Synopsis Past research at Idaho State University (ISU)'s GIS Training and Research Center (GIS TReC) has found that changes to the rangelands of southeastern Idaho can be characterized by three principal agents: 1) fire, 2) invasive weeds, and 3) urbanization. However, when scrutinizing these "problems" holistically, it has become evident that neither invasive weeds nor urbanization alone drive change in rangelands. Invasive weeds are symptoms of range degradation. Change on rangelands are driven by the same “tools” that are used to manage them; 1) fire, 2) grazing and animal impact (e.g., trampling effects of large herbivores), 3) technology (e.g., fences, wells, urbanization, roads, herbicides, etc.) and grazing systems (including the effect of partial or total "rest").

Throughout history, wildfire has been a primary source of broad landscape changes. Today however, native plants are in competition with exotic plant species and native vegetation communities are frequently extirpated in favor of the more aggressive exotic plants (i.e., weeds). These fairly quick and yet substantial changes in vegetation community composition and structure impacts wildlife species that were previously adapted to the "natural" ecosystem. As a result, both wildlife and livestock carrying capacities are typically reduced, nutrient cycling regimes are altered, and wildfire intervals are shortened (cf., cheatgrass effects).

With over five years of research focusing upon temporal land cover change, scientists at ISU’s GIS TReC are poised to embark upon several new research projects. The research proposed in this document continues the Temporal Land cover Change: Rangeland Remote Sensing Research Project. This three-year project will 1) develop and validate modeling tools for calculating rangeland fire severity by building upon techniques and models already developed at the GIS TReC, 2) determine the effect of management decisions on components of rangeland health, such as bare ground, biodiversity, and biomass, 3) develop public outreach/geo-spatial training opportunities for range managers, range scientists, and ranchers, and 4) implement a gigabit Ethernet LAN to foster improved data transfer, data sharing, and quality assurance among the project investigators at ISU.