You can link into hundreds of salmon restoration projects
August 25th, 2008 by cdunaganIf you haven’t seen it, you should check out the so-called “Habitat Work Schedule,” which is really a sophisticated Web site connected to a database of salmon-restoration projects.
The site can provide just about everything you want to know about specific salmon-restoration projects. In many cases, documents can be downloaded. Some restoration projects are still being added to the site, so it’s not yet a complete list.
See my description of the site in last week’s Kitsap Sun. I quote a few officials who have used the system, including Bill Ruckelshaus, chairman of the Leadership Council of the Puget Sound Partnership:
“Free societies won’t work very well unless people believe the government is operating in their best interests… This kind of technology can display all the information that relates to them… Click on the map and find out what project is happening in my neighborhood and how it affects me.”
The site is managed by the “lead entities” involved in salmon restoration along with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, with technical assistance from the software designer Paladin Data Systems.
To use all the bells and whistles, you need to download a helper application from Microsoft called Silverlight. If you use a Mac, I’m told the site works best with Safari.
Tags: Habitat Work Schedule, Paladin
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
August 26th, 2008 at 7:33 am
FYI-My experience with the Olympics & MSNBC using Silverlight was that Firefox worked better for my Mac than Safari. Silverlight didn’t download for me w/Safari.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:09 am
“The site can provide just about everything you want to know about specific salmon-restoration projects.”
Except the costs.
The Chimacum Creek restoration project that is on their front page has no information on costs and funding source.
Maybe the implementing agencies feel money is no object, or believe that’s one piece of information the public is better off without. Some projects report a budget, but not all. Whatever.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:21 am
In response to Blue Light, I’ve asked a few questions about the Habitat Work Schedule’s capabilities and its use.
It appears that the underlying software is fully capable of handling financial data — and it is included in many projects already posted. As new projects are approved, financial information should be included automatically.
For older projects, what gets posted and when is up to the lead entities and sometimes the project sponsors. As I explained at the outset, not all the projects are listed. For those that are, not all the information is listed. I’m told that some groups are working harder than others to get this information online. It is a time-consuming process to enter data, especially when the information exists only on paper.
Here’s my suggestion: If you see a project where the costs and sources of funding are not listed, use the contact information to send an e-mail to the folks listed. Ask them why it is not online and when it might be placed online. If it is important to you, you can request that the information be sent to you directly.