Data Stewardship and Maintenance for the National Hydrography Dataset Role of the Hydrography Point of Contact Point of Contact (Focus on NHD) (Focus on NHD) U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

Geographic Information Office (GIO) Kevin Gallagher – Associate Director NGTOC – Denver Ron Lofton – Center Chief Paul Kimsey – NHD Section Chief National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) Kari Craun - Director Geographic Information, Integration and Analysis (GIIA) Carl Zulick National Geospatial Programs Office (NGPO) Mark DeMulder NGTOC – Rolla Eric Constance – Center Chief Carl Nelson – NHD Section Chief Tim Hines – NHD Region Three Elizabeth McCartney – NHD Region Four George Heleine – NHD Region Five David Anderson – NHD Region Six Hank Nelson – NHD Region One Bill Smith – NHD Region Two Stephen Daw – WBD Joel Skalet - Support USGS Hydro POC “Chain of Command” Geospatial Liaisons

Acronym POC Definition Person on Call? Position of Comfort? Piece of Cake? Proof of Concept? Plan of Correction? Point of Compliance? Pack of Chihuahuas? Property of Canada? Noun pointpoint of contactofcontact The single person who represents an organization, for a specific task.person So what is a POC…. Actually….

Glossary of Terms NHD STEWARDSHIP TERMS POC: point of contact, a USGS representative who communicates directly with stewards to address their needs and concerns. Synonyms include "technical point of contact", "stewardship point of contact", and "hydrographic area specialist". partner: a non-USGS organization involved in the initial creation of NHD data steward: a non-USGS organization that has agreed to correct and update the NHD steward--principal steward: a steward that coordinates NHD maintenance activities in their area of custodianship, usually a State steward--associate steward, sub-steward: a steward that is responsible for NHD maintenance activities in an area smaller than a State steward--regional steward: a steward that is responsible for NHD maintenance activities in a multi-state area stewardship region: a multi-state area administered by a single USGS POC

Six Regions Partnership staff of ten 45 years of combined NHD experience

NHD Stewardship Team Responsibilities

Support In-House activities: Maintenance Training, Database Load/Distribution, Work share Projects, Sub Region Maintenance, Development Support – Tool Testing, Documentation

NHD Stewardship Team Responsibilities Support In-House activities: Maintenance Training, Database Load/Distribution, Work share Projects, Sub Region Maintenance, Development Support – Tool Testing, Documentation Support USGS Geospatial Liaisons: Identify Principal Stewards Provide Technical Guidance for Stewardship Agreements

NHD Stewardship Team Responsibilities Support In-House activities: Maintenance Training, Database Load/Distribution, Work share Projects, Sub Region Maintenance, Development Support – Tool Testing, Documentation Support USGS Geospatial Liaisons: Identify Principal Stewards Provide Technical Guidance for Stewardship Agreements Provide Maintenance Training to Partners: On Site Maintenance, Applications, Conflation Training Follow-up On Site Training

NHD Stewardship Team Responsibilities Support In-House activities: Maintenance Training, Database Load/Distribution, Work share Projects, Sub Region Maintenance, Development Support – Tool Testing, Documentation Support USGS Geospatial Liaisons: Identify Principal Stewards Provide Technical Guidance for Stewardship Agreements Provide Maintenance Training to Partners: On Site Maintenance, Applications, Conflation Training Follow-up On Site Training Provide On-Going Technical Support: By Way of Phone, or WebEx, Stewardship Website

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. ● Presentation skills to make a good impression in front of an audience - we will be working with a lot of customers. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. ● Presentation skills to make a good impression in front of an audience - we will be working with a lot of customers. ● Highly motivated and responsive - there are many issues to pursue and it will take initiative to go after them and turn them into success stories. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. ● Presentation skills to make a good impression in front of an audience - we will be working with a lot of customers. ● Highly motivated and responsive - there are many issues to pursue and it will take initiative to go after them and turn them into success stories. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD in data integration - there are many forms of hydrography data and we need to be knowledgeable on how they work. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. ● Presentation skills to make a good impression in front of an audience - we will be working with a lot of customers. ● Highly motivated and responsive - there are many issues to pursue and it will take initiative to go after them and turn them into success stories. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD in data integration - there are many forms of hydrography data and we need to be knowledgeable on how they work. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD in data applications - we can best serve the customer by understanding what their end-objective is. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Excellent personal skills to work with others - in dealing with such a highly technical subject we have to remember the human side of building relationships. ● Presentation skills to make a good impression in front of an audience - we will be working with a lot of customers. ● Highly motivated and responsive - there are many issues to pursue and it will take initiative to go after them and turn them into success stories. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD in data integration - there are many forms of hydrography data and we need to be knowledgeable on how they work. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD in data applications - we can best serve the customer by understanding what their end-objective is. ● Thorough knowledge of the NHD data model, standards, and policies. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHD Geo Edit tool - this is the bottom line of stewardship, it's what turns the NHD from a good dataset to an excellent dataset. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHD Geo Edit tool - this is the bottom line of stewardship, it's what turns the NHD from a good dataset to an excellent dataset. ● Thorough knowledge of hydrography as a data theme - we have to understand hydrography, not just the NHD. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHD Geo Edit tool - this is the bottom line of stewardship, it's what turns the NHD from a good dataset to an excellent dataset. ● Thorough knowledge of hydrography as a data theme - we have to understand hydrography, not just the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHDPlus - this is the next logical evolution of the NHD and we need to learn from it. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHD Geo Edit tool - this is the bottom line of stewardship, it's what turns the NHD from a good dataset to an excellent dataset. ● Thorough knowledge of hydrography as a data theme - we have to understand hydrography, not just the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHDPlus - this is the next logical evolution of the NHD and we need to learn from it. ● Adopt a strong project management approach to priority projects and preparing key project documents. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Thorough knowledge of ArcGIS - this is the tool that makes it all work, the more we know about it the more powerful we can make the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHD Geo Edit tool - this is the bottom line of stewardship, it's what turns the NHD from a good dataset to an excellent dataset. ● Thorough knowledge of hydrography as a data theme - we have to understand hydrography, not just the NHD. ● Thorough knowledge of NHDPlus - this is the next logical evolution of the NHD and we need to learn from it. ● Adopt a strong project management approach to priority projects and preparing key project documents. ● Strong knowledge of Geodatabase - this is the platform for the NHD model and we need to know how to fully utilize it What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. ● Strong knowledge of linear referencing - this is an extension of the power of NHD that allows us to have a more powerful dataset. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. ● Strong knowledge of linear referencing - this is an extension of the power of NHD that allows us to have a more powerful dataset. ● Strong knowledge of ArcHydro - this is our sister-dataset and we can learn a lot from each other. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. ● Strong knowledge of linear referencing - this is an extension of the power of NHD that allows us to have a more powerful dataset. ● Strong knowledge of ArcHydro - this is our sister-dataset and we can learn a lot from each other. ● Basic knowledge of hydrology - this is a core element of hydrography and shapes the behavior of hydrography. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. ● Strong knowledge of linear referencing - this is an extension of the power of NHD that allows us to have a more powerful dataset. ● Strong knowledge of ArcHydro - this is our sister-dataset and we can learn a lot from each other. ● Basic knowledge of hydrology - this is a core element of hydrography and shapes the behavior of hydrography. ● Basic knowledge of data programs related to The Clean Water Act - more than anything this is why we have the NHD so we need to understand what it is. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Strong knowledge of the USGS and its programs related to water and mapping - we always have to realize how we fit within the protocol of the USGS. ● Strong knowledge of linear referencing - this is an extension of the power of NHD that allows us to have a more powerful dataset. ● Strong knowledge of ArcHydro - this is our sister-dataset and we can learn a lot from each other. ● Basic knowledge of hydrology - this is a core element of hydrography and shapes the behavior of hydrography. ● Basic knowledge of data programs related to The Clean Water Act - more than anything this is why we have the NHD so we need to understand what it is. ● Basic knowledge of natural resource programs such as fisheries biology - this is one of our biggest customers, we have to understand their needs. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Basic knowledge of WBD, NED, EDNA, NWIS, NWI, Streamstats - the NHD is integral with all of these. What skills are we going to need for the future?

● Basic knowledge of WBD, NED, EDNA, NWIS, NWI, Streamstats - the NHD is integral with all of these. ● Strong knowledge of The National Map and its variations - we have to understand how we fit into a larger picture and how that larger picture works. What skills are we going to need for the future?

NHD White Paper Response… Thank you for your letter outlining developmental improvements of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). As exemplified by the variety of participants in your letter, the NHD program is not just a U.S. Geological Survey program, but a multi- agency initiative throughout government. We welcome the participation of this overall community in the ongoing development of the NHD. The availability of the NHD is playing a key role in the advancement of water science. As this is happening the USGS will need to transition to not only keep pace with change, but also play a key role in leading that change. I am confident that our ongoing recruitment initiative and an ongoing operations re-engineering process, coupled with strong future planning based on your recommendations, will relieve many problems that have been experienced. Furthermore, the USGS would like the opportunity to work with you on an ongoing basis to explore your issue paper in more depth. The NHD has been a success story for all members of the partnership that made it possible. I’m sure we all agree that great progress is being made all the time. We look forward to working with you to try to keep the pace of that progress where it needs to be.

NHD –IssuePaper ReportCard… The Stewardship Community acknowledges and thanks USGS for the steps it has already taken to improve staffing and resources for the NHD and Stewardship Strategy. It also urges USGS to maintain its commitment by providing the additional resources needed to address remaining concerns. The federal agencies, states and other members of the Stewardship Community cannot stress enough how important and valuable the NHD is for management programs including water resources, climate, natural resources and wildlife management.

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year. - John Foster DullesJohn Foster Dulles