How to Use the National River Recreation Database to Plan and Execute Research and Management Objectives
James Major1*
1 River Management Society, Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A., james@river-management.org
This presentation will inform viewers of the status and trajectory of the National River Recreation Database, which is a central component of the National Rivers Project, maintained by the River Management Society. The National River Recreation Database is the only searchable geospatial national rivers database members of the public and river managers can use to shop, review, or analyze rivers by geographical location, river name, and managing agency. Since 2013, River Management Society has been working with state and federal land managers, municipal water trail leaders, and non-profit organizations to develop a standard of data for a geospatial database of recreational river reaches, access points, and campgrounds. Visitors can search rivers by their designation as a water trail, whitewater, or federally protected Wild and Scenic River. The presentation will provide a detailed ‘tour’ of the database and offer experience working with components of the database to show how the geospatial and ‘attribute’ data are available to plan river trips and conduct river-related research or management assessments. The central focus of the tour will be on Bureau of Land Management managed Wild and Scenic Rivers in the West that are currently being added to the database and will be available in 2021. Attendees will learn how the database can be used beyond recreational purposes to pursue management and research objectives, both in the field and in the lab or office.