Conservation Efforts Database

Help & Guidance Documentation

Guidance & Tools

Batch Upload Templates

Registration

Register for a CED account

In this video, the CED Team guides you through the process of registering for full access to the Database.

Single Record Data Entry Video Tutorials

Step One

This video is step 1 in a series of videos that show you how to enter data into the Conservation Efforts Database using the single record data entry method. Step 1 is creation of a new conservation effort.

Step Two (Public Lands)

Step 2 is data entry of location information. This video is for data entry of location information for conservation efforts on public lands.

Step Two (Private Lands)

Step 2 is data entry of location information. This video is for data entry of location information for conservation efforts on private lands.

Step Three

This video is step 3 in a series of videos that show you how to enter data into the Conservation Efforts Database using the single record data entry method. Step 2 is data entry activity information. This video is for data entry of activity information related to Lahontan Cutthroat Trout conservation efforts.

Step Four

This video is step 4 in a series of videos that show you how to enter data into the Conservation Efforts Database using the single record data entry method. Step 4 is data entry of implementation information.

Step Five

This video is step 5 in a series of videos that show you how to enter data into the Conservation Efforts Database using the single record data entry method. Step 5 is data review and error check prior to submission.

Interactive Map and Reporting

Interactive Map and Reporting

In this video, the CED Team guides you through the features and functions of the Conservation Efforts Database's Interactive Map as well as options for generating reports. The Interactive Map allows registered users to query and filter the data entered in the CED. In addition to user-defined queries, registered users can select various spatial layers to provide additional context to the map and area of interest. Lastly, based on the filters and resource layers selected, the CED Team guides users through the steps to generate reports available for download. For more information, visit conservationefforts.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What web browsers does the CED support?
The CED v2.1 currently supports the most resent versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Internet Explorer and Apple Safari may work but have not been fully tested. A warning to Internet Explorer users of version 9 and older; some severe graphic distortions or erros will occur when using older version of Internet Explorer. We recommend updating to the newest version or switching to a different browser such as Google Chrome.
If another user is logged into the site on the computer you are attempting to register from, log them out. New users cannot register if another user is logged in on the same computer. To access the registration page select the 'REGISTER for the CED” button on the CED’s Home Page. Enter your information, and click “Submit”. The CED will send an email to the address you provided within several minutes, containing a link that will allow you to activate your account. Once your account has been activated (by following the link in the email), please login and complete your profile by entering in all the fields. If you are unsure of who your Approving Official is, you can contact the CED Team for assistance. Note: If you do not see an email please check in your ‘junk’ or ‘spam’ folder. Ensure to select that the sender (CED) is not spam.
Yes. You can register for a test account by going through the traditional registration process. When completing your account select the appropriate “Agency/Conservation Partner”. If no offices or approving officials exist the “Office/Name of Agency or Organization” will default to ‘DEMONSTRATION USER ACCESS ONLY’ and the “Approving Official” will default to ‘Lief Wiechman’ (CED Team Lead). If other offices and approving officials are available under your “Agency/Conservation Partner” you can still select the ‘Demonstration User’ from the list of available options.
Contact the CED Team via email to report the issue with a subject heading, “NO OFFICE” or “NO APPROVING OFFICIAL” respectively, and someone from the CED Team will contact you to discuss options (such as obtaining access as a Demonstration User) or to obtain contact information for the Approving Official for your office or agency/group. Once an office or approving official is added, you will be able to complete your registration. After your Approving Official has approved you (they will receive an email from the CED prompting them to do so), you will have access to begin entering projects or plan information into the CED.
Single-record entry and the batch upload template are the two approaches to populate the CED. The single-record entry method guides the user, step-by-step, using the CED user interface. Users can enter 1 record at a time. The Batch Upload approach utilizes a geodatabase template that allows for easier migration of data from existing datasets. The template is populated with all of the required fields, and is then submitted to the CED Team. The CED Team then loads the information into the CED matching the fields in the template with the fields in the CED. A user then uses the CED’s user interface to navigate through and review all of the records submitted.

We suggest that if you have less than 100 records to enter, that the single-records entry is the approach for you. If you have more than 100, using the Batch Upload approach may save you time. The more records you have (i.e. 1,000) the more time it can save you. Using the Batch Upload template will require some GIS skills and an understanding of geodatabases. The single-record entry approach requires almost no GIS skills, aside from uploading shapefiles and digitizing spatial information (if applicable).
Yes. To change the name of your conservation effort, navigate to Step 3 of the Enter Data page. The box at the top that says Effort Name may be edited to change the name of your project or plan. Click Save and Exit or Save and Submit for Approval to save your changes.
No. If you exit the CED, you MUST select Save and Exit or Save and Submit for Approval in order to save your progress. Note, if you select Save and Submit for Approval, the CED will send an email notifying your Approving Official that the record/entry is awaiting their review. If you are not completed with your entry, we suggest selecting Save and Exit.
Yes. When entering a project or plan, navigate to Step 1. You will see a small check box in the upper right corner that says Mark This Effort for Deletion. To delete a project or plan, check this box and then select Save and Exit or Save and Submit for Approval. An email will be sent to your Approving Official requesting this effort be deleted. This will simply mark the effort for deletion. It will remain in our system and will remain subject to FOIA. However, it will not be visible on any queries, maps, or reports. If you are an Approving Official and wish to permanently delete an effort from the CED system select Approve with the Mark This Effort for Deletion checkbox selected. This will send an email to the CED Administration and the CED Team will delete the effort from the CED. As an Approving Official, if you wish to leave the deleted effort in the CED system select Save and Exit to save the changes without requesting permanent deletion of the effort.
The CED has the ability to query from and upload existing datasets in batch format. While more efficient than single record data entry there are still steps that need to be taken. Contact the CED Team via email (conservationefforts@fws.gov) to discuss feasibility and next steps to conduct a batch upload.
Yes, the CED v2.1 is currently designed to collect spatially-explicit information (shapefiles, treatment boundaries) for certain activity types (refer to user manual or quick start guide) on all lands and jurisdictions. However, the CED Team understands that data providers may not want to or be authorized to share that level of detail or explicit locations of efforts conducted on private lands. Therefore, Private Lands Reporting Units can be used to obscure personally identifiable information (see next question). By using these Units, the CED can summarize the contribution to sagebrush conservation without explicitly identifying where the effort was implemented.
In cases where Personally Identifiable Information (PII) needs to be obscured, the CED asks that NO PII tied to an effort is provided. The CED does not request names, phone numbers, or contact information from private land owners, and the CED Team suggests that information such as ranch names or other identifying details not be provided. To obscure the spatial location of efforts on private lands, we ask that efforts be reported by ‘Private Lands Reporting Unit’, which is a polygon large enough to obscure private land owner location, while being small enough to be biologically meaningful. Those units are being developed in coordination with state and federal partners and will be available in the Spring of 2019. If you would like to provide information tied to efforts on private lands prior to Spring 2019, please contact the CED Team to discuss options.
In the CED, the terms project, effort, and treatment are used in a general sense. The CED defines a project, effort, or treatment as – the area on the ground where the treatment or action has been implemented – and reporting to the CED is at the treatment level only. Because some management agencies group treatments into 'projects' we use this term loosely to indicate a collection of treatments. However, the acreage of treatments is the critical piece of information. Do NOT report acreage of anything except actual area treated. The CED’s Interactive Map intersects spatial information with various resource layers of interest for summary and for inclusion in reports. Entering spatial information that is larger than the actual treated area will result in inflated totals, so it is important to provide accurate information about treatment acres and not larger project areas.