Archived Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE - May 17, 2004

The Interactive
Watershed Information Model
has been updated!

Race to your computer, connect to the Web and direct your Browser to the newly updated WIM, the Watershed Information Model! WIM developers have just completed their second update since the Website launched in August, 2003. WIM is available to anybody interested in watershed activities on the World Wide Web through the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District's Website (http://www.westernshastarcd.org) or directly (http://wim.shastacollege.edu). Everybody lives in a watershed whether you're in an apartment downtown or a 20 acre ranch in the foothills, so come explore YOUR watershed.

WIM offers 'one-stop shopping' for visitors seeking watershed related assessments, reports, photos and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data files in an easily searchable Data Catalog. Other key features include extensive interactive maps, detailed watershed pages for 18 area watersheds, a 'matrix' (table) of completed and ongoing projects in the area, a monthly newsletter, a glossary of related terms, and the Hydrologic Cycle diagram, all available with the click of a mouse. There is much to explore on the WIM site, made possible by a grant from the CALFED Bay-Delta Authority Watershed Program and California Department of Water Resources.

The Western Shasta Resource Conservation District (RCD) invites you to come see what's new on WIM this spring. Together with our developer, VESTRA Resources, Inc. and key partners including Shasta College, the RCD has added pages and features to expand WIM's usefulness and appeal to all Web visitors. The Data Catalog now contains over 600 documents, photos, GIS datasets and GIS Map Services for all watersheds in the WIM study area. Other new features include several pages devoted to the Whiskeytown Environmental School (WES), a unique camp situated along Clear Creek in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (available under the Did You Know? tab). The introductory page highlights WES' "school concepts" such as adaptation, change, ecological responsibility and interdependence. A link on this page takes the WIM visitor to real creek observations captured by local students and WES Naturalists. Over time, this data can be used to detect seasonal or long-term trends in Clear Creek including temperature, pH, or turbidity changes. Additionally, the exciting Interactive Maps now feature Digital Ortho Quarter Quad (DOQQ) coverage available in the background, offering a glimpse from the sky above. Contact information for the RCD is also more prominent with a new "Contact Us" link on the bottom of every page. And, be certain to view the new Partners pages, showcasing the diverse group of organizations that put WIM together, shared their valuable data, and work together as watershed stewards.

The new updates to WIM are available to view on-line now. Not sure which watershed you live in? Not a problem as maps are plentiful on the Website. Not sure which watershed your school is located in? View the Interactive Maps and search the "Find a Place" feature to locate everything from "Sycamore" to "Turtle [Bay]" to "Cottonwood". The possibilities on WIM are endless, so why not explore the Watershed Information Model yourself?

Please contact the Western Shasta RCD for more information at (530) 365-7332 and visit WIM: http://wim.shastacollege.edu.