Hawaii Pacific GIS Conference 2012: Natural Resource Management - Developing a Conservation Data Sharing Network for the Island of Maui, Hawaii

Developing a Conservation Data

Sharing Network for the Island of

Maui, Hawai„i

Samuel N.R. Aruch

Natural Resource Data Solutions LLC

Penn State MGIS- Capstone

• Background

• Conservation partner relationships and needs

• Maui Data Hui

• Partner data infrastructure

• Data sharing implementation

• Benefits of data sharing

• Lessons learned

• Next steps

Background

Terrestrial conservation implementation in Hawaiʻi

• Many challenges

• Ecosystem level threats

• Management across land owner boundaries

Partner relationships

The Nature

Conservancy

Maui

Program

West Maui

Mountains

Watershed

Partnership

East Maui

Watershed

Partnership

Maui

Invasive

Species

Committee

Logistics Logistics Goals

Partner relationships

Needs – Extreme and costly logistics in remote areas

Needs - Track the status of work performed

Needs – Measure effectiveness and share accomplishments

Needs- Locate and share threat information

Treated

Observed

Misidentified

Maui Data Hui (group)

• A bottom up approach

• Informal group of mid-level on the ground managers

• Meeting since 2008

• 2 - 4 x per year

• Sharing tools and ideas

• Voluntary collaborative standards

• Fence Name

• Fence Section

• Status (complete, partial, proposed, unmaintained, removed)

• Source (hand-drawn, GPS)

• Agency Built (TNC, EMWP, NPS, etc…)

• Agency Managed (TNC, EMWP, NPS, etc…)

• Purpose (pig, deer, dirt bike, cattle, etc…)

• Material (hogwire, mesh, barb, hog panels, etc…)

• Apron (yes, no, partial)

• Height ( # in feet)

• Length (from GIS)

• Last Check (from database)

• Condition (from database)

Collaborative standards- Fences

Individual partner database infrastructure

• Local data management via linked MS Access & ArcGIS desktop

• Each program has unique needs (i.e. sensitive data, capacity, and

work flows)

• Standards are implemented when developing

Partner infrastructure - “Real time” local data management

Partner infrastructure - “Real time” local data management

Partner infrastructure - “Real time” local data management

ool

The next step: developing a data sharing infastructure:

Enterprise level data sharing structure for conservation partners on

the island of Maui.

Working with two examples of shared data sets

• Ungulate exclosure fences (cows, pigs, deer, goats)

• Weed control

Data sharing infrastructure

• Retrofit existing workflow (do not create more work)

• Participants have access to raw data

• Data can be served over the web

• Prototyped with UH – CCRT infrastructure

• VPN to connect local access database to SQLServer

• MS SQLServer and ArcGIS Server to store and serve data

• Still under development / testing

Data sharing implementation – 3 different scenarios

Shared

data server

Local user

interface and

data tables

Check

in/ Out

Aggregated/

filtered data Aggregated/

Filtered

Export Local user

interface and

data tables

User

interface only

Hosted

Sharing workflow

User chooses to log in to server

Local database

Initiate sync on existing database

Login to server

Status message

User chooses to log in to server

Status message alerts user to new data to send

Local database

Status message

Sending data

User chooses to log in to server

Status message alerts user to new data to send

User chooses to send data to server

Local database

User sends data to the server

Sharing workflow

User chooses to log in to server

Status message alerts user of new data to send

User chooses to send data to server

Data is aggregated and served

Local database

Server

Master data can be imported or linked to user's database

Sharing workflow

User chooses to log in to server

Status message alerts user of new data to send

User chooses to send data to server

Data is aggregated and served

Local database

Server

Web

Data as a service

Data as a service

Benefits of data sharing

• Watershed to archipelago scale decision support tools

• Communication with funders, managers, and partners

• Enhance strategy, efficiency, and collaboration

• Accountability

• Continuity in perpetuity

Products– Watershed management and resource analysis

* Sample data for illustration only

Products – Landscape scale status assessments

* Sample data for illustration only

Products – Strategy, efficiency, and collaboration

Maui Data Hui lessons learned

• Build momentum, collaboration, and relationships

• Work from the bottom up and top down

• Data compatibility and consistency

• Information security and trust

• Don‟t reinvent the wheel

• Usability

• Time

Long term goals

• More partners / more data / more fun

• Experiment with more sharing tools

• Mobile tools for managers

• Build long term support

Potential for partnership data sharing

Summary

• Hawaiʻi has landscape scale ecosystem threats

• Conservation partnerships have shared goals and logistics

• Conservation partnerships need to share data

• The Maui Data Hui is facilitating data sharing from the bottom up

• Building momentum and collaboration

• Measurable benefits of collaboration

• Open to new ideas and tools

Maui Data Hui collaborators and contributors

• East Maui Watershed Partnership (EMWP)

• West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership (WMMWP)

• Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC)

• The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi – Maui Program (TNC- Maui)

• Puʻu Kukui Watershed Preserve (PKW)

• Plant Extinction Prevention Program – Maui (PEP)

• Leeward Haleakalā Watershed Restoration Project (LHWRP)

• USGS – Pacific Basin Information Node (USGS- PBIN)

• Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project (MFBRP)

• Department of Land and Natural Resources Natural Area Reserves

System - Maui (Maui NARS)

• Haleakalā National Park

• University of Hawaiʻi - Center for Conservation Research and

Training (UH - CCRT)

• Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance (HCA)

Sam Aruch

Natural Resource Data Solutions

808-895-4542

[email protected]