Ducks Unlimited, the international wetlands conservation organization, is tapping into satellite technology to monitor the environment. Images taken by satellites help gather information about broad geographic ranges and diverse habitats that migratory birds depend on to fulfill their annual life cycles. In Alaska alone, Ducks Unlimited biologists have mapped and inventoried more than 80 million acres of remote land cover. In total, DU has mapped over 350 million acres of wildlife habitat in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, since the mapping project began in 1985.
Monitoring the ?Duck Factory?????
According to Dr. Jim Ringelman, Director of Conservation Programs in the Great Plains Regional office of Ducks Unlimited, waterfowl depend on a wide variety of habitats. ?The most critical breeding habitat exists in a 300,000 square mile area of the northern Great Plains called the Prairie Pothole Region, named for millions of ?pothole? wetlands that are essential to waterfowl. In cooperation with our partners, Ducks Unlimited has mapped over 70 percent of the landcover located in the Prairie Pothole Region, commonly known as the ?Duck Factory,? ? says Dr. Ringelman.????
?A connection for people?
Explains Don Young, Executive Vice President of Ducks Unlimited: ?The prairie potholes, created by glaciers 12,000 years ago, are closed basins that capture large volumes of water from snow melt and rainfall. With our Geographic Information Systems, we can assess wetland conditions, and subsequently delineate the best locations for conservation projects. Our goal is to target areas where we know wetlands and surrounding grasslands will support nesting ducks and their broods. There?s a connection for people too, since our conservation efforts are directly affecting the quality and quantity of the ground and surface water.?????
Pixels Help Prioritize and Protect
Dick Kempka, Director of Geographic Information Systems at Ducks Unlimited, oversees the satellite mapping program. Says Kempka: ?With remote sensing technology, we?re able to gather information about some of the most unique wetland complexes in the world, from the remote regions of the boreal forest in Alaska, to the Central Valley of California, to the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Our newest pilot project targets the Pantanal region of Brazil, where only one percent of the land is protected by national parks. The Pantanal is the largest freshwater wetland in the world. Some North American migratory birds fly as far south as Brazil to winter.? Kempka explains that the process of capturing images begins with distinct levels of radiation on earth, in pixel size increments.
How It Works
A sensor attached to the satellite captures the sun?s radiated energy from the earth in small increments called picture elements, or pixels. Number values are then assigned to the pixels so data can be relayed to a ground receiving station. Other satellites, like RADAR, send their own signals to the earth, which allows us to see through the clouds and view the landscape. Says Kempka: ?The beauty is that the final product can be used in a Geographic Information System, or GIS, which stores information about hydrology, vegetation cover and endangered plant/animal communities. That data can be cross-referenced and presented like overlayed maps, enabling us to direct restoration work to specific locations or land tracts on the ground. It?s the most efficient and cost effective way to protect wildlife habitat.?
To view satellite maps and learn more about worldwide efforts to protect wildlife habitat, visit Ducks Unlimited on the web at http://www.ducks.org. Or contact Tildy La Farge at 901-758-3859 or mlafarge@ducks.org.
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