Transforming Natural Resources Management

 

Integrating earth sciences and geospatial technologies

for improved regional decision support

 

Supported by

 

 

Overview
 

  • The Opportunity
     

  • Regional Collaboration
     

  • Early Applications
     

  • Moving Forward

 

 

The Opportunity

 

  • To make better policy and natural resource management decisions in the Pacific Northwest
     

  • To provide tools that improve understanding of:
     

    • historic trends
       

    • current conditions
       

    • future scenarios
       

 

Advancements With Earth Observing Technologies

 

  • Remote sensing enables:
     

    • broad, regional views
       

    • detailed, localized views
       

 

Improvements Through Integration

 

  • Integration across disciplines, institutions, geography, data, sensors / platforms
     
  • Decision support at regional, landscape-scale and local levels
     
  • Efficient allocation of scarce resources
     

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Pacific Northwest Regional Collaboratory (PNWRC)

 

  • Regionally unique multi-institution collaboration
     
  • Delivers enhanced resource management tools to end-users
     
  • Focuses on critical regional problems


 

Early Applications & Tools

 

  • Invasive Weeds Management
     
  • Water Resources Forecasting
     
  • Coastal Monitoring & Restoration
     
  • Forest Riparian Habitat Assessment
     
  • Northwest Sustainability Decision Support System (DSS)

  
 

Application: Invasive Weeds Management

 

  • Problem – Cheatgrass
     
    • an invasive grass
       
    • impacts site productivity / expensive to manage
       
    • disturbs wildlife habitat, reduces biodiversity
       
    • alters fire patterns and frequency intervals

 

 

PNWRC Approach

 

  • Cheatgrass Monitoring

    • Multi-temporal stacking tool tracks landscape-level changes
       

    • Determines optimal period to acquire imagery for detection and mapping

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