A NASA-funded project to provide decision support for beaver rewilding
MRRMaid is the product of a NASA-funded project to provide decision support for beaver rewilding. The project contains three main components: research, extension and outreach.
Research
We develop satellite-based measurements of mesic ecosystems. This is the research-focused part of our work, and mostly takes place in front of a computer, using new technologies to make maps of mesic ecosystems from satellite images. We have partners in the field who really know their ecosystem, and we can use those sites as “test sites” for our research. The products we develop cover broad areas, e.g. all of southern Idaho, and in some cases, the entire west.
Extension
Once we have a validated monitoring product, we create web apps to make those monitoring products available. That way, anyone can use them in the sites they are working at. Currently, we have two “beta version” web-apps that enable open source use of our existing data products.
Outreach
We also conduct workshops with our partners. The goal here is to develop relationships between researchers, agencies, and people working directly with restoration projects — that makes everyone’s work better and more fun. Please contact jodibrandt@boisestate.edu if you would like to be included on our email list.
The toolbox
The Mesic Resource Restoration Monitoring Aid (MRRMaid) toolbox is a set of satellite-based monitoring tools for dryland mesic ecosystems in the US Intermountain West. Mesic ecosystems include river corridors (rivers, floodplains and riparian zones), wetlands, wet meadows and other freshwater environments.
Use cases
We have developed a catalog of use cases that demonstrate the various ways in which land managers and scientists are using MRRMaid datasets. Each use case includes a summary of the application, data sources and analysis methods, as well as a 5-minute PowerPoint video showing a case study of the use case.
Training webinars and Storymaps
We have two training webinars: one webinar was through The Land Use Lab at Boise State, while the other was part of the NASA webinar series and features the MVPRestore app. You’ll also find links to three Storymaps to help guide you on how remote sensing is used to support river restoration.
About the team
The MRRMaid team is based out of Boise State University and includes students, post-docs, restoration practitioners and faculty members from all around the western United States.