|
|
|
Bozeman Non-profit Lands NASA Grant
|
| (Printable Version) | (PDF Version) |
|
|
Grant Secures Montana's Place in Environmental High-Tech Research
September 8, 1998
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana Senator Conrad Burns today released more details on NASA Stennis Space Center's $600,000 grant awarded to Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies (Y.E.S.) in Bozeman for a two-year study of streams and riparian habitat in Yellowstone National Park using state-of-the-art remote sensing technology. NASA selected Y.E.S. following a highly competitive review process.
Project research will assist NASA and the participating commercial firms in improving advanced remote-sensing technology, called "hyperspectral" imaging, for analysis of streams and streamside areas. The new technology will help Y.E.S. researchers answer questions such as the long-term impacts of the 1988 Yellowstone fires on stream health and wildlife habitat.
MSU TechLink, a NASA-sponsored center at Montana State University that was created two years ago with the assistance of Burns, played a key role in establishing this project by helping to bring together the various private-sector, university, and government partners and coordinating their response to NASA Stennis.
"I'm excited about this pioneering Montana-led project," Burns said. "It involves a strong partnership of private and public organizations using space-age technology to better understand our common Yellowstone natural heritage and keep the Yellowstone ecosystem healthy. Research results should give us techniques to better manage streams in Montana and elsewhere.
"This is the kind of project I had envisioned when we helped create MSU TechLink. We're now linked to the Space Age like few other states."
According to Bob Crabtree, Y.E.S. founder and science director, "Through this NASA award, we will gain access to a very powerful tool that will not only save us hundreds of hours of fieldwork, but also help us see things that we couldn't see otherwise." Crabtree adds that this project will provide a valuable complement to the organization's new "Wild Waters of Yellowstone" research initiative. The project is focusing on two neighboring streams in Yellowstone's upper Lamar Valley: Soda Butte Creek and Cache Creek. Both streams already have been extensively studied by Y.E.S. researchers.
Y.E.S. is a private, nonprofit organization that establishes partnerships involving the private and public sectors to undertake long-term, scientifically objective research on the Yellowstone region. Collaborators in the project include Earth Search Sciences, an Idaho company that has developed a leading commercial hyperspectral sensor; AIG, a Colorado company that specializes in analysis of hyperspectral data; Montana State University's Earth Sciences Department and Geographic Information and Analysis Center; Idaho State University; and the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division.
It was the only grant to a Montana organization. Other recipients of the advanced technology awards are: Eastman Kodak, USDA, Boeing Information, Cal State-Monterey Bay, and five other private high-tech firms.
Burns is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees NASA.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
