Development and Implementation of Remote Sensing Techniques to Monitor Invasive Plant Species in the State of Idaho

The region’s ecology and economy are dependent upon riparian and rangeland ecosystems. Maintaining the health of these lands is vital to policy and decision makers at both private concerns and all levels of government. With respect to riparian habitat, the availability and quality of water is always of concern in the arid west (southern Idaho is “high desert”); this is especially true in times of drought (such as the present).

Rangeland supports not only abundant and diverse wildlife, but also the state’s $1.4 billion/year livestock industry. These ecosystems are inter-related, and informed decision making in one topical area cannot take place without comprehensive knowledge of the other. The challenges caused by invasive plant species are numerous. They impact range site productivity, disturb wildlife habitat, alter the wildland fire regime and fire frequency interval (and subsequent erosion, etc), and reduce biodiversity (by diminishing native habitat).

The current methods of identifying weeds in Bonneville County are typical of the region, and consist of either notification by landowners, or by “stumbling upon them” during day-to-day operations (e.g., field mapping) of Bonneville County Weed Control. This means the infestations are usually visible from vehicle, horseback or ATV: i.e., by the time they are identified, the weed colony has become large and firmly established.

Bonneville and Ada Counties currently use GPS to record weed locations. Both counties have GIS layers that contain weed locations. Ada County has used aerial photography coupled to ground survey to map rush skeletonweed. However, application of remote sensing technologies combined with GPS and GIS capabilities were limited until commencement of this collaborative project. Further development of this successful application model will lead to broad systemic change in weed control for Idaho. This application model allows land managers to identify and control weed sites while they are still small and manageable, and therefore much less expensive to control.

The extreme accuracy of GPS/GIS increases the efficiency of control operations, as managers know almost exactly where to commit resources for existing invasions, and/or take preventive action in terrains/soils identified as vulnerable to invasion. Further, the species of invasive weeds which can be monitored by the application may be increased as warranted. The impact of a successful application development will be revolutionary for regional weed control efforts.

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