The Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM) Program conducts long-term studies of the land cover and disturbance histories of the United States and selected overseas areas in order to determine the reasons for and the impacts of land-surface change.

GAM research activities seek to answer four fundamental questions:

• What kinds of changes are occurring and why?
• What are the impacts of these changes?
• How do these impacts, in turn, further influence the land surface?
• How can GAM research findings best be used for making decisions on resource use and allocation, as well as in reducing risk and vulnerability to natural hazards?

Scientific Collaboration and Contributions

The GAM Program collaborates with other USGS science programs, such as Land Remote Sensing, Status and Trends of Biological Resources, National Water-Quality Assessment, and National Biological Information Infrastructure. It contributes to Bureau initiatives, including the Southern California Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, as well as disaster response and assessments.

The GAM Program supports the research objectives of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and is an active participant in international global science initiatives, such as the Group on Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS). Program partners and customers include the scientific community, resource managers, State and Federal agencies, and public organizations that make land-management decisions or influence and shape policy.

The GAM Program works closely with stakeholders within the Department of the Interior bureaus that have land-management roles, such as the Bureau of Land Management, the National Parks Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Partners and customers also include other national agencies with research, regulatory, or land-management roles, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The program supports our Nation's international efforts, working with the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, foreign governments, multinational organizations, and non-government organizations in analyzing land cover and conducting environmental analyses around the globe.

GAM Program Coordinator

Jonathan H. Smith, Ph.D.
U.S. Geological Survey
519 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
Phone: 703-648-4516
Fax: 703-648-5542

GAM Website POC

Jill Cress
U.S. Geological Survey
P.O. Box 25046, MS 516
Denver, CO 80225
Phone: 303-202-4275
Fax: 303-202-4354