ARS | Publication request: Monitoring a BLM level 5 watershed with very-large aerial imagery

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 10, 2008
Publication Date: March 10, 2008
Citation: Fifield, C., Booth, D.T., Cox, S.E., Cagney, J. 2008. Monitoring a BLM level 5 watershed with very-large aerial imagery. In: 12th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications. Abstract, page 37. CDROM.

Technical Abstract: A fifth order BLM watershed in central Wyoming was flown using a Sport-airplane to acquire high-resolution aerial images from 2 cameras at 2 altitudes. Project phases 1 and 2 obtained images for measuring ground cover, species composition and canopy cover of Wyoming big sagebrush by ecological site. Phase 3 images will be used to evaluate drainage-channel conditions and to assess Tamarix sp.) populations. Phase 4 assessed pipeline revegetation. Over 3,600 geocoded sample locations were photographed in the 244,000-acre survey at resolutions of 1 and 10 mm per pixel. Another 400 samples were acquired at 2 and 20 mm per pixel. The total cost for image acquisition was $16,356. The level of sampling achieved in these surveys enable the application of statistical science to watershed-level range management—an objective not feasible using conventional methods and staffing.