Northwest Habitat Institute
IBIS Project
Purpose:
 To allow all Internet users to quickly and efficiently peruse, query, and download fish and
wildlife information pertinent to their individual questions.
 To allow consistent peer-reviewed information to be distributed across the states.
 To make these data available to a wide audience to help build a common understanding for
management of the Pacific Northwest’s fish, wildlife and their habitats.
Geographic distribution: Columbia River Basin, plus all of Oregon and Washington
Data included in IBIS:
1) 662 wildlife species by scientific name, common name (multiple), class, range
2) 142 fish species by scientific name, common name (multiple), class, range
3) Habitat types (32 from WHR book; extensive peer-review)
4) Structural conditions
5) Key environmental correlates
6) Key ecological functions
7) Species-habitat relationships, including:
a. ecological functions of species
b. life histories of species
c. impact of management activities on species
Relationships to other projects:
 IBIS serves as a source of core wildlife data for subbasin planning;
 IBIS datasets form the foundation for a regional wildlife data repository, recommended as a
role for NHI by Data Management Workshop feedback;
 IBIS addresses several issues in the NED Scope of Work (FY2007): obtaining at-risk data,
bridging data gaps (also highlighted in CBFWA’s State of the Resources report), and data
standards.
Synopsis:
The Interactive Habitat and Biodiversity Information System (IBIS) contains extensive information
about Pacific Northwest fish, wildlife, and their habitats. More importantly, IBIS permits users to
discover and analyze the relationships among these species and their habitats. IBIS is a unique
resource because it contains peer-reviewed spatial biodiversity information that traverses political
and administrative boundaries while maintaining consistent terminologies and classification
systems.
Current and historic wildlife-habitat maps of the Columbia River Basin that are in a
geographic information system (GIS), augment the linkage of these biological data to real-world
locations and are developed by NHI to enhance the data’s usefulness for spatial modeling (O’Neil et
al. 2005). The combined fish and wildlife data sets currently exceed 150,000 records, and IBIS
currently serves on the Internet more than 5,000 files.
Background:
IBIS was an outgrowth from a series of debriefings and lessons-learned meetings that followed the
listing of the Spotted Owl and related forest issues. The development of IBIS’s data sets began in
1995 with overall guidance set by a Senior Science Team, which directed the creation of 3 other
multi-agency teams to address Species-Habitat Relationships, Digital Products, and Management
Applications. All teams had members that represented federal, state, private industries, and tribes.
The Northwest Habitat Institute (NHI) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW),
with the cooperation and support of 40 project partners, spent over six years developing a series of
peer-reviewed biological data sets consisting of 9 data matrices that focus on the interactions of
wildlife, salmon and their habitats.