons. 

The real advantaae of this kind 01 CompUter SImUlat~on IS the opporiu~ty to experiment with options on 

the computer. and not on the public or on the reSOUICB. A repori on this work was published in May 

1983 as CPSU U of A TechnIcal Repolt No. 11 

Recently the model was used to show that by restructuring the launch schedule so that no trips 01 the 

same length were launched on the same day. dally 

encounters between parties could be signillcantly reduced while still launching 31 trips a week. the 

planned number lor July 1984. The CPSU IS currently 

parl,c,pat,ng ,n a study of the sociologIcal and ecologlcal affects 01 fluctuating releases from Glen Canyon 

Dam. Several flow regimes, varying lmm 2.000 to 

32 000 cub,c feet per second. are being incorporated 

Into the simulation model Trips can then be monltored lor changing flow speeds. naugabikty of raplds. 

wallability of campgrounds. and other Impacts 01 

fluctuating water levels on the recreation experience 

statlslics for the Statement for lnterpretatlon (SFI) 

an annual report that requires a llstlng of visitor use 

st&tIcs. As a program development tool, the SFI 

should Identity shltilng trends m the visiting public and 

show adjustments in programmmg response. 

The bases created to store data lrom this pro@ 

included ENTRANCE and ONSITE. An auxiliary data 

base housed necessary control lnformatlon (date, 

day of the week, observer. weather, time of day) 

Data in ENTRANCE came from statlonlng observers 

at park en,ra,,ces to record the characleristlcs 01 

groups as they entered. Variables I” the ENTRANCE 

data base Included group we. age composltiOn. 

ethnnty. gender, mode of entry, HP or the intematonal handicap symbol on the license plate, and 

state, also from the lkcense Since a descrlptlon of actlvity orwte also was needed, the ONSITE data base 

repeated the same variables and added actiwtles 

pursued by the gioup. 

Observers lollowed a systematic path through the 

park, recording the visitors by group. Group size 

varied depending on the mode of entry and actlvlty 

pursued. Smce an axle counter was used to cornputer visit&on, group we by mode of entry conlirmed or determined an appropriate mull~pller. Group 

size also was llmited by Ihe mode of entry 01 size 01 

vehicle. so group we was expected to differ orwte. 

Only observable visitor characterlstlcs and aciiwtles 

were determined through this system The number Of 

handicapped was expected to be underrepresented. 

since only observable handicaps could be recorded. 

Success aiso depended on training g,ve” observers 

so that slmilardeflnltions were used by all. 

A WANG word processor was used to analyze the 

data. Its List Processing function stored and relrleved 

data on any variable contained in the system and allowed creation of certain subsets of the visitor population. such as “children,” ‘lemales,” or ~plcnickers’ 

The system could select subset data by iour variables 

in ranges or by specific values, usmg and or logic. As 

an example. one data set contained (1) children who 

(2) picn,c in (3) groups of wer 4 persons (4) on Sundays. 

Once the population was selected. ii could be output to a word processing document so that other 

statistics, primarily simple mathematical lunct~ons. 

could be applied. The major llmltai~on was SelectIOn 

by only four vanables. Processing time alsO I”- 

creases with the number of entries. 

Major use 01 the system was to provide a cons~stent mechan!sm for recording wtor use lnformatlon 

we, t,me and to select and analyze celta~n subsets 

of the park population The use of a WANG IS only a 

mechanical means to achieve lhls oblectlve. For 

elaborate data analyses requiring computation 01 

statlstlcs other than percentages this system IS not 

recommended. Ii IS also not recommended for data 

bases with mole than 5.000 records. 

Szwah IS with the Recreal~oon Resources Ass~stance Div;sion. NPS Dept of Ihe Intenor Washmglo”. D c 20240 

One female, one male, and one dog the ‘&wp 

composrtnon” of one data sef in the Nat~oonal Capital 

t?egron s pbt project to garn planning mformatnon 

about park V,S,$IS. 

Visitation Census 

In June 1983, the Olllce of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approved a survey. entltled Park VISItatlon Census, for NPS use. The core mstrument consists of questions that determlne wtors’ length of 

stay. movement patierns within the park, repeat “ISt&on. group we and composltlon. and act~v~tles pursued onsite An open-ended sectlo” allows park 

manageis the opportunlly to ask questlons about a 

speclflc park problem or issue. The survey can be admlrxstered as a matled questionnwe or a personal mlerww. The OMB authorization lor use of the Park 

Visitation Census expwes Dec. 31, 1985 A total of 14 

NPS areas nationwide are wng this survey ~nslrw 

ment. 

The Uplands Field Research Lab in the Great 

Smokv Mountains NP is develaplng a data analysis 

software package for the Park Vlsltation Census I”- 

strument. The package will be destgned for an IBM 

Personal Computer. The projected date01 completion 

01 the package is lall of 1984 

For a copy of the survey Instrument. contacl the 

Recreation Resources Assistance Division. WASO. 

1100 L Street. NW WashIngton. DC 20240 

CONTACT Dr John Peine. Uplands Field Research 

Lab. Great Smoky Mountains NP, Gallmburg, Term 

37738 
From Washington, D.C.: 

formation canoe rransferred electrowally to parks or Natural Landmarks 

Information System 

The Nafurah Landmarks lnlormatlon System IS a 

user-friendly means of malntainmg and accewng an 

automated dala base on destgnated. potential and 

d&ted NatIonal Natural Landmarks (NNCs), which 

are slgnlficant examples of geological features and 

ecologIcal communities. Data storage IS by location, 

status, condillon, ownership management and re. 

swrce 1ype. 

regions that have CPT compatible equipment Hard 

copies 01 the information also can be generated for 

units that do not have TTY or CPT compatible equipmen,. 

The Pesticide Use Tracking subsystem IS designed 

to track pesflclde “se on a park by park basis lrs 

unique fealure IS that the Pesticide Use Proposal 

Form (Form 10.21A) can be transferred electronically 

to the Region 0, WashIngton Office This subsystem 

IS also the foundation for the Management Reports 

subsystem the workhorse of the Pest lnformatlon 

Management System. The WAS0 Interagency Resources Diwion uses 

the system to add, update and delete natural landmark records, to prepare repotis in response to pubilc 

request and to catry out analyses to aid management 

decnons on where lo direct program re~ourw from 

site study and nomination. It IS also used to provide 

Information for the annual repoti 10 Congress on 

threatened and damaged Landmarks. 

Regional &es use the system to provide informatlon to the public and to cornpa”,% and agerues with 

management responsibllkty. planning, revw 01 implementatlon activws related 10 potenilal or designaled slles; and for analysis to assist m program admtnlslration. For example, the Pacific Northwest Region has used the data base to provide 11~1s of designated and potential NNLs located on Federal land to 

each of the Federal land-managlng agences in the 

Region. 10 provide reporis of designated NNCs by 

county to a prlvale energy developer locating an oil 

pipeline, and to share natural landmark informalion 

with NPS regional enwonmenlal review staff and 

state herltage program offices for “se when commenting on public and prwate development proposals 

requlrlng pews 

The system runs on the NPS Hewlelt.Packard 

3000 m~nlcompuler. Reports may be obtalned by untralned users through a user-friendly menu system. 

The Hewlett-Packard language, QUERY, may be 

used lo mantpulate data and to produce ad hoc reports tailored to spectfic inform&on requests. 

CONTACT: Arthur Stewarl. Interagency Resources 

Dw;s~on. NPS, Washington. D C. 20240, 

Pest Information 

Management System 

The B~ologlcal Resources DIVISION of NPS has de. 

veloped a Pest lnformatlon Management System 

IPIMS) IO sallsfy the needs of the Pest Management 

Program PIMS resides on a CPT 8525 m~croprocessl”g un11 utllizlng floppy disk storage and a 5 megabyte hard disk. Software accessories Include’ Compupak. a CPM programmng system; and TTY, an 

asynchronous communtcations system The TTY 

software enables communlcatlon wth nearly any remole unit that can “se ASCII. BesIdes olher CPT systems. the cenlral CPT unit has commumcated successfully wth IBM-PC. TRS’Radlo Shack. Apple, 

Hewlett-Packard. and Raytheon Lexttron processors. 

PIMS encompasses three major subsystems. IPM 

Information. Pesticide Use Tracking. and Managemen1 Repot% The IPM Information subsystem prowdes current. compreheoslve, theoretical and practlcal mlormatlon for managing pests wllhln the National 

Park System. When completed. this subsyslem will 

prowde up-to-date technical mformatlon on the management of 49 pests of concern Servlcewlde This I”- 

The Management Reports subsystem provides 

summary reports on pestlclde use and related topics. 

The versatility of this subsystem lies in its ability to 

select information from the Pesticide Use Tracking 

subsystem based on a group of selection commands 

that can be used singly or in comblnatlon, depending 

on the mformatlon needs of the user. For example, 

summary reporls can be generated for the following 

categories or combination of categories: pest, acwe 

mgredlent, type of pest, location of pesticide use, and 

amount of pesticide used. 

CONTACT: Dr Michael Ruggiero or Gaiy Johnston. 

NPS Biological Resources Dwision (485). Washington, D.C 20240 

COMMON Data Base 

Contains Park Basics 

In the past there has been no cen!ia; so”rce of key 

information about park unlls thal could provide rapid 

answers to questions asked by decision-makers. The 

COMMON database has been developed to meet 

that need. The Ofhce of Information Management is 

working with each program area to define the set of 

lniormatlon they need lo make day-to-day as well as 

policy-level decisions. 

The COMMON database contains basic park ~nlormatIon such as Supenntenden~s name. phone nunber and address, percentages of park area in different land “se zones. Clean AK Act statUs, status of 

park planning documents, amount of federal and nonfederal acreage. park type, NPS region, and State 

and county location. The database IS stored on the 

NPS Hewlett-Packard 3000 minicomputer rn WAS0 

and can be accessed from any term!nal. rmcm or 

word processor with communications capability by 

using the HP database language. QUERY Detailed 

InformatIon pertaining to particular program areas will 

still be stored I” separate data bases mamlalned by 

vanes offices on different computers. 

The COMMON database is being expanded to include more inform&on about park units. Informalion 

about COMMON data items will form the beginnIng of 

the ServicewIde data dlctlonaty which WIII Include information about all data used in the Serwce that 

crosses major organlratlonal and functional knes. 

The dictionary will not only define the mea”,ng of 

each piece of data: it will establksh who IS responsible 

for Its accuracy and currency, where it is generated 

and stored, and what values 11 may have. 

Some standard QUERY procedures and a Users’ 

Manual WIII be developed I” 1984 by the WAS0 Office of lnformatlon Management 

CONTACT. Kaihleen Gundry NPS Office of Information Management, Department of the lnlenor Wash- 

!ngton. D C 20240. 

22 

NPS Microcomputer 

Software Inventory 

The NPS Office of Information Management has 

conducted a” inventory of the uses the Service 

makes of small compulers. The purpose of mamtatning the inventory is to let NPS staff know what inform&n in their subject area has been automated, to 

assist I” planning or designing of computer systems, 

and to help NPS stafl exchange ideas and sofhwe. 

The inventory shows that I” the last two lo three 

years. computers have proliferated in the parks, and 

that park staffs have put them to good use Over 130 

kinds of appl~cal~ons are in the inventory. rangmg 

from visitor and resource management to a wide 

v&y of administrative uses. 

The mventory has miormatlon on 14 computer sys. 

terns, 11 of them in parks. which maInlaIn natural resome data. These include systems on marine 

spews and on bears. goats, and other mammals, 

and systems on ground cover and cave use. There 

are also four natural resource bibliography systems 

ldentifled. 

Systems in NPS use now run on a variety of kinds 

01 hardware. Commonly used brands include 

Datapunt, IBM-PCs, Data General, Apples, Vector 

Graphics. and others. Much of the software is from 

commerclaliy available ‘off the shell’ packages. In 

addilton lo dBase II, most frequently used ate eleclron~c spreadsheet packages such as VISICALC, 

MULTIPLAN (for Datapo~nt), and SUPER-CALC. 

Graphics and statlsttcal packages also are used, and 

packages such as LOTUS i-2-3. which integrate 

some of these functions. 

The mventory IS available in printed form now and 

will be made available later I” an automated data 

base. It includes lust enough detail to let you know 

who’s doing what kind of busmess on computers in 

the parks, and the name and phone number of someone to call to find out more about il. 

CONTACT: John Peterson. NPS Office oflnformalton 

Management (WASO-0051. Departmen of the Infedor Washmglon. D. C. 20240, 

Microcomputers 

Afford Flexibility 

By R. Gerald Wright 

The use of large maInframe computer systems 

lknked to dedicated termmals at remote sites IS not 

common in the National Park Service In part thls IS 

because many parks are geographically Isolated, 

semi-autonomous uruts often connected to low grade 

telecommunlcatlon lanes. Another reason IS that the 

resource-orlented educational backgrounds of many 

NPS personnel have lradltlonally de-emphasized 

the use of computers. Finally, there is a managerla 

susplc~on of large. complicaled, centralized computer 

systems. 

The advent of low cost, powerful microcomputers IS 

rapidly changing this picture. In recent years. parks 

have been acquiring a variety of microcompuler systems, either on thelr own or as part of regional oh 

programs. These computers are being used Ior swera1 tasks. One application, the management of resowce data bases. is dwussed below. 

As many park personnel are aware. the management 01 park data bases IS an arduous task. Manual 

compilation. update. and ftling of lnfarmatlon has long 

been the norm. The result IS that data. particularly 
historical data, often are unavailable when needed. In 

an effort to remedy this situation. several Servicewide resource u%rmalion systems were established 

in recent years. These included systems for backcountry use data, bear mformat1on, threats to the 

parks and pesticide data. All were tied to a central 

mainframe computer The problems in the use and 

maintenance of these systems reflect, to a large degree, those inherent in any centralized data base. 

The systems were constructed to include all possible 

contingencies and. thus, were complex and dlHlcult to 

alter and update, particularly as they grew in size It 

was also hard for i-&duals using these data bases 

10 verify the accuracy of the data entered. 

The result has been that many of the centrally 

maintained data bases have been abandoned !n 

favor of systems that keep relevant porlions of the 

data base accessible to the individuals who have the 

greatest involvement with those pat% As an example, bear Information for Glacier NP would be entered 

and stored on a mwocomputer at Glacier. These latter data bases are called distributed systems. 

Distributed systems are ideal for organizations that 

have large numbers of geographically separated 

units. Each ““I!, e.g. the park, stores its own data; 

thus data entry and !etr!eval !!me is minimal, and 

communication problems and costs are significantly 

reduced Equally as Imporiant, the park assumes the 

responsibility for accurately updating the data and 

maintaining its polt~on of the total data base. The impact of changes ,n personnel responsible for ma,“- 

taining a data base is lower in distributed systems for. 

I” the event of disruptlow only a poltlon 01 the total 

dais base IS affected 

Distributed data bases are typically heirarchlcally 

structured, with the most detailed Information kept at 

the local level. Syntheses of these data are made 

available at higher management levels, e.g., regional 

offices and WASO. Compatible formats for coding 

and storing the dlHeren1 data types are necessary for 

such a system to operate smoothly. Analyses and integration of data sets are easier, and individuals who 

lack training and experience I” indexing information 

are aided by having a uniform format to follow. 

One way to achieve uniformity IS to develop corn. 

mon formats for specific data types and distribute 

them on diskettes compatible with the respective 

computers to the parks. Where appropriate, exlstlng 

commercial software, such as MULTIPLAN, could be 

used for this purpose In spew1 cases, data specific 

software may have to be developed internally. For 

example. the Southeast Regnnal Office recently developed a museum records cataloging program for 

parks wtten in dBase II The development of a common format and accompanying software for specific 

data sets could be directed by a Sewce-wide committee, such as the Natural Resource InformatIon 

Management Working Group, working in concert with 

appropriate dwpllnary experts. 

The rapld proliferation of microcomputers in the 

NPS undoubtedly will continue to increase. Many 

parks already are developing their own or adapting 

commercial software to meet their data management 

and inventory needs Effortsto assure compallbility of 

data storage, at least al the regional level, need to be 

underiaken quickly before the problem gets out of 

hand. Implemented correctly. dlstrlbuted data bases 

can be a real ad to the data storage and retwval 

needs of the parks and also provide necessary lnforMatson to other management levels 

Wnghl is an ecolog,st wrlh the NPS CPSU a/ Unlversily of Idaho. Moscow 

From DISC. , . 

_ 

Digital Cartography 

Editor’s Note: In the Winfer 82 issue of Park SC;- 

ence, Fleet hrst described his program 1” Digital Cartography Anofher art& descnbmg a specff!c applicafm appeared ,n the Winter 83 issue. Here he 

gives a bnef update. 

By Harvey Fleet 

Program Manager for DigItal Caitography 

The DigItal Cartography Program at DSC continues to build and analyze digital cartographic data 

bases. These are line-type (or ‘vectoi’) data bases 

and are used for research, enwonmental analysis. 

resource management, and planning. Data bases 

have been contructed for Cape Cod, Upper Delaware, Great Smokies, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Tar 

Sands Lease Unit (Utah), Prince William Forest, 

Saratoga, and Capitol Reef. Typically, these data 

bases include boundanes. landuse~landcover, soils, 

hydrography, roads, 1~118, structures, and topog 

raphy, among many other themes. Most of our data 

processing IS done using SAGIS (Systems Appllcatlons Group lnformatlon System) on a CDC (Control 

Data Corporation) CYBER mainlrame, on which we 

timeshare, and which is owned and operated by the 

Bureau of Reclamation. We supplement our use of 

the CYBER by maklng extenwe use of our Tektronix 

4054 for plotting. analysts, and data display. We 

routinely produce high-quality color plots of the data 

the various data bases contan 

Our principal product is a digltal data base. rather 

than specific plots of data I” the data base. and we 

ant,c,pate that our clients WIII “se the data base regularly over the years Unlike remote sensing. we do not 

create the them&c maps that we enter into the computer, but concentrate on entenng existing maps (of 

any kind of reswrce feature). The technique IS especlally subted for faithfully and precisely capturing linetype data (polygons, lines, and points) in digital format. 

Recent and upcoming developments include the 

addition of polygon overlay and a data base manager 

to our list of analytical tools, the acquisition of an extremely powerful. high resolution color display 

monitor and complementary ink-let plotter, publIcation of the second wue of the Data Base Newsletter. 

publication of The Manageis Guide to Resource Information Systems. and the capability lo merge remote sensng data with our digital caiographlc data. 

Remote sensing 

By Maurice Nyquisi, Chief 

Since the glit 01 a modest muucomputer system by 

NASA’ERL a year ago. the program has been deeply 

wolved with constwct~on 01 digital data bases for 

several parks and reg,ons. At three areas (Big Bend, 

Great Smokles. and Yosemite NPs] high resolution 

alrcrafl multlspectral scanner (MSS) data are being 

used in conjunction with dIgital topographic data 

These data bases will be used for park speofic nalw 

ral science. resources management, and 11re fuels 

mod&g applications. and in the case of Yosemite 

methodology development of Resource-at-Risk determ,nat,ons for FIREPRO Other ongoIng projects 

lor North Cascades and the Nabonal Capital Region 

are wng various comblnatlons of dIgItal topographic. 

23 

Landsat MSS, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM] 01 

high resolution aircraft MSS. 

An ambitious program has evolved whereby this office will be developing a dIgItal data base for al/ 

Alaska parks with prellminaiy emphasis on vegetation and fire fuel clawfications. Funds have been obligated through a cooperative agreement between 

NOAA, EROS Data Center, NASA, and this oHice to 

acquire TM data (30m or ‘/n-acre pixels) for ~26 

scenes from Landsat D’ launched in February 1984. 

Therefore, TM data for the program WIII start to become wallable during the summer of 1984. Digital 

terrain data for 121 1’ X 1’ scenes coverIng the parks 

have been acquired and processing steps are proceeding. 

To carry out the aforementioned projects new modules or other modlflcatlons have been made to ELAS 

(Earth Resources Laboratory Applications Software). 

the software package we use for multIspectral classlfiation and geographic information system (GIS) 

analyses enabling us to dew? elevation, slope, aspect, and average slope length classes: maklng 

much Easter the lumping of multlspectral classes Into 

desired thematic (e.g. vegetabon landcover) classes 

because the color melhodology used retains color 

meaning and contextual Information: and taking the 

vector data flies of SAGIS (the software package 

used at DSC) to build %ne-type” data bases and co”- 

veti them to ELAS (Earth Resources Lab Appl~cations sdiware) format 

We look forward to sharing the results of these and 

other pending developments followlng @sling and actual park applications. 

And NPFiora 

By Gary S. Waggoner (DSC), 

Virginia 17. Brueggemann (DSC), and 

James P. Bennett (WASO-AWOD) 

The NPFLORA program to build and maintaln a 

computerized wontory 01 the vascular plants occurring in the National Park System has progressed slgnlficantly smce it was first descrlbed m Park Scimx 

(Spring 1983). At that time. we rep&d data on 19 

parks As of January 1984 NPFLORA contaIned data 

on 45 parks. The data base IS currently about 10 

megabytes in size IS stored on magnetic tape and 

costs about 515,000 annually to operate on the 

Bureau of Reclamation CDC CYBER Kxluding data 

base expansion, querying and maintenance. We are 

lnvestlgat!ng the acquisition of a microcomputer that 

can provide equivalent capabiktles for our purposes 

in order to avold these annual charges 

As 01 January 1984 NPFLORA had an average of 

690 iaxa per park of wh!ch 87 percent are natives. 11 

percent are Introduced, and 2 percent are undeter. 

mined. the number of parks in the data base has 

more than doubled, but these percentages have remalned wtually stable it appears that the average 

number 01 introduced taxa in the Park System is 

roughly Ii percent of the total flora occurrIng. 

The NPFLORA pr,ntou,s have provided park staffs 

with a target for CorrectIons, deletions. and addltlons 

The result has been a considerable Improvement I” 

the overall accuracy and quality of the data base. 

which was set up originally from sowces such as 

publications. theses, ana park lksllngs 
-