[PCA] WEB: Rocky Mountain Herbarium Website
Olivia Kwong
plant at plantconservation.org
Tue Jun 9 07:53:31 CDT 2009
------ Forwarded Message ------
If you have not been informed of the new RM website with Ben Legler's new
search interface, please read. View distributions of species throughtout
the Rockies and beyond based on nearly 700,000 RM accessions.
New Web Site at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (RM/USFS)
The RM web site (http://www.rmh.uwyo.edu/) has been enhanced
significantly. It now includes access to the nearly 700,000 specimen
records through a new search interface. Features of the new interface
include: searching for specimens by text criteria or by drawing an
arbitrary polygon around an area of interest on a map, viewing the
distribution of a species over Google Maps with an associated listing of
specimen records, the ability to click on a dot on the map to get the list
of specimens collected at that site or click on a specimen to view its
location on the map, the ability to down-load data in several formats, and
more. The web site includes data from 44 major floristic MS projects as
well as more than 24 projects by RM staff and associates for a total of
550,000 numbered collections. These new accessions were from 11 states in
or adjacent to the Rocky Mountains (all georeferenced). Direct access is
provided to specimen collections, taxa lists, and geographical boundaries
for all completed projects. For .historical. collections (150,000),
coverage includes much of Wyoming, western South Dakota, Colorado, New
Mexico, and Arizona (georeferencing in progress). Location data are
redacted from private lands and Federally listed taxa.
Ben Legler, while completing a floristic MS degree on the Vermejo Park
Ranch in northern New Mexico, totally rebuilt the database using MySQL and
MS Access and created the new web interface. He is also responsible for
the technical aspects of the portal for the Consortium of Pacific
Northwest Herbaria (http://www.pnwherbaria.org) at the WTU Herbarium,
University of Washington, on which our interface is modeled.
We have a memorandum of understanding with UW Libraries and their IT staff
for housing the new site and maintaining the database. This relationship
has proven to be mutually valuable for both the RM and the UW Libraries.
The database began in 1991 using PLabel by Kent Perkins. Over the years it
has evolved in various ways. Tim Chumley provided significant refinements
in the late 1990s. He also developed the earlier web site and is
responsible for the online Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Wyoming. Jill
Larson was responsible for a number of improvements in the mid-2000s.
Throughout its history, B. E. Nelson has done an admirable job of
overseeing data acquisition and editing content.
Ronald L. Hartman
Rocky Mountain Herbarium
Department of Botany, 3165
1000 E University Avenue
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
rhartman at uwyo.edu
307 766 2236 p
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