As the time left in my fellowship is running out, the work is only picking up! I'm the GIS Fellow for the Nationwide Rivers Inventory for the Wild and Scenic Rivers program of the National Park Service. The Nationwide Rivers Inventory is a listing of thousands of free-flowing river segments that contain one or more outstandingly remarkable values, making those river segments potentially eligible for Wild and Scenic designation. Being designated as Wild and Scenic affords rivers the protection and enhancement of the river condition and qualities, as well as prohibits water resource projects with direct and adverse effects.
NPS Director Sams has listed this update as a Director’s Priority this year, highlighting how important this update is not only for river conservation but also river recreation. The last time the NRI was updated was almost 10 years before I was born. To say this is a big project would be an understatement. This update looked at rivers on federal lands using readily available data from the four river administering agencies: National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management. Thousands of segments were listed on the previous NRI, and thousands of additional segments were submitted. Being one of the main stewards of this GIS data has been incredibly empowering for me, as someone who just recently graduated and is now being trusted to oversee the management of the data received from four agencies. However, this has also been a great challenge.
These agencies have their own methods for data collection, even internally across regions and units, so making all the data work together has not always been easy. It’s taken tons of coordination and collaboration across and within agencies to make sure the data is as complete and accurate as possible. Once the final data was received, the quality assurance and quality control began. This was to make sure the data across agencies was cohesive. Some of the QA/QC checks we completed included processes as small as changing “NF” to “National Forest” and adding river study links, to writing reach descriptions for 500+ river segments and addressing hundreds of overlaps among the submissions. This process has taken many weeks, and it has many more weeks to go.
On top of the data reconciliation, the NRI update also includes developing a new data viewer and updating the NRI web pages on NPS.gov. These responsibilities allow me to get more creative and use some of my other skills such as design, communications, and data visualization. While, at times, this project could get overwhelming, it’s an amazing feeling knowing that the work I’m doing is protecting rivers and giving people the resources to recreate on our nation’s most special waterways. There is still more work to be done before the NRI is ready for release, but I’ve loved every second of this fellowship and I’m so grateful for my team and their trust and guidance. Be on the lookout for the NRI!
