Memorandum of Understanding
In April 1999, the Panel formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the Ecological Society of America (ESA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC)*, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on behalf of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), and the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) for the purpose of forming a partnership to develop, implement, and maintain the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) system. This system is critical to the efficient stewardship of the Nation's biological resources. The MOU puts forth a broad, cooperative approach among key partners to further the development, implementation, and management of a systematic taxonomy of vegetation assemblages. A jointly-sponsored NVC will promote the complementary capabilities of the partners. Cooperative efforts build on the strengths of the respective organizations, and will serve the national interest better than the efforts of any individual organization alone. It is the intent of this MOU to promote cooperation, coordinate vegetation classification activities to the greatest possible extent, minimize duplication of effort, and ensure that the information produced by each of the partners, as well as other organizations, is made available and used to the maximum extent possible. The partners agree to cooperate to the greatest extent possible in the further development, implementation and management of a scientifically credible national vegetation classification. This cooperation may include, but not be limited to:
- Refinement of a contemporary set of national vegetation classification standards, including both physiognomic and floristic levels.
- Establishment of, and open access to, databases containing the full classification and to other supporting data for documentation, including plot, stand, and transect data.
- Establishment and support of a review process for the named floristic units of the classification.
The MOU was signed in April 1999 by Katherine McCarter, ESA Executive Director; Dennis Fenn, Chief Biologist, Biological Resources Division, USGS (for NBII); John Moeller, Director of the FGDC Secretariat; and John Sawhill, TNC Director.
* In July 2000, The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Heritage Network established a new organization now called NatureServe. The Conservancy's science staff that helped developed the MOU and the U.S. National Vegetation Classification transferred to NatureServe; thus NatureServe now represents the interests of the Conservancy in the MOU.
