Technical Planning and Coordination Workshop

Geologic and Geophysical Studies of the Española Groundwater Basin
April 2-3, 2002, Santa Fe, NM

Notes from the Planning and Coordination Discussions

These notes are provided for your information. The main purposes of the workshop were to (1) foster communication, (2) develop strategies for collaboration, and (3) brainstorm on ways to approach critical problems that are not yet being addressed by geology and geophysics.

Three main action items came from the planning and coordination discussions regarding (1) and (2). A preliminary list of priority items regarding (3) came from the panel discussion and was augmented by the Planning and Coordination Discussions.


ACTION ITEMS

ACTION ITEM 1.  Set up linked web sites and start an email list server.

Recommendation:  Develop or update web pages for each of the ongoing scientific studies of the Española basin, with responsibility given to the group running the study to develop and control the web pages.  Set up links between all the web pages for easy access to information about all the studies.

Status of Action:  Some web pages already exist, some need modification, and some need to be developed from scratch. For example, the USGS-Rio Grande basins (RGB) project web site is still in the design stage. Once a web site for the technical advisory group is developed, the links between web pages can be coordinated.

Recommendation:  Start an email list server as a forum for people to communicate by email amongst a list of interested people. The communications can be announcements of events, news items, technical information, requests for data, questions, comments, etc.

Status of Action.  The email list server can be set up as part of the web site for the technical advisory group.

ACTION ITEM 2.  Hold future workshops

Recommendation:  Hold future workshops, perhaps similar in format to the one just held.

Status of Action: There was no consensus on what the focus/format of future workshops should be. The majority felt future workshops should be a mixture of reports of study results to technical and lay audiences and have a planning and coordination component. A number of others felt the workshop should just report results to both technical and lay audiences. One function of the technical advisory group will be to decide how and when future workshops are to be held.

ACTION ITEM 3.  Form a technical advisory group

Recommendation:  Form a technical advisory group composed of a core group of technical people who represent the major governmental and academic groups undertaking scientific studies related to understanding the Española groundwater basin, including geologic, geophysical, hydrogeologic, hydrologic, and geochemical studies. The technical advisory group should be kept as small as possible, yet have mechanisms to assure that all interested parties are informed and involved.

The objectives are to:

Example duties of the group would be to:

Status of Action  A tentative list of core technical groups was developed, along with volunteered or nominated recruiters (some without their knowledge), whose charge is to find out who their group would like to see join the technical advisory group.

Further Action:  The USGS-RGB project volunteers to develop and host the web site and email list server for the technical advisory group. We also volunteer to solicit responses from the recruiters to develop a preliminary group. We propose a first meeting on July 18, 2002. (see July 9 meeting) The agenda for the first meeting should focus on finalizing the objectives and implementation of the group (including the composition of the group) and on setting the format and timing of the next workshop.


CRITICAL PROBLEMS/ISSUES LIST

Hydrologists' list of critical problems/issues that they ask geologists/geophysicists to address.

This list comes out of the panel discussion on Tuesday, and was augmented by the planning and coordination discussion group on Wednesday.


Representatives to the Española Basin Technical Advisory Group


Group Representative
City of Santa Fe Dale Doremus
Jemez Y Sangre Water Planning Council Amy Lewis
Los Alamos Natl. Lab - geology, geophysics Scott Baldridge
Los Alamos Natl. Lab - hydrology Elizabeth Keating
NM Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources Peggy Johnson
NM Office of State Engineer Jack Frost
Santa Fe County Katherine Yuhas
Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) Scott Baldridge
USGS-New Mexico District Office Doug McAda
USGS-Rio Grande Basin project Tien Grauch and Mark Hudson
University of New Mexico Gary Smith
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Bill White

Back to Action Item 3


These notes were compiled by Tien Grauch and Mark Hudson.

Tien Grauch Mark Hudson
tien@usgs.gov mhudson@usgs.gov
U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, Federal Center, MS 964 Box 25046, Federal Center, MS 980
Denver, CO 80225 Denver, CO 80225
phone (303) 236-1393 phone (303) 236-7446
FAX (303) 236-1425 FAX (303) 236-5349


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