Great Lakes Aqautic Nonindigenous Species Information System

I was tasked to create an online database system to distribute information on invasive species in the Great Lakes to the public, researchers, and managers. A variety of similar products already existed, chiefly a product of the US Geological Survey (USGS). Thus I had to avoid duplicating the work of others or alienating colleagues working on similar products. I visited the USGS leader of their on-line invasive species database system in Gainesville, FL. I proposed a NOAA-USGS-university partnership to make the Great Lakes a “node” of the larger USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) database system. In this partnership, USGS would host data on their servers, and NOAA and the university would provide new content for on-line factsheets and geospatial data on species sightings. I wrote an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) including statutory authorities allowing the partnership to exist. I wrote internal proposals to obtain research funds from my lab. I wrote external grant proposals with the professor to bring in new money. I advertised for summer interns to perform research and data entry. NOAA and USGS entered into a formal partnership, including interagency transfer of funds. I was awarded a $35,000 grant for the project from a non-government organization, the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust. I hired two interns over two summers. The system is online.