a/ Included in this amount is a one-time technical adjustment of $828 that moves all USGS funds associated with the Science on the DOI Landscape initiative to a single location in the Biological Research Activity for ease of administration and accounting.

b/ Changes for this activity include a reduction of -$470 for travel and -$52 for vehicle fleet savings. The impact of this change is described in the Program Changes section beginning on page G - 1.

and habitats that is used by Federal and State government and non-governmental organizations.

A list of science centers and field stations appears at the end of the discussion of the information subactivity. A list of cooperative research units appears in the discussion of that subactivity.

Information generated by the Biological Research program also contributes to achieving improved management of the Nation's water resources, availability of maps and map data, and

Biological Research

improved decisionmaking regarding land and water use. These goals are supported by the efforts conducted in three subactivities: Research and Monitoring, Information Management and Delivery, and Cooperative Research Units.

Research and Monitoring - The USGS serves the biological research needs of DOI bureaus and others by providing scientific information through research, inventory, and monitoring investigations. Biological studies develop new methods and techniques to identify, observe, and manage fish and wildlife, including invasive species, and their habitats; inventory populations of animals, plants, and their habitats; and monitor changes in abundance, distribution, and health of biological resources through time. DOI land and resource managers use USGS biological science to maintain the health, diversity, and ecological balances of biological resources while meeting public needs, such as game harvests and the use of public lands and waters, all of which enable the managers to address the DOI strategic goals of improving the health of watersheds, landscapes, and marine resources and of sustaining biological communities.

Use of Cost and Performance Information

Assessing Reorganization Effectiveness
at the Grand Canyon Monitoring and
Research Center (GCMRC):
The GCMRC underwent a major
reorganization in October 2003. Six months
later the GCMRC conducted an
Organizational Assessment Survey to
ascertain the effectiveness of the
organizational change. The assessment
highlighted staffing shortages in the new
integrated science program and concerns
about administrative support. Staffing
changes taken in response to these problems
include recruiting a Biology Program
Coordinator, an Administrative Officer, and a
dedicated Budget Analyst. A GCMRC
Intranet site has been developed for
employee assistance. A follow-up
assessment survey is planned to measure
the impact of these changes.

This subactivity supports the DOI Resource Protection strategic goal by providing the natural resource management community with scientific information to improve the health of watersheds and landscapes. This subactivity also supports the DOI Resource Protection strategic goal by providing the natural resource management community with scientific information to implement sound resource management to sustain biological communities on DOI lands and influenced land and waters.

USGS biologists work toward program goals in collaboration with other scientists, customers, and partners. Biologists combine their expertise with that of the other USGS disciplines in interagency ecosystem initiatives across the United States, from South Florida to the Pacific Northwest, where scientists are working together to understand, evaluate, and provide options for restoring fish and wildlife habitats and for better resource-management decisions.

USGS specialists also provide technical assistance to DOI bureaus and other customers in applying the information, methodologies, and tools developed by the USGS in addressing resource management problems. In a collaborative process, the USGS involves the users of scientific results by engaging them in the identification and prioritization of their information needs as research is planned. DOI bureaus and other customers and partners are involved in this process, and where appropriate, are involved in an adaptive process to find solutions and develop new methods by testing research results in the field.

Information Management and Delivery - Science-based decisionmaking is a Department of the Interior priority, particularly as it pertains to the conservation, management, and use of the Nation's natural resources. To facilitate this, the USGS is committed to making available the data and information that are critical to scientific discovery and application. Data sets, maps, and other information on products are vital to achieve this goal. This subactivity supports DOI's Serving Communities strategic goal of advancing knowledge through scientific leadership and

Activity Summary informing decisions through the applications of science by increasing the quantity of biological information available by improving access to and interactions with biological data.

The USGS works in cooperation with many organizations across the country to provide critical information to partners, stakeholders, customers, and the general public. Through electronic infrastructures, the USGS delivers relevant data and information faster and in more usable formats than in the past, leading to better stewardship of our natural resources.

Congress included language in their FY 2003 appropriations report accompanying the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill that directs the USGS to prepare a strategic plan for the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) outlining the prioritized vision for the network including details and a time line on all new nodes, expansions of existing nodes, the costs associated with each node, and all other projects that are part of the NBII program. The USGS is preparing the report in its final form. The report will be sent to the Committees shortly.

Cooperative Research Units - This cooperative program allows government and nongovernmental entities with common interests and responsibilities for natural resource management to address biological resources issues. Through this unique program, biologists from Federal and State governments and academia are able to work as a team and focus their expertise and creativity on the resolution of biological resources issues. This subactivity supports the DOI Resource Protection strategic goal of sustaining biological communities on DOI managed and influenced lands and waters by providing the natural-resource management community with scientific information and trained personnel to implement sound resource management to sustain biological communities on DOI lands and influenced lands and waters. Federal support of the Cooperative Research Units program is matched with State and university contributions of expertise, equipment, facilities, and project funding. Through university affiliations, Federal scientists train future natural resource professionals.

The Senate included language in their FY 2003 appropriations report accompanying the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill that directs the USGS Cooperative Research Units program to develop a priority system for expanding the current program. The report has been submitted to the Department for signature.

Federal Role

Changes in living resources, from individual species to overall ecosystem health, can only be detected and evaluated through careful, long-term monitoring and a continuing research commitment that come together to form the baseline of the environmental and ecological health of the Nation. Without such a baseline, subtle and even obvious changes in natural resource conditions may go unnoticed, whether they are caused by human population growth, bioterrorism, increases in ultraviolet radiation, or some other source. The USGS research and information activities are integral to the Nation's long-term research and monitoring capabilities and critical to sound resources management decisionmaking.

Because resources and species cross many jurisdictional boundaries and often have little shortterm commercial appeal, no other entity has the capability or interest to ensure continuity of these long-term research and information management priorities. In fact, the Federal Government is the only entity engaged in such long-term, non-profit-driven research and monitoring, such as the Breeding Bird Survey and amphibian research and monitoring. The

Biological Research

USGS represents the Nation's most comprehensive collection of expertise about the Earth, its resources, and its processes.

USGS biologists and information scientists, in partnership with many others, provide the scientific understanding and technologies necessary to support sound management and conservation of the Nation's biological resources. USGS research is conducted according to the highest standards of scientific objectivity to ensure credibility. The USGS also ensures that the information from scientific research is appropriately managed to provide broad access to all interested parties, thus maximizing the Nation's return on its biological science investment.

Customers and Partners

The USGS national-level approach to managing biological and resource data and information ensures the application of standards that foster opportunities for collaboration and cooperation. The USGS places a premium on partnerships at all levels of government and with nongovernmental entities, including the private sector. These partners both use USGSgenerated data and information, as well as add credible scientific data and information to the knowledge base, which then becomes available to DOI land and resource managers, as well as all others.

The USGS works closely with its partners and customers in defining priorities, developing science plans, and carrying out its biological research to support the needs of research management organizations. Key partners in many of these endeavors include Interior bureaus, other Federal agencies, States, and private organizations with regional and ecosystem-specific interests.

An example of such a partnership is the Science Support Partnership (SSP) program that addresses the priority science needs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Since 2001, the USGS has undertaken more than 260 projects in support of FWS local, regional, and National programs such as:

⚫ Migratory bird management,

• Endangered species recovery,

• Freshwater fisheries restoration,

• Ecosystem-based management,

• Coastal habitat conservation,

• Fish and wildlife law enforcement, and

⚫ National Wildlife Refuge System management.

The SSP program has provided tremendous benefits to FWS efforts in conserving the Nation's fish and wildlife resources.

Another example is the Vegetation Mapping Program, a cooperative effort by the USGS and the National Park Service (NPS) to classify, describe, and map vegetation communities in more than 250 national park units across the United States. The vegetation mapping program is an

Activity Summary

important part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program, a long-term effort to develop baseline data for all national park units that have a natural resource component.

Each node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is developed through the collaboration of the partners and customers involved with that node. All together, NBII has over 250 partner organizations and agencies that help define the direction both of individual nodes and of the NBII as a whole.

The USGS considers its customers as close partners in research. This focus on knowing and meeting partners' needs, establishing a goal for partner satisfaction, and measuring performance toward reaching that goal has improved the quality of USGS products and services.

Funding, Strategic Goals, and Performance Data

Funding for the Biological Research Activity addresses the DOI Strategic Plan's Resource
Protection and Serving Communities mission themes.

• Biological Research and Monitoring subactivity supports end outcome strategic goals of Improving Health of Watersheds, Landscapes, and Marine Resources and Sustain Biological Communities.

• Cooperative Research Units subactivity also supports Sustain Biological Communities. ⚫ Biological Information Management and Delivery subactivity joins other USGS multipurpose information activities in supporting the Serving Communities end outcome goal of advancing knowledge through scientific leadership and informing decisions through the application of science.

FY 2003, and prior year, performance and targets capture the metrics from the prior GPRA Strategic and Annual Plans (largely in outputs) and, where possible, prior year performance actuals were also derived for the new metrics. These "SP" coded measures relate to specific measures in the DOI Strategic Plan and contribute to the aggregate bureau outcome as shown in the General Statement and the aggregate DOI outcome in the Department's strategic plan. Outputs are only included in bureau plans.

The USGS customer satisfaction metrics are developed on the basis of information collected in an ongoing series of customer satisfaction/outcome surveys. Each survey collects information on satisfaction with various aspects of one specific USGS science product. Information is collected from a random sample of the customers of that specific product. The satisfaction ratings for the individual products are extracted or combined to create the cited customer satisfaction metrics. The individual satisfaction ratings used to create the metrics are replaced on a 3-year cycle. The metrics for any two consecutive fiscal years, therefore, have about twothirds of the specific science products in common on average. This has the effect of making the data series more stable than if all products were replaced each year. It also makes the metrics more representative of USGS science products as a whole, since it approximately triples the number of specific products included in each metric.