Training

See also: Central Coast Rangeland Coalition, Sustainable Human Systems

On April 19, 2011, a number of leading remote sensing experts and rangeland management practitioners gathered at the US Forest Service building in Vallejo to discuss current abilities for remote sensing to meet the monitoring needs of rangeland managers.  The following is a list of remote sensing priorities for rangelands managers:

• Baseline data (may be collected over the long term)

                   To better understand the effects of climate change

                   To assist the Forest Service and others with “Condition assessment”

• Effectiveness monitoring (Managers may need skills development for interpretation and they need access to yearly updates of analysis performed by others)

                       Could inform changes in stocking levels

                       Can help monitor restoration success

• Plant productivity monitoring (Needs to be available at the large scale)

                         RDM

                          Changes to forage over time

                         Length of green season

• Wildlife relationships monitoring

                         Monitor conditions for populations of game animals (especiallydeer)

                          Habitat change monitoring

• Biodiversity monitoring
• Regulatory compliance monitoring: mitigation, easements

                            RDM

                            Oak canopy changes – called out in easements/mitigation requirements

• Identify and monitor reference systems for mitigation
• Annual grassland systems monitoring

                            RDM

                            Weed populations and cover

                            Bare soil cover

                            Watershed function

                            Plant composition

                            Erosion (active or past)

• Perennial systems (Thought to be more difficult, longer term)

                            USFWS “Condition Assessment”- Composition(plant); Bare ground; Soil

• Management changes

                            Water

                            Infrastructure (would be very useful for ranchers and others)

• Oak recruitment