Welcome to the IWMM Spring, 2020 Newsletter! Check out recent stories from IWMM and our partners.
Annual Reporting Leads to Better Management: All scientists understand the importance of consistent data collection, but annual reporting takes the next step by summarizing information collected over discrete time periods and presenting it in a standardized format. Using the same format makes it easy to compare results from one year to the next. Read the full story here.
IWMM on Cold Springs NWR: Cold Springs National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) was established in 1909 by Executive Order 1032, to serve “as preserves and breeding grounds for native birds” and “as inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds”. The 3,117-acre refuge is located in northeast Oregon, just south of the Columbia River and within the Columbia River Basin. As an “overlay” refuge, Cold Springs Reservoir dominates the Refuge and provides open water or mudflat habitat, depending on the season. Read the full story here.
IWMM Website Updates: This winter provided an opportunity to make some long-awaited updates to the IWMM website. New content was added, links were updated, and the entire site reorganized to make information easier to find. A few pages were broken up to make their content easier to digest, and there is now a dedicated Support page with training videos and help docs for the app and database. This is still a work in progress but with the goal to make better use of this resource, it was in dire need of a refresh. Check it out when you have a few minutes.
IWMM Mobile App – Year 2 Update: In the first year of use (2018-19), nearly one-quarter (23%) of the total participants used the app for at least some of their data collection. Several new features and user flow improvements were completed in the summer of 2019, and in the second year of use, app participation grew to nearly 40%. As of May 2020, IWMM includes 59 NWRs, 4 state-administered projects, and one NGO for a total of 64 participants, up from 52 at the close of last season. More about Year 2 and Version 2.0 improvements here.