Interrain Pacific is a non-profit support organization, whose mission is to promote conservation based development by understanding social, economic and ecological trends shaping communities. One and one-half years ago, they shifted their focus to a community-based bioregional perspective spanning the West Coast from California to Alaska. They have offices in Juneau, Victoria B.C., and Portland, OR. They provide a wide range of services, including a GIS public access facility in Sitka.

Interrain has worked on diverse projects with many groups. Among them, they have produced a coastal rainforest atlas illustrating coastal rainforest cover between Northern California to Southeast Alaska, and changes in cover since European arrival. It also shows forest development on a watershed-by-watershed basis, as well as tracking indigenous languages throughout the gradient. They have also produced several CD-ROMs, containing GIS datasets. Areas include Glacier Bay and the PW-Copper River Ecosystem.

In cooperation with Desktop Assistance and the Sierra Biodiversity Institute, Interrain Pacific formed The Conservation GIS Consortium in 1994. Uniting themes include:

• Education
• Access, and
• Support.

Working together, they have produced a GIS training program called the "Conservation GIS Starter Kit." The kit contains information on the uses of GIS and actual applications using conservation data and ArcView 3.0 (must have your own copy, see ESRI article). It is designed to teach basic concepts and skills needed to begin using ArcView GIS for conservation projects.

For more information, contact Dave Albert, Interrain Pacific - Alaska, 119 Seward St., Suite 19, Juneau, AK 99801, phone: 907- 586-2301, fax: 907-586-2302, e-mail: ipak@ptialaska.net or visit their website at http://www.interrain.or/