Watershed Information Coming on WITS

A web site making its debut in April, the Watershed Information Technical System (WITS), will provide single-point access to a wealth of material to assist watershed planners, managers, and others in restoring, monitoring, educating, and training.

WITS will assist with environmental documents, basin plans, visual materials, key contacts in watershed groups, and on-line map-making using Geographic Information System (GIS) data-layering.

"Each watershed is unique, and WITS is tailored to meet their distinct needs," Secretary for Resources Doug Wheeler said. "WITS will provide complete, consistent information for specific watersheds on a local, regional and statewide scale."

The Resources Agency developed WITS and will introduce it at the California Watershed Symposium in Sacramento April 23-25 (details in Spring 1997 Calendar, page 12). WITS is the latest addition to CERES -- the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System -- at http://ceres.ca.gov

In developing WITS, the Resources Agency is working with the Departments of Fish and Game, Forestry and Fire Protection, and the State Water Resources Control Board, and is inviting federal participation.

Watershed Initiative
WITS is designed to assist state agencies in carrying out efforts like Governor Wilson's proposed Watershed Initiative to expand and implement ecosystem management in key watersheds across California. The proposal includes $3.8 million in the 1997-98 budget to mitigate adverse environmental impacts (more details in story on page 9).

As WITS Grows
California has about 200 watersheds -- areas of land that drain into a common point such as a river, lake, or stream.

WITS will go on-line with two pilot watershed projects designed to help its creators provide the most useful kind of system. The pilot projects involve planning for the Russian River watershed of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, and cataloging of information for watersheds on the Mendocino Coast.

WITS creators are working on the Russian River pilot project with local landowners, resource conservation districts, University of California Extension, and others in community watershed planning and restoration to find out what kind of information is needed and determine how the system can best serve local needs.

The Mendocino Coast project involves creating an inventory and catalog of ecological data from information gathered by local watershed coordinators. The Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Service and the University of California, Davis (UCD) are experimenting with efficient, effective ways to gain access to metadata (data about data).

Both pilots are integrated with the California Rivers Assessment program of the Resources Agency, UCD, and the University of California Berkeley Digital Library.

Tom Schott, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service who has advised WITS creators about users' needs, says the system will greatly assist in erosion control planning and design in watersheds such as the Russian River.

"WITS is really useful and makes it easy to tap into information," Schott told California Biodiversity News. "As the system grows, landowners, planners, conservationists, and anyone seeking information about water flow, seeding, standards, and conceptual drawings of erosion control structures will be able to get it anytime, without having to make trips to different agencies in many locations."

As WITS expands, it will cover more watersheds, add partners, and identify new information sources and technological needs. It will offer information about funding, regulation and permitting, species listings, and environmental measures.

"We needed to create a flexible tool that local people can use as they see fit," said Mike McCoy, co-director of the UCD Information Center for the Environment and a member of the WITS planning team.

Watershed Inventory
WITS will be linked on-line to the California Watershed Projects Inventory (CWPI), a listing of watershed projects statewide.

The California Biodiversity Council helped to fund this cooperative project, which involves the Department of Fish and Game, Resources Agency, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, UCD Division of Environmental Studies, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The CWPI database includes extensive listings and associated information for some 300 projects, such as key contacts for project management and assessment, cooperating agencies and private interests, and resource conditions.

Read it again at http://ceres.ca.gov/biodiv/newsletter/v4n3/