Chapter 1 Introduction

Welcome to the CWD Data Warehouse! The CWD Data Warehouse is a platform for chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance planning and data management for state, provincial, and tribal wildlife agencies. It was built to provide access to mathematical modeling and data science tools to help agencies conduct surveillance more effectively and efficiently. The Warehouse also facilitates inter-agency data-sharing, increasing situational awareness, and informing wildlife and wildlife health decision-making.

This user manual describes the features and functions of the CWD Data Warehouse. Flexibility is a key design principle of the Warehouse, and it is expected that each wildlife agency will interact with and use the Warehouse in ways that best align with their program goals and existing technological capabilities.

This manual is divided into several sections:

  • The About section introduces the CWD Data Warehouse, describes its principal concepts, and explains why it was created and who is involved.

  • The System Overview section describes some basic concepts and features of the Warehouse, including the user interface, user management features, and other important structures and processes.

  • The Data, Models, and Visualizations sections describe the three main conceptual components of the Warehouse.

  • The Tutorials help wildlife agencies get started with the Warehouse and show how to use it to complement and support their existing CWD program activities.

If you have questions or need help, please contact the CWD Data Warehouse system administrators () or the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab (). If you represent a wildlife agency that does not yet belong to this partnership and would like further information, please contact us.