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Title: MONITORING WYOMING'S RED DESERT WATERSHEDS USING VERY-LARGE SCALE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Author
item Booth, D
item GLENN, DON - USDI-BLM
item KEATING, B - USDI-BLM
item Cox, Samuel
item NANCE, JOE - PRIVATE PILOT
item WARREN, A - USDI-BLM

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2003
Publication Date: 2/1/2003
Citation: BOOTH, D.T., GLENN, D., KEATING, B., COX, S.E., NANCE, J., WARREN, A. MONITORING WYOMING'S RED DESERT WATERSHEDS USING VERY-LARGE SCALE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY. SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT MEETING ABSTRACTS. 2003.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Wyoming's Red Desert is "One of America's most extraordinary empty places. ... thousands of square miles spread out across sage (brush)-covered hills, sand dunes and canyons" (Frank Clifford, Los Angeles Times). To the BLM, the Red Desert is 15 million acres of public rangeland to be assessed, monitored, and managed by limited staff. Hence, BLM and ARS are testing methods for monitoring vast landscapes. We are testing bare ground as a key indicator and very-large scale aerial (VLSA) imagery for inexpensive acquisition of statistically adequate, unbiased, high-resolution, samples (images) from which to make accurate bare-ground measurements. Our tools include an ultralight-type, 3-axis airplane; high-shutter-speed film and digital cameras automatically triggered by a computer interfaced with a global positioning system and using pre-programed coordinates; and a laser altimeter for precise, instantaneous measurement of altitude above ground level (AGL). The system provides the pilot with navigational information including ground speed, a critical parameter in close-to-the-earth (100 m AGL) photography. Our methods for making bare-ground measurements from the imagery include manual photogrammetry and digital methods. Ground truth is collected using both laser-bar point frames and image analysis of 2-m AGL digital photographs from a stationary platform. During June 2002, we used these methods to evaluate 2 grazing allotments within the Muddy Creek watershed of the southern Red Desert. Results to date support our hypothesis that VLSA imagery can be an effective tool for increasing the credibility of rangeland monitoring data and for reducing the cost of obtaining that data.