Metadata collection is mandated for federal agencies by Executive Order 12906 signed in June 1994. Metadata basically answers the questions of who collected the data, when was the data collected, why was the data collected, scale of data, units of data, who to contact to obtain the data, etc.

You can see that this is typically the information that a data gatherer might write down or carry around in their head and then when they leave this knowledge base/information may be lost. This information becomes pertinent when dealing with GIS Program transition (people moving on) parkwide, data sharing with other agencies, and public requests for data. I could go on....

So, the Intermountain Region GIS Program is leading an effort across the region to basically:

• Identify GIS data sets (Data Summary Table/Dataset Catalog)
• Prioritize these datasets for metadata collection
• Perform Metadata Collection
• Post Metadata and data to the NPS web site

We figure this may be a 4-5 year effort to get this accomplished across the Region and to substantiate this effort we need to get the Data Summary Tables filled out so that we can determine work estimates associated with performing Metadata Collection on NPS Legacy (historical/current GIS data themes) and future data themes. Then we can determine how the Intermountain Support Office GIS Program can assist parks with this effort.

Please check out the NPS GIS Web site for samples of Intermountain Region Metadata that are already online at the NPS Clearinghouse. Then click on a state and then a park to view online GIS data and Metadata for the Intermountain Region

Frequently-asked questions on FGDC metadata