Navigating Complexity 2011 Environmental Evaluators Network Forum
SmartGeo: Geospatial Analysis
and Focal Area Management in
the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM)
Addressing complexity through
integration of business, GIS, and
scientific data
Presented by: Alexandra Ritchie, BLM and Thomas Bartholomew, BLM
1
Presentation Goals
1. Educate audience about the BLM and application of
complexity theme to BLM’s management challenges
2. Present a method to leverage diversity and complexity of the
BLM to achieve sustainable landscapes
3. Model the method
4. Offer evaluation framework for both model and method
5. Engage the audience in experiential learning and networking
6. Collect feedback on proposal and identify potential new
stakeholders or project partners
2
BLM & Complexity: Stating the
Challenge
We know that at the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) our work is inherently spatial; we know that our
mission is complex and our structure complicated, but
how do we re-orient our perspective from a
decentralized agency to one that is able to see the local,
landscape, and business context together so we can
achieve our mission?
EEN Forum 2011: Navigating Complexity will allow us to
explore this question with our peers in the environmental
evaluation community
3
BLM & Complexity: Stating the Problem
•BLM’s Mission: To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity
of the Nation’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present
and future generations.
•BLM’s Vision: To enhance the quality of life for all citizens
through the balanced stewardship of America’s public lands and
resources.
4
Diversity of Resources Managed by
the BLM
5
Number of Budget Line Items for Land
Management Agencies
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
BLM
FWS
NFS
NPS
6
12 State Offices & 100+ Field
Offices
National Interagency Fire
Center (Boise)
HQ in DC
National Training Center
(Phoenix)
National
Operations Center
(Denver)
7
Introducing BLM’s Wildlife Program
BLM lands are home to over 3,000 species of
wildlife across 245 million acres including:
•big game
•upland game (e.g. sage-grouse)
•waterfowl,
•shorebirds,
•songbirds,
•raptors,
•100s of species of non-game mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians.
Data collection in the field.
BLM is responsible for managing habitat, state fish and game agencies manage
species populations.
BLM’s primary concerns are managing the impacts of habitat loss and
fragmentation caused by anthropogenic (e.g. urban expansion, energy
development) and non-anthropogenic factors (e.g. drought and disease) and multisource threats (climate change).
The BLM Wildlife Program relies on a wide variety of data collected internally &
from an array of agencies and partners to make effective management decisions for
the species habitat it is charged with managing.
8
Spotlight on Sage-Grouse
The BLM manages 30 million acres of
sagebrush habitat occupied by the
greater sage-grouse in 11 States (~50%
of remaining habitat in the U.S.)
The sage-grouse is a
Candidate Species for listing under the
Endangered Species Act.
Multi-agency partnerships such as the
Great Basin initiative are starting to
address integrity of whole habitat, but
State-based nature of BLM and data
silos complicate implementation.
Figure. Shaded area represents the current distribution of Greater
Sage-Grouse (adapted from Schroeder et al. 2004). (from USGS
website)
9
BLM & Complexity: Illustrating the
Problem
BLM’s Operational Structure (Process Flows)
National data management
Operational support for all BLM
offices
National
Programs
Nat. Operations
Center (NOC)
Field Offices
Set national policy
& priorities
Allocates funding to
States & NOC
Reporting
States
Adapt national policy for State context
Aggregate Field Office data
Allocate funding to Field Offices
Implement policy &
projects
Collect & manage
data
10
Current Programmatic Relational
Databases
Currently Information is stored in relational database, program lead filing system, officespecific central file, SharePoint “silos” at the program, office, and project levels, making it
difficult to use data across programs/offices/projects.
Engineering
• FAMS
Range
• RIPS
• RAS
Lands
• LR2000
Oil & Gas
• AFMSS
Budget &
Performance
• FBMS
• PMDS
• CBS
11
Emergent Properties: Internal
Emergent property: A characteristic of complex systems in which the
properties (behaviors) of the whole are not predicted by the properties
(behaviors) of the individual parts.
80% of BLM’s work processes require the knowledge of place, but many BLM
systems do not record place as a data feature or data character
Assessment, Inventory, & Monitoring (AIM) Strategy - Designed to overcome
current data management silos and data quality issues for BLM’s resource
management data.
Geospatial Services Strategic Plan – Designed to move BLM from an
uncoordinated geospatial data management system to an enterprise geospatial
data management system that ensures broad access and strong data standards
for BLM
Resource Management Planning Matrix – Designed to overcome current
programmatic silos and establish and understanding of how different programs
and actions interact on the ground so that BLM can prioritize management
actions.
12
AIM: Present & Future of BLM Data
Collection
Present
Future
Data is collected:
• Permit by permit
• Project by project
• Program by program
Data cannot be used to:
• Describe landscape trends
• Evaluate management
effectiveness across sites, scales,
or across programs
• Determine causal relationships
Data cannot be used for multiple
purposes
Data is not easily accessible
Data will be collected using:
– Common indicators
• Process driven
– Standard methods
• Data standards
– Compatible sample design
• Scalable
Integrate remote sensed imagery
– Train it with on-the ground data
collection
Data collection will be:
– Coordinated across programs
– Coordinated across scales
– Managed in an enterprise
architecture
13
The Future of GSSP Enterprise
Architecture
14
BLM’s Resource Management Planning
Matrix
15
Emergent Properties: Great Basin
Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC)
• One of 21 LCCs being formed by the U.S. Department of
the Interior (DOI) across the United States. LCCs are
applied science and management partnerships between
DOI bureaus and others involved in natural resource
management and conservation, designed to better
integrate science and management to address climate
change and related issues.
GBLCC is being established by the BLM, with assistance
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Basin, a
large region in Nevada and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Utah,
and California. The Great Basin LCC will be official once its
charter has been approved.
Goal: A self-directed partnership that will provide a range of scientific and technical
support tools for landscape-scale conservation design to a wide array of managers.
These tools will help managers identify and target explicit biological objectives for native
species and habitats in the face of climate change and other stressors. Open public
access to Great Basin LCC products will promote acceptance and support of the science
16
that supports changes in conservation strategy.
Emergent Properties: Eco-Regional
Assessments
17
Eco-Regional Assessments (continued)
Phase I: Initiate Assessment
•Establish mgt & technical teams (regions & NOC)
•Identify partners & stakeholders (regions)
•Define preliminary mgt q’s (regions) (concept from LUP process)
•Prepare statements of work for acquiring & evaluating available info (NOC)
Phase II: Pre-Assessment
Identify Info
•Review existing assessments, lit., data, & models
•Identify data gaps
•Develop data standards & data management plan
Develop Assessment Work Plan (AWP)- methodology, mechanisms (incl. sched.,
budget, equip., & staff), responsibilities, strategies (collect, manage, & analyze
data), & work products (e.g. data sets, models, reports, & maps)
Phase III: Assessment
•Locate & map resource values and change agents
•Identify status, risks & trends assoc. with these ecol. Values & potential degree of
response to change agents
•Conduct assessment (using GIS analysis & geospatial modeling) & identify areas of
18
potential concern
Nice map, where’s the business data?
19
Emergent Properties: External
National Context
International Context
Data.gov- Designed to serve as a publiclyaccessible repository for high value, machine
readable, non-classified, non-Privacy Act
datasets that the Executive Branch of the
Federal Government generates and collects.
Intended to promote transparency,
participatory democracy, and innovation and
supports the Administration’s Open
Government initiative.
GEO-a voluntary partnership of govts and intl
organizations formed in 2002 in response for
need for intl collaboration to exploit the
growing potential of Earth observations to
support decision making in an increasingly
complex and environmentally stressed world.
Performance.gov--To communicate clearly to
the public what the President’s high priority
goals are and hold Federal agencies
accountable for meeting them.
GEOSS- Societal benefit areas include:
disasters, health, energy, climate, water,
weather, ecosystems, agriculture and
biodiversity.
Federal deficit & Accountable Government
Initiative—Fiscal constraints & emphasis on
reductions in contracting, IT, asset mgt costs
20
SmartGeo: the Solution
• Leverage GSSP, the Resource Management Planning
Matrix and AIM to connect programmatic data and
business data through GIS
• Visually display results of geospatial analysis including
programmatic interactions and commitments (from
REAs & land use planning) to determine potential for
prioritizing multi-year budgets
• Incorporate strategy into LCC/large-landscape
conservation approach
• Perform formative evaluation (evaluate & monitor
phases of implementation and learning)
21
Evaluation Typology and Framework
for SmartGeo
• Formative Evaluation
• Implement and test in iterative phases
I. Budget pilot study with sagegrouse/focal areas
(review business data & analyze geographically)
II. Budget pilot expanded to include all programs
III. Budget and Planning Process Integration across
programs
IV. Budget, Planning, and Program Evaluation integration
across programs
V. All of the above plus human capital
VI. Everything in phase V plus procurement
22
SmartGeo & Sage-grouse: Potential
Application to Priority Workload
GIS map product
23
SmartGeo: Illustrating the Solution
(Modified Planning Cycle)
Account for new reality
within plan framework
Reality check for plans
Plan
Development
Evaluation
(Plan, region, or
program level)
General
framework
Plan
Implementation
Specific
workplan
Update
baseline data
Plan
Maintenance
Budget
Development
Budget
Execution
Repeat budget cycle until new
realities emerge
24
Stakeholder Analysis for SmartGeo
(Activity)
25
Stakeholder Analysis for SmartGeo
(Implementation & Evaluation Participation
Matrix)
SMARTGeo Stakeholder Participation Planning Matrix
Do not
engage
Strategy Planning
(incl. context,
scope/eval. Q’s, &
budget)
Strategy Design
(incl. methods and
measurement)
Data Collection &
Organization
Analysis,
Interpretation,
Judgments, &
Recommendations
Decision Making
(incl. presentation
of findings, Dev.
Of Action Plan &
Implementation
of Plan)
Monitoring &
Evaluation (of
Action Plan &/or
Program)
Inform
AIM Project
Coordinator
Consult
Involve
Collaborate
Empower
WO-830
AIM Project
Coordinator
NOC
WO-880
WO-830
WO-400
WO-120
WO-850
BLM Budget
Officer
NOC
NOC
NOC
WO-830
NOC
O/Land Mgt.
Agencies
BLM Budget
Officer
BLM Budget
Officer
ELT
BLM Budget
Officer
OMB/WH
BLM Budget
Officer
BLM Budget
Officer
ELT
OMB/WH
BLM/DOI (push
to use own
data)
BLM Budget
Officer
BLM Budget
Officer
BLM Budget
Officer
ELT
26
SmartGeo and the EEN
EEN—
1) What did you learn?
2) To what extent do you think our proposal fit our
challenge/degree of complexity?
2) How might you/your organization approach this
problem (alternative solutions/models)?
3) How would you like to support the development
of this solution?
4) Role of EEN in supporting SmartGEO?
27
Summary & Review of Presentation
Goals
Checklist
•Educate audience about the BLM and application of complexity
theme to BLM’s management challenges
•Present a proposal to leverage diversity and complexity of the BLM
to achieve sustainable landscapes
•Model the proposal
•Offer evaluation framework for proposal
•Engage the audience in experiential learning and networking
•Collect feedback on proposal and identify potential new stakeholders
or project partners
28
Contact Information for Presenters
Thomas Bartholomew
Alexandra Ritchie
Program Analyst
BLM National Budget Office
tbarthol@blm.gov
(202) 912-7063
Management and Program Analyst
BLM Division of Evaluations and
Management Services
aritchie@blm.gov
(202) 912-7081
29
Stakeholder Analysis for SmartGeo (SelfOrganization- BLM Venn Diagram)
AIM
CMAT
GSSP
LEGEND
= AIM Project Manager
= National Geospatial Lead
= NOC Division of Resource Services
30