Two free workshops sponsored by the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers remain for anyone interested in learning more about the PA Watersheds Data System.

The workshops will be held:

· June 17 at Duquesne University, Pittsubrgh from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Fisher Hall, Room 328 (RSVP by June 14).

· July 8 at Keystone College, Wilkes-Barre from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Harris 109 (RSVP by July 5)

Since January, POWR has held six PA Watersheds Data System workshops for 70 attendees representing 49 conservation organizations, state agencies, and academia throughout the state.

Feedback has been positive, and attendees have noted its ease-of-use and the convenience of being able to share data with folks inside and outside of their group. Data availability and sharing was one goal of the PA Watersheds Data System.

POWR has worked to build this warehouse of data up to over 174,000 records of data. This number will nearly quadruple in the next few months, however, with the addition of data from the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) database.

The other purpose of the PA Watersheds Data System is to serve as a tool for watershed groups to help them store and manage their data. A significant portion of the data currently housed in the Data System is from volunteer watershed organizations. Volunteers have made up the majority of attendees to the six workshops held thus far. POWR is still looking to get more people involved, both as data-uploaders and as data-viewers.

RSVP to Angie McCracken, POWR, amccracken@pawatersheds.org.

5/19/2006