{"id":720602,"date":"2024-12-03T06:03:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T14:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=720602"},"modified":"2024-12-06T08:06:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T16:06:57","slug":"developing-natureserve-explorer-pro","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/developing-natureserve-explorer-pro","title":{"rendered":"How Companies Monitor Biodiversity: Behind the Development of a New Tool"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1301,180112,279272,301562,1461],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-720602","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-biodiversity","tag-compliance","tag-ecosystem","tag-ecosystem-services","tag-sustainability","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"A peek behind the curtain at how a nonprofit created an interactive map that\u2019s changing the game for biodiversity data monitoring.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Behind the seamless rollout of every software product, there\u2019s a story of ingenuity, hidden hurdles, and digital MacGyvering. Such is the saga of NatureServe Explorer Pro<\/a>, the groundbreaking biodiversity tool from North America\u2019s leading biodiversity information provider, NatureServe."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Snapshot:<\/strong> An app used by thousands of companies and organizations traces its roots to the 1970s, and harnesses modern location technology to address a worldwide challenge.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A combination of technological wizardry, agile management, and the occasional nature walk helped the Washington DC-based nonprofit surmount numerous obstacles in a multiyear journey that culminated in a powerful new tool.\r\n\r\nThe heart of NatureServe Explorer Pro is a web-based interactive map, powered by geographic information system (GIS) technology<\/a>, that allows users to access data about rare and endangered species and ecosystems throughout North America. Users can specify a single species, like a forest bat or blackbanded sunfish, and see its distribution across state and provincial lines.\r\n\r\nAlternately, a forestry company can select or draw an area of interest to generate a regional biodiversity report\u2014an analysis increasingly important to corporate boards and regulators. Companies in mining, agriculture, energy, and construction have already begun using the tool.\r\n

A Rising Demand for Tools to Measure Ecosystem Impacts<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe NatureServe Explorer Pro tool, launched in April 2024, arrives as companies are gaining a new awareness of the business risks of nature loss<\/a>. Regulatory frameworks such as the European Green Deal and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) are adding pressure on businesses to evaluate how their operations impact ecosystem health.\r\n\r\nDemonstrating that a company is \u201cnature positive\u201d<\/a>\u2014or helping to reverse biodiversity loss\u2014can be challenging. Explorer Pro is one of the first tools to harness data about plant and animal species and ecosystems on a local and national level, drawing on data gathered by over 60 governmental and nongovernmental programs."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Related Read:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhat does biodiversity mean in boardrooms<\/a>?","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"NatureServe\u2019s mission-driven culture and deep familiarity with the power of location technology<\/a> helped the small nonprofit accomplish this ambitious task.\r\n\r\n\u201cEverything that NatureServe does, GIS underlies that,\u201d says Regan Smyth, vice president for conservation science at NatureServe. \u201cIt underlies our whole data management system, the analysis, our predictive habitat models. GIS technology is what lets a 60-person nonprofit run a biodiversity informatics network that serves North America.\u201d\r\n

The Evolution of a Flagship Biodiversity Organization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nNatureServe\u2019s roots trace back to the 1970s, when the US Endangered Species Act spurred the creation of state natural heritage programs to document biological diversity. NatureServe became a hub for those network data providers, employing GIS to centralize and organize biodiversity data.\r\n\r\nPrior to the launch of Explorer Pro, NatureServe\u2019s main public offering was Explorer<\/a>, an open-access database providing information on 100,000 species and ecosystems. Starting around 2019, NatureServe\u2019s leaders saw the need for a geographically sophisticated upgrade that would draw attention to their capacious biodiversity resources.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe wanted people to know about the best quality biodiversity information that exists in North America, and we felt strongly that providing access to that online would allow the data to have maximum impact,\u201d Smyth says. A map was the way to do it.\r\n

From Grand Ideas to Dogged Work, NatureServe Explorer Pro Takes Shape<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nA 2020 product visioning exercise launched NatureServe Explorer Pro\u2019s development, with \u00a0leaders aligning the tool\u2019s designs with clients\u2019 needs.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere were definitely ideas about what Explorer Pro was desired to be,\u201d says Margaret Woo, senior software designer at NatureServe. \u201cBut there were a lot of hurdles that we had to overcome.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne of the major challenges NatureServe faced was getting its data providers\u2014the state agencies and universities that catalog species data, known as the NatureServe Network\u2014to agree on what could be shared publicly. Lori Scott, NatureServe\u2019s chief information officer at the time, solicited input from the NatureServe Network and other stakeholders including scientists, corporate clients, and software developers.\r\n\r\nAs NatureServe moved from ideation to execution, principal software engineer David Hauver and Woo helped find the line between the imagined and the feasible.\r\n\r\nWoo abides by a development philosophy of economizing effort and time\u2014summed up in her mantra, \u201cstop wasting time doing dumb stuff.\u201d She also believes in making user interfaces as intuitive as possible.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhenever we develop anything and it comes with 17 pages of instruction,\u201d Woo says, \u201cwe have not done our jobs.\u201d\r\n\r\nIncorporating GIS into the app provided users an easy way to interact with complex data. Consultations with forestry industry clients led to the addition of a simple but powerful GIS capability: a company can drop a point on a map and gather biodiversity data from a radius of hundreds of miles around it.\r\n

A Complex Project Gains Clarity<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nExplorer Pro\u2019s shape continued to come into focus throughout 2021. Smyth would create slide decks of potential features for the tool, while Hauver and his team built wireframes for product design. Development followed.\r\n\r\nEvery few weeks, the software team held sprint reviews revealing the latest updates to NatureServe staffers."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Predicting Biodiversity<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAn evolving feature of NatureServe Explorer Pro uses predictive modeling and GIS to anticipate the likelihood that at-risk species inhabit a region for which there is little to no data.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cThose meetings were a ton of fun,\u201d Smyth recalls with a smile. \u201cSo many times, I\u2019ve just [thought], \u2018Wow\u2026I had this thing in my PowerPoint and now it\u2019s come to life and it\u2019s even better!\u201d\r\n\r\nThe meetings often introduced new wrinkles or challenges for developers, as the organization figured out how to present scientific information accurately and deal with data access issues.\r\n\r\nFor Woo, the vision of the project clicked while she was on a nature walk with the organization\u2019s then CEO. He pulled out his phone and showed her mobile apps like iNaturalist\u2019s Seek, which allows a user to point a camera and automatically identify plants and animals.\r\n\r\nThe moment helped clarify the ambition of Explorer Pro: to provide both authoritative data and a seamless user experience.\r\n\r\nSmyth experienced a breakthrough when she saw the first demo featuring habitat models. \u201cHaving that all in one place was amazing to see,\u201d she says.\r\n\r\nLater, previewing the tool for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2023, Smyth recalls the pride she felt when she realized, \u201cHey, we are public now.\u201d\r\n

Bringing Better Visibility to Nature Through Maps<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAfter piloting Explorer Pro with several companies and organizations and building a portal for partners to submit data, NatureServe undertook its full public launch in April 2024. Anyone can log in and use the tool without any technical background. At the same time, licensed users like businesses can pay to access more granular data as well as a geodata portal to download information directly. Everyone can interact with biodiversity data on maps.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s taking advantage of the democratization of spatial information that comes with these online GIS tools,\u201d Smyth says, \u201cbut also supporting a pretty sophisticated user group that requires additional functionality.\u201d\r\n\r\nOver 8,700 users have registered for Explorer Pro. It\u2019s a new level of visibility\u2014both for NatureServe and the species the nonprofit seeks to protect and preserve.\r\n\r\nThat accomplishment\u2014and the collective effort that brought the app to life\u2014gives Smyth great satisfaction.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs an organization I think we\u2019ve been a little hidden,\u201d she says. \u201cWith the release of this tool, I think we\u2019re empowered to have more of an impact\u2026and meet some of the demands of the moment to more effectively manage biodiversity.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Scenes on the Development of NatureServe Explorer Pro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NatureServe Explorer Pro helps companies and organizations gauge their impact on the world around them, with help from GIS tech.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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