The Maine forest ecosystem status and trends (forEST) app: Informing management and dynamic landscapes
Principal Investigator: Erin Simons-Legaard (Forest Resource, UMaine)
Partners: Kasey Legaard (UMaine), Aaron Weiskittel (UMaine), Dave Struble (Maine Forest Service), Ryan Hanavan (US Forest Service)
Abstract: An intense outbreak of eastern spruce budworm expanding south from Quebec is without question a leading threat to Maine’s forest economy. We propose to develop a web-based resource mapping system to support management and conservation decisions as outbreak conditions evolve. This system will enable the visualization and interpretation of high-resolution maps of forest and habitat conditions that will be updated annually from freely available satellite imagery using an innovative and nearly automated process. Initial implementation will include an interface providing visualization, navigation, and download of spatial data layers identified as critical to near-term budworm mitigation planning by forest managers.