RGJV in the Process of Designing Project Tracking Tool

September 22, 2023 | Posted in General News

During the Rio Grande Joint Venture Board Meeting in Durango, Mexico, Science Coordinator Rebekah Rylander presented a rough draft of a project tracking tool that was created using Esri-based online applications. The goal of the project tracking tool is to provide RGJV partners a place to share general locations of where they are performing habitat management and restoration work, as well as the type of work being performed, project completion dates, and if other partners were involved. The tool, in its infancy, contains an interactive map, where users can zoom in and select individual projects, pulling up a dashboard that provides a table of information about the specific project. (However, the tool will not publicly display shapefiles and will limit zoom to protect private information.) Users can also select projects by using a drop-down menu that lists projects by name, or by using a different drop-down menu that lists grassland priority conservation areas (GPCAs).

The next steps will be to add an option in the project tracking tool dashboard that will allow users to see photos of the project site and/or partners working together on management activities. Additionally, the dashboard will eventually incorporate an interactive chart or graph that will display the number of acres that have been restored within certain GPCAs, the management practices used, and the level of habitat restoration goals achieved within these focal areas.

The overarching goal of the project tracking tool is to give partners (and funders, in the future) an idea of the progress being made, and the work still left to be done, in restoring declining grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert. The tool may also help organizations and individuals connect with appropriate conservation partners in the region. A committee composed of RGJV staff, board members, and partner organization staff has been formed to further develop the project tracking tool, with the objective of presenting an updated version at the next management board meeting in February 2024.