FWS ArcGIS Renewal: Ultimate Bureaucratic Snoozefest
Published Date: 3/21/2025
Notice
Summary
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to keep using its ArcGIS Online platform to collect important info, and they’re asking for your thoughts by May 20, 2025. This affects anyone who shares data with the Service, but there’s no new cost or big changes—just a smooth renewal to keep things running. It’s all about making sure the paperwork stays easy and efficient!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
You may be asked to submit short AGOL entries
If you share data with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency is renewing its use of the ArcGIS Online (AGOL) platform to collect information under OMB Control Number 1018-0188. The collection is voluntary, happens "on occasion," and the Service estimates 1,500 annual responses averaging 5 minutes per response (about 126 total burden hours per year); the Service estimates no annual non-hour monetary costs.
PII is not allowed; sensitive data kept internal
The AGOL system does not allow personally identifiable information (PII) and contains only controlled unclassified information that would be designated as low impact under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA, 2002). Sensitive data is restricted from public access via an internal intranet version of AGOL.
What data you may be asked to provide
When you submit to AGOL, the Service may collect name and contact information, optional photographs and comments, and project- or location-specific geospatial data such as GPS coordinates, road and stream crossing details, conservation project title, start/end dates, project cost, species data, observations of wildlife, and vegetation monitoring information. Data collected is project-specific and the Service says it will not collect all listed data types with every submission.
Service will use submitted geospatial data for conservation work
The Service will use AGOL-submitted geospatial data to support many program functions such as wetlands monitoring, natural resources damage assessments, Endangered Species Act consultations and critical habitat information, bird surveys and habitat monitoring, National Wildlife Refuge planning and operations, and landscape-level conservation and climate change planning.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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