U.S. Department of the Interior
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leverages ground, air and spaceborne remote sensing technologies to support its mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. These technologies include aerial and close-range photography, multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal infrared camera/imaging systems, as well as radar and light detection and ranging (lidar). The BLM also utilizes passive and active imaging system information collected by uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). Remote sensing data and products are being used to address a host of BLM monitoring requirements, including energy development, mine production verification, assessment of land cover condition through time, and wildfire response and mitigation. Finally, the BLM requires field-based measurements to support management decisions covering vast expanses of land. By integrating remote sensing into the BLM's Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring strategy, field-based data are used to generate information and maps that support land management decision making. The BLM is leveraging remote sensing to provide an integrated, quantitative monitoring approach to efficiently and effectively document the impacts from authorized and unauthorized disturbance and land treatment activities at local and regional scales.
Landslides are a major geologic hazard in Oregon. Landslide inventory mapping helps resource managers understand the spatial pattern of existing landslides and provides information to characterize landslide risk associated with various landscapes.
Coastal erosion, exacerbated by sea-level rise, threatens both infrastructure and natural areas around the world.
The emergent proliferation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging systems, related advancements in image processing and exploitation capabilities, and the increasing availability of analysis-ready SAR data products have enhanced the BLM’s ability to use remote sensing-derived information to support resource management.
Public lands across the West contain myriad Native American cultural sites that often include surficial stone features such as rings, alignments, and cairns.
The invasion of exotic annual grasses is a widespread problem across the western United States. Of particular concern is cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), which produces continuous mats of fine, highly flammable vegetation that can drive wildfires.
Remotely sensed data and derived information contribute significantly to mission-critical work across the Department of the Interior (DOI). This report from the DOI Remote Sensing Working Group (DOIRSWG) highlights a sample of DOI remote sensing applications and illustrates the many types of technology, platforms, and specialized sensors employed.* DOI personnel use remote sensing technology to evaluate and monitor changing land-surface and natural resource conditions over the vast areas for which DOI has responsibility.
Alaska is the only Arctic State in the Nation. The Arctic environment presents some unique challenges to living, working, and operating, including a lack of road infrastructure, high costs of shipping freight, and seasonal daylight limitations during the winter. The sun drops below the horizon in November and does not rise above the horizon until mid-February.
The Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite near Shell, Wyoming, showcases an exposed dry wash with hundreds of Jurassic, carnivorous dinosaur tracks preserved in the rock. The tracks, formed approximately 167 million years ago, were discovered by members of the public in 1997. The BLM has created a 40-acre recreation site around this quarter-acre tracksite and is tasked with preserving the tracks and their value for the public.
The National Operations Center (NOC) and the BLM Gunnison Field Office are using remotely sensed data and field data to monitor the impact of meadow restoration activities within the Gunnison Basin, Colorado, through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort with the BLM, the Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), and the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD).
The BLM National Operations Center (NOC), through a National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) ROSES grant, has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles researchers to create an online mapping application called LandCART: Landscape Cover Analysis and Reporting Tools.
