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Montana Enlists Cutting-edge Technology to Protect and Conserve Greater Sage Grouse
The custom Sage Grouse Web App decreases operational costs and risk while improving analysis and results sharing
The Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program operates
under MCA 76-22 and Executive Orders 12-2015 and 21-2015 which
require the program to review all proposed activities in sage grouse
habitat designated as a core area, general habitat, or a connectivity
area. The Program works to sustain viable sage grouse populations
and their habitat via a custom web application that facilitates data-
driven consultation on proposed projects that could impact the
threatened species.
CustomDevelopment
Customer Success
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s mission is to help ensure that state land and water resources provide benefits for present and future generations. The Department supports the Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program which was created to facilitate implementation of the Executive Orders across state government, by federal land management agencies, and private entities seeking to develop projects in key sage grouse habitats.
S I T K A C A S E S T U D Y : M O N T A N A D N R C
THE CHALLENGE
In 2015, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s
(DNRC) IT team spent a few weeks creating a Sage Grouse Web Application to
support consultation on proposed projects that could impact sage grouse habitat.
Ranchers, developers, state agencies, and others seeking assistance used the
initial application website to submit new project activities to the DNRC. For
proposed projects in core habitat areas, Department staff would be required
to calculate the density of disturbance levels within the project area using the
Density Disturbance Calculation Tool.
While the initial Web Application was beneficial, DNRC realized the proposal
review process could be improved. By streamling the review process, proponents
could receive more immediate proposal feedback thereby helping them make
more informed decisions about project siting prior to beginning the permitting
process. This improvement would minimize the role of the regulator, reduce
workload for staff reviewers and IT teams, and increase the timeliness,
consistency, and quality of consultation services.
In April of 2016, DNRC issued a request for proposal (RFP) for an external firm
to build the next generation version of the Sage Grouse Web App. Sitka was
chosen to be that firm.
THE SOLUTION
Start with the People
Thanks to the high-level detail provided in the RFP, Sitka had a good
understanding of the overall needs of the Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation
Program. During the first meeting in August of 2016, Sitka staff facilitated a card
sorting activity with state IT and Conservation Program staff. The purpose of
this activity was to build a common vision of the user tasks the new system will
support. Instead of using traditional prioritization schemes, Program staff were
asked to sort tasks into piles based on criticality and then by frequency.
Sitka conducted an abbreviated DataDiagnostic™ with core DNRC staff at the headquarters in Helena.
A proponent is the
project applicant who is
proposing a disturbance
or conservation project.
S I T K A C A S E S T U D Y : M O N T A N A D N R C
Greater sage grouse were
once found across the
13 western U.S. states
and three Canadian
provinces. Due to oil
and gas development,
conversion of land for
agricultural use, climate
change, and human
development, sage
grouse now inhabit only
half their historic range.
Population
100,000 to 500,000
Height
2 feet
Weight
2-7 pounds
Length
21-30 inches
Habitats
Grasslands
Following the card sorting activity, Sitka staff combined the two criticality and
frequency ratings to arrive at an index score of the importance for each identified
task. These scores were instrumental in ensuring the design and development
stage of the new Web App was focused on key areas of most benefit for internal and
external stakeholders.
In addition to the above analysis, a thorough technical review of existing
applications, databases, geospatial assets, workflow models, partnering systems
(e.g., ePASS, DNRC ESRI environment, and File Transfer Service API), and state
guidelines was completed.
Keep It Focused
Once the analysis was complete, the Sitka team produced a clearly-defined
“broadsheet” documenting the key high-level requirements to be reviewed and
accepted by the core team. Broadsheets are instrumental in forming the basis
for defining web applications, web services, and database structures. Below is a
snapshot of a few of the pages from the final broadsheet presented to the core team
in late 2016.
Page: 1 Created by Sitka Technology Group – www.sitkatech.com
BroadsheetforprojectKevin
Last Modified:: Fri Apr 21 2017
–ProjectOverview,Objec9ves,&Personas
BackgroundMontana’sSageGrouseHabitatConserva4onProgram(SGHCP,or“Program”)wascreatedtofacilitateimplementa4onoftheExecu4veOrdersacrossstategovernment,byfederallandmanagementagencies,andprivateen44esseekingtodevelopprojectsinkeysagegrousehabitats,andtoimplementtheGreaterSageGrouseMi4ga4onStewardshipAct.TheProgramisoverseenbytheMontanaSageGrouseOversightTeamandisadministra4velyhostedbytheMontanaDepartmentofNaturalResourcesandConserva4on(DNRC).Montana’sgoalistoconservegreatersagegrouse(SG)andkeysagebrushhabitatssothatMontanawillmaintainauthoritytomanageitsownlands,wildlife,andeconomybyavoidingESAlis4ng.Theprogram’sprimaryac4vityistooperateaconsulta4onprocessthatavoidsorminimizesimpactsandrestoresimpactedareas(onsitemi4ga4on)byreviewingALLproposedac4vi4esinSGhabitats,andrequirescompensatorymi4ga4onifnecessary(asalastresort).
ScopeThisproject’sfocusistostreamlinetheprogram’sconsulta4veprocess,andspecificallyitsreviewofproposeddisturbances(“projects”)insagegrousehabitat.Buildingontheworkdonetocreatethefirstversionofawebapplica4oninlate2015,thisproject,codenamedKevin,willresultinasecondgenera4onwebapplica4on(i.e.,“version2.0”).WhileKevindevelopmentwillbedoneexternallybySitkaTechnologyGroup,itwillbehostedbyMTDNRC’sOITgroupat:sagegrouse.mt.gov.Thisprojectincludescrea4nganewgeo-spa4allyexplicitdatabasethatisseededwithinforma4onfromtheexis4nginternalSQLdatabaseandArcGISserver.Sincethecoreofthewebappmustsupportproposedprojectsandthereviewofthem,thefollowinglogicalfunc4ondiagramishelpfulforvisualizingthisproject’sscope:
UserPersonasInourini4alanalysisweiden4fiedsixmainusertypesorpersonas.EachofthesehavedifferentgoalsandthuswillinteractwiththeSGHCPinuniqueways,howeverinearlydiscussionswiththeKevincoreteamwedeterminedthisprojectshouldfocusonthethreeboldedpersonasbelowforthecurrentphase;theotherpersonasmaygetsomededicatedfocus(andfunc4onalityoutofthesystem)insubsequentphases.
• “Proponents”–landusersproposingnewac9vi9esthatrequireapermit• “Seekers”–peopleseekingfundingortechnicalassistancefornon-regulatedac4vi4esindesignatedSGhabitats• “Govies”–stateorfederalagencystaffundertakingstateac4onsindesignatedSGhabitats• “Reviewers”–SGHCPstaffprovidingconsulta9onservicestoLandUsers,Seekers,orSta9es• “Admins”—DNRCstaffchargedwithhelpingsupporttheSGHCPprogramanditsstaff• “Permibers”–stateorfederalagencystaffprovidingpermicngservicestoLandUsers
Ourusertaskanalysis(seenextpagefordetails)focusedontasksperformedbythethreeboldedpersonas,andaeeranalyzingtheusertaskdataprovidedbyafewreal-worldrepresenta4vesfromeachpersona,weinferredthedescrip4onsandgoalstatementsbelow.
Objec9vesThisprojecthasnumberofobjec4ves:
• reduceworkloadonSGreviewersbyautoma4ngasmuchofthereviewprocessaspossible
• reduceworkloadonOITteambyautoma4ngentryofprojectgeometries
• increaseconsistencyandqualityofreviewservices
• decreasewait4mesforproponents
• provideimmediatefeedbacktoproponentsonprojectimpactssotheycandotherightthingontheirownwhenmakingdecisionsonprojectsi4ng,therebyminimizingtheroleoftheregulator
• answerques4onsabouthoweffec4veprogramis,orques4onsfrompermibers®ulators
• improveresiliencyandaudit-abilityofreviewsandprogramdecisionsbyestablishingageo-spa4allyexplicitdatabase
SageGrouseHabitatConserva9onProgram
ProposedProjectakadisturbance
DraP DueDiligence CompletedReview
Permitter
Proponentsarelandusers,orhiredconsultantsproxinglandusers,whowanttodeveloporuselandinawaythatmightimpactsagegrousehabitat.Theywouldrathernothavetogothroughaconsulta4onprocessontheirwaytogecngtheirprojectpermibed,andmayviewtheSGHCPasanextralayerofgovernment“hoop”theyhavetojumpthrough.Proponentshaveawiderangeofunderstandingofsagegrouseandtheirhabitatneeds.Theymayberanchers,farmers,foresters,commercialorresiden4albuilders,u4lityprojectdevelopers,orresourceextractors.Theircomfortwithcomputersandthewebrangesfrom“barelytouchthestuff”to“hardtoimaginelivingwithoutthem.”
GOAL:Getprojectapprovedasefficientlyaspossibleandknowthey’redoingrightbythesagegrouse.
ProjectReviewersareStateofMontanaemployeeswithscience,publicpolicy,orlegalbackgroundswhosejobitistoprovideconsulta4onandevalua4onservicestoLandUsersproposingprojectsthatcouldcausedisturbanceinsagegrousehabitat.Theyarewellawaretheyarenotregulators,butmaybeperceivedtobe.TheystrivetobeasresponsiveaspossibletoLandUsers,andwanttobeseenashelpful,informa4ve,andeven-handed.Theycaredeeplyaboutprotec4ngsagegrousehabitatsothatthebirdsdonotbecomeanESAlistedspecies.
GOAL:Beresponsive,informa4ve,even-handedwhileimplemen4ngExecu4veOrders;beabletoanswerques4onsaboutprojectsefficientlyandaccurately.
Adminsworktosupportthedailyopera4onsoftheSGHCP.TheycurrentlyworkwithinMontana’sDNRCandofferarangeoftechnicalservicesthatincludeGISskillsandanalyses,datamanagementandanalyses,databaseandwebserveradministra4on,soewaredevelopment,visualdesignandcommunica4ons.Theydidn’tini4allyknowmuchaboutsagegrouse,butoverthepastmanymonthshavelearnedaconsiderableamount.Whileitsaveryhighpriority,suppor4ngtheSGHCPisnottheonlyresponsibilityforAdmins.
GOAL:EnsuretheSGHCPrunsassmoothlyaspossibleandthatinforma4onsummarizingitis4melyandaccurate.
Proponent Reviewer Admin
Noteon“personas”:whileiden:fyinguserrolesandstakeholdershelpsusunderstandlinesofpowerandpoli:cs,personasserveasarchetypesforsystemdesignandinforma:onarchitecture.
1
2
Proponent
SGHCP Reviewer
3
Page: 5 Created by Sitka Technology Group – www.sitkatech.com
BroadsheetforprojectKevin
Last Modified:: Fri Apr 21 2017
–RolePermissionsThispageprovidesasnapshotofthepermissionsforeachRoleinthesystematthe6mewehandedoverthecodebasetoMontanaOITteam.FurtherhistoryofdecisionsregardingUserRolescanbefoundinMingleinstories#154,#155,and#211.
Proponent▪ cancreateProjects,editProjectswhenstageisDraJorReturned▪ canSubmitorWithdraworArchiveaprojectwhenstageisDraJorReturned▪ canviewsomeProjectDetailsforONLYtheirprojects(e.g.cannotviewReviewConclusionsonprojectDetailspage).▪ canaddanewaTachmentfromProjectDetailspagewhenStageisDraJorReturned▪ canseeonlysystemgeneratedeventsintheHistorytable▪ canviewtheprojectlist,butitwillonlyshowtheirprojects▪ candownloadthecontentsofanydatagridlistinthesystem(see/accessthe“DownloadTable”feature)▪ canviewtheiruserpage,butnototherusers’pages▪ canedittheirowncontactinforma6onexceptfortheirfirstandlastname(comesfromePass)▪ canNOTseedetailedLekinforma6onorDistancetoLeklayer
Reviewer• AllthingsProponentcando,withsomeexcep6ons:
• canNOTeditprojectsthattheydidn’tcreatewhenstageisDraJorReturned• canNOTeditANYprojectswhenstageisWithdrawnorArchivedorCompleteReview• caneditbasicinfoaboutaproject(fromProjectDetailspage),includingstage,whenstageisDueDiligenceorFinalReview
• fortherecord,Sitkathinksthisisbad,butwhatwewereaskedtodo.ThisenablesReviewerstobypassexpectedworkflowsandgenera6onofthingslikesnapshoCedDDCTResultsandProjectMapandemailno6fica6ons.ItalsoallowsthemtooverrideStagefromDueDiligencetoCompletedReview,butthennotbeabletorevertitbacktoDueDiligence.
• canaddanewaTachmentfromProjectDetailspagewhenStageisANY• canseetheManagemenu(InternalProgramMap,DisturbanceTypeList,PermitAgencyList,ArchivedProjectlist,UserList)• caneditProjectTypeInstruc6ons(fromManagemenu)• canviewdetailedLekinforma6on• canseetheHistorytableontheReview&Submitpageofprojectwizard• canedit/saveReviewCommentsoneachprojectwizardpage• canviewandedit“ReviewConclusions”pageofprojectwizard• canReturn,Forward,Withdraw,andFinalizeaprojectreview(througheachac6ondependsonthecurrentstage)• cancontrolvisibilityofATachments• canseealleventsintheHistorytable
SuperReviewer• AllthingsReviewercando.• caneditprojectsviawizardpagesinANYstage
• thisincludes“helping”aProponentfillouttheirprojectproposal• caneditprojectsBasics(fromProjectDetailspage)inANYstage,whichmeanstheycanmanuallyoverrideStage
• again,thisisdangerousbecauseitcanbeabusedandbypasstheexpectedworkflows,causingthesystemtonotgenerateexpectedthingslikeauto-generatedaCachmentsandemailno6fica6ons
Administrator• AllthingsSuperReviewercando.• caneditanyuserinforma6on,includingseangUserRole
Proponent
Reviewer
Admin
SuperReviewer
Broadsheets make it easier to focus on a shared vision for the system that is then captured in an implementation roadmap.
After finalizing the broadsheet but before development started, key Sitka staff
clustered the tasks from the user task analysis into related groups. These groupings
helped establish the information architecture for the new Web App. Working
closely with the Montana team, Sitka planned sprints that focused development
on the most important users tasks first and established optimal interaction design
patterns early in the project.
The core team consisted
of key stakeholders
from DNRC
responsible for software
engineering, application
development, database
analysis, and web/
media properities. The
program manager and
a project reviewer from
the Sage Grouse Habitat
Conservation Program
rounded out the team.
“My team loves working
with you, and I really
appreciate all of
your efforts.”
Kreh Germaine, IT Director,
Montana DNRC
Page: 6 Created by Sitka Technology Group – www.sitkatech.com
BroadsheetforprojectKevin
Last Modified:: Fri Apr 21 2017
–HighLevelDataModelComple'ngtheini'alUserTaskAnalysisandWorkflowdiagramsletsuscreateanini'alHigh-LevelDatamodelwithconfidence.Considerthismorelogicalthanphysical—notalltableswewouldexpectinthedatabaseatthe
endofthefirstphaseofthisprojectarerepresented,buttheprimaryen''esshouldallbeshownandtheircardinality(one-to-one,one-to-many,many-to-one,many-to-many)rela'onshipsshouldpassthesmelltestbythe
Kevincoreteam.So,pleasestudythisandletusknow…Areanykeybusinessobjectsmissing?Aretherela'onshiplinesintherightplaces?Doesthismakeyourheartleap?
User
Proponent Reviewer
Review Event(History/Audit Log)
Project
User Role
Ques<onsforKevinCoreTeam
• HowdoesMSGHCPmanageupda'ngkeyreference
layers(e.g.Leks,Exis'ngDisturbances,etc.)today?Are
theyversionedinanyway?Whathappenstoin-flight
projectreviewswhenreferenceslayersthataffectDDCT
arechanged?
Answer:???
• CanwehostcopiesofkeyreferencelayerswithinKevin
(thereareacoupleofpoten'aladvantageswecan
elaborateon)oraretherebusinessreasonsrequiring
KevintodynamicallyqueryMT-hostedlayers?
Answer:???
• ShouldwebemodelingGrantsorcredit-sideen''es?
Answer:???
SG Threats
Primary Entity
Secondary Entity
Lookup
Reference Asset
Organization
Assessment
Review Question
Disturbance Type
Disturbance
Proposed Disturbance
Existing Disturbance
Reference Assets
Land Ownership layer
Lek layer
EO Habitat Classification layer
No Surface Occupancy (NSO) layer
Sage Grouse Mgmt Zone layer
Disturbance AreaDDCT Result
Event Type
Project Stage
Legend
Conceptuallywewanttobeablehandlebothtypesofdisturbances.Un:lwecanbe;erdefinetheworkflowthatexplicitlyrelatesaproposeddisturbanceintoan“exis:ng”one(i.e.,projectwasconstructedandactualdisturbancewasmeasured/validated),wethinkwe’llneedtwoseparatetablesandthey’llneedtobemanuallyde-duplicatedtoensurenodouble-coun:ngwhenrunningtheDDCT.
Restassured,ReviewEventsincludethingslikegenera:ngdraPLe;ers,enteringInternalNotes,loggingacommunica:on(email/phone)withproponent,etc.Wethinkthisabstrac:onwillenableaveryhandy“completechronology”or:melineviewoftheSGHCPconsulta:on.Also,willenabletheopera:onalstats/efficiencymetricsCarolynisinterestedin.
Project Type
“Assessment”maybeanewterm…butweneedadatastructuretosupportthedynamicques:onnairethatKevinwillhaveProponentsfilloutbasedonthedisturbancetypestheyiden:fied.
Akeya;ributeofaProposedDisturbanceisitsgeometry(apoint,line,orpolygon).
Needtobe;erunderstandthese.BothwereimpliedinCarolyn’slistofmgmtques:onsshe’dliketobeabletoaskofKevin.Wethinktheseareimportanta;ributesofaprojectuponwhichanalysiscanbedone,buttoconfirmthismodelingiscorrect,weneedtohearmoreaboutthem.
Thisisthederivedproductbasedonthispar:cularProject’sProposedDisturbance,allprevioussubmi;edProposedDisturbances,Exis:ngDisturbances,EOHabitatlayer,Leklayer,etc.
WeliketheideaofagenericOrganiza:onlist,someofwhichwillbePermi`ngAgencies(asimplea;ribute),otherswilljustbeorganiza:onstheUserisaffiliatedwith.
1 many
S I T K A C A S E S T U D Y : M O N T A N A D N R C
Build It Agile
With the key requirements defined and the roadmap in place, actual application
development began. The Sitka team quickly transitioned into an iterative
development cycle where priority functionality was delivered every few weeks for
review by the core team. This agile development process resulted in high-quality code
in predictable timeframes – code that is simple, flexible, well tested, and on target.
Make It Secure
Designing a secure system from the start is a critical component of all workflow
systems Sitka develops. In this case, Sitka leveraged Montana’s existing ePass
service for account management, authorization, and authentication. Security
within the Web App was designed to support role-based user experiences that
ensure data — such as user profile information and submitted projects — is
protected from unauthorized access. In Sitka’s experience, role-based security
coupled with multiple workflow stages requires a complex set of permissions to
ensure sensitive data is not inadvertently exposed. The Sitka developers used well-
established software patterns and testing practices to effectively support these types
of complex scenarios.
THE RESULTS
When the new and improved Sage Grouse Web App (sagegrouse.mt.gov) went live
in April 2017, landowners, industry groups, state agency partners, federal regulators,
and environmental advocates (collectively known as “proponents”) all lauded it
for its ease of use and significant improvements over the prior system. The chief
information officer for Montana DNRC, Kreh Germaine, noted, “The new Sage
Grouse Web App is one of the best applications we have ever seen built, state-wide.”
Proponents are able to follow simple workflow steps when they propose projects using the Sage Grouse Web App.
“The new Sage Grouse
Web App is one of the
best applications we
have ever seen built,
state-wide.”
Kreh Germaine, IT Director,
Montana DNRC
S I T K A C A S E S T U D Y : M O N T A N A D N R C
Now, proponents are guided through the online proposal process via a handful of
simple steps. Project proposals include drawing on a web map or uploading GIS
files for each proposed disturbance, identifying the type of disturbance (e.g.,
road, building, communication tower, pipeline, etc.), and then answering a suite
of questions specific to the disturbance type. By making it easy and intuitive to
provide all information up front, the consultation process is more efficient and
enjoyable for both the developer and the state biologists conducting the consultation.
Prior to submitting the proposal, the proposer can run the environmental
accounting calculator, known as the Density Disturbance Calculator Tool
(DDCT), within the Web App. A PDF of the tabular results is immediately
generated. This PDF is then appended to the individual project and is available
for the proponent to view, download, and print. The application also saves the
DDCT spatial and tabular results to the existing SDE relational database, where
reviewers are able to access the data and produce the final review letter that is
shared with the proponent.
Thanks to this custom-built solution, Montana DNRC has experienced decreased
operational and maintenance costs as well as reduced risk by standardizing the
consultation process. The Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program is now able
to conduct more detailed analyses and share results more easily. Finally, since
the Web App has made it simpler for land users to propose new disturbances and
ensure “debits” are calculated accurately with full chain of custody, Montana has
been able to maintain authority to manage its own lands, wildlife, and economy
by avoiding ESA listing.
NEXT STEPS
In April of 2019, Montana DNRC issued a new RFP to extend the functionality of
the Sage Grouse Web App. One key initiative outlined in the proposal is the desire
to develop a parallel review path and data storage for conservation or “credit”
projects that mirrors what Sitka developed for disturbance projects. Sitka was
awarded this additional work in May.
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Sitka Technology Group is the leading provider of enterprise-level software solutions to streamline and power the acquisition, management, and visualization of field data for environmental conservation efforts.Copyright © 2019 Sitka Technology Group. Sitka and the Sitka logo are registered trademarks of Sitka Technology Group. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The Density Disturbance
Calculator Tool is used
to evaluate the level of
uses and activities (i.e.,
disturbance) of suitable
sage grouse habitat
within the area affected
by a proposed project.
S I T K A C A S E S T U D Y : M O N T A N A D N R C