18 Days Above the Arctic Circle
GeoSpatial Services (GSS) Director Andy Robertson and GSS Analyst Eric Lindquist completed a ‘marathon’ fieldwork trip this past July to Northern Alaska. The trip was a culmination of months of effort and planning related to current work, as well as a kicking off of new projects.
Fieldwork for US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory mapping projects is a normal part of GSS summers; however, due to a large number of projects in Alaska and the travel restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 situation, the decision was made to combine 3 major projects and spend a lengthy time in the field this summer. Current GSS clients in Alaska include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as well as partnerships with Arctic Slope Regional Corp (ASRC) as well as others.
GSS Fieldwork consists of correlating computer landscape imagery or ‘signature’ to actual landscape features, soils, and plant communities. Nearly 1,000 field check sites were visited to develop mapping conventions that will allow 7-10 staff and numerous students to tackle these very large mapping projects for months, and in some cases years, to come.
Typically, all Alaska fieldwork is completed by helicopter with professional pilots, necessary permits, and planning. This year the team was able to work from the areas along the ‘haul road’, also known as the Dalton Highway. The team based out of Coldfoot Camp, Galbraith Lake, and Happy Valley, as well as flying to Kavik River Camp for the last 4 days of work (see map below). The team worked 18 straight days to complete the necessary work and compile data for use upon return to SMUMN. Sites were selected on mostly Federal and state-owned lands including the Kanuti Wildlife Refuge, Gates of the Arctic Refuge, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and others to enhance and inform wetland mapping.
GSS has worked hard to continue ‘business as usual’ during these trying times and is proud to have been successful in this endeavor, to the point of even expanding in order to continue its mission of providing to the University and giving real-world work experiences to students.
