By George A. Seielstad, University of North Dakota

The Northern Great Plains regional scoping workshop was held November 5-7, 1997 at the University of North Dakota, and was attended by 100 stakeholders from throughout the region. The workshop proceedings have already been distributed to approximately 1000 people.

The scoping workshop identified stakeholder concerns. But the real challenge has been following up on the ideas, concerns, and enthusiasm generated by the workshop. To assist with this, the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC) has conducted two other workshops at Montana State University in February 1998. The first workshop brought educators and Geographic Information System experts together for hands-on training in use of geospatial technologies in classrooms for grades 8-12.

The second workshop focused on farming, ranching, and forestry. The aim was to develop applications of remotely sensed data to improve the economic competitiveness of these sectors and simultaneously minimize adverse effects on the environment. At the heart of these applications is the notion of precision agriculture, defined as an information management practice that applies inputs only where needed, in the amounts needed, and when needed. These inputs are often chemicals, used as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. By mapping where those inputs will be most effective, we can match their use precisely to a field's or forest's needs. Because excess nitrogen fertilizer recombines into other chemicals that, when delivered to the atmosphere, contribute to the greenhouse warming effect, making fertilizer application more efficient is a win-win scenario for the farmer, rancher, and forester, and for the global environment - saving money and protecting the environment.

Examples of problems UMAC is developing applications to address include:

Determination of Wheat Protein Content. When dryland wheat farmers apply only a light application of fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season, they could supplement it midseason in years the weather seems likely to produce a high yield. The midseason application increases the protein content, driving up the wheat's market price.

Weed Detection. Satellite and aerial mapping of weed distributions enable farmers to apply an herbicide only where weeds exist, rather than the older practice of uniform herbicide application.

Rangeland Carrying Capacity. The goal is to measure the biomass of feed for livestock so that the number of grazers can be calculated. An illustration of the ability of satellites to measure range conditions is shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Drought Index. Vegetation stressed because its water supply is inadequate for the temperatures in which it grows is being identified as a useful index of fire danger in forests.

Soil Moisture. No concern about climate change is more worrisome than possible changes in the availability of water at the right time for various crops. UMAC is a satellite technique for assessing soil moisture.

Continued participation in the National Assessment will allow UMAC, in conjunction with other Northern Great Plains groups and stakeholders, to build an environmental information network. This network can use workshops and other tools to add to the number of people who teach and learn about climate and the environment.

For more information, contact: George A. Seielstad, University of North Dakota, Center for Aerospace Sciences, PO Box 9007, Grand Forks, ND, 58202; (701) 777-4755; gseielst@aero.und.edu