A note from the field

I didn't realize how much I had missed fieldwork. There is certainly something gratifying about spending time in a place that is so enjoyable, only to turn around and realize that you are working. Last week we took a two day trip to Fillmore, Utah - a small, quiet town in central Utah just off of I-15.

The area around Fillmore is generally quiet, accustomed to cattle grazing, agriculture, some energy development, and outdoor recreation of various sorts. However, that was not the case on 6 July 2007. During a short eight day period, the Milford Flat Fire burned more than 360,000 acres between the towns of Milford, UT and just north of Fillmore, UT. The fire burned so fast in some areas, destroying native and invasive vegetation alike, that there was no time to fight the fire, only evacuate.

Our purpose in Fillmore was to evaluate remote sensing monitoring protocol that are being developed in conjunction with the BLM offices in central Utah. The BLM (and several other organizations) have invested millions of dollars in rehabilitation to the region. I actually have to be honest, for the most part, the rehab program has done amazing things. No, the native plants haven't returned in force - and many may never return, however, the region has gone from moonscape to almost savanna-ish.


Our methods are being developed primarily to track the invasion of the cheatgrass, also known as Bromus tectorum. Cheatgrass is a highly invasive grass that has a unique phenological cycle that makes use of late and early moisture, before natives have the chance to begin their cycle.

The major issues surrounding cheatgrass are 1) altered fire regimes, 2) changes in the plant community composition and biodiversity and 3) the reduction of forage for domestic animals and wildlife.



The above panorama is taken at a location known locally as the "Wind Tunnel". The wind, is nearly always blowing in this area, which, during the fire, encouraged rapid and very hot burning. Looking at satellite imagery, striations from tens of thousands of years of winds can be seen trending from southwest to northeast.


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The "wind tunnel" has seen significant clean energy development (wind turbines) over the past five years. The region currently has nearly 100 turbines in their initial phases, with additional phases planned. Sadly, the power is not desired in Utah and generally sold to California Utilities.

From Millford Flats

Although the region looks quite bleak and dry to many, it truly is full of many fascinating facts. The region, amongst other things, has a geologic history that includes a significant amount of volcanic activity. This activity produced huge amounts of obsidian used by Native Americans for tools, arrow heads, and other implements.

The state and federal agencies have worked very well to mitigate for this huge disaster. Collaboration and quick action have saved hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlands from complete degradation. Of course with all of the good, there are some areas that are have not responded well. The areas known as "clear spot" are highly saline and extremely arid environments that have not taken to any management practice. These areas are of concern due to the extreme loss of topsoil which is impacting air quality along the Wasatch Front.

From Millford Flats

Further, soil erosion barriers (fences that catch tumble weeds and in turn catch soil) have been erected to help minimize massive soil loss.

From Millford Flats

All in all the trip was a success. We were able to show that the models created by the RS/GIS Laboratory were quite accurate for the scale and we were able to visit with local managers who understood what was happening on the ground.

A note on homeownership

Owning you own home is amazing, a huge decision - one not to be made lightly.

When we purchased our home one year and fourteen days ago it was a huge pain. The best part was our mortgage lender, Ron, who was on time, on top of things, and always ready to answer questions. I will admit, in dealing with him, we were lucky.

The acutual interaction with the agents on the other hand, sucked. Honestly, it went well until the day we were supposed to move in (we did end up moving in, but, it is a long story not meant for this post). The advice I wanted to impart today is this: just because you own your own home does not mean you should go tearing down walls, off the roof, or generally making home improvements until you are ready to do one whole project in one big push.

Currently, we have the roof half done and has been in progress for six weeks (though our roofer, a good guy and great roofer, is giving us a good deal and should have it done soon). In addition, we have the living room 85% completed (painting now, trim left... and Ellie wants to redo the hardwood floors - eek); and one bedroom torn down to the studs. The last room is a bigger project than we anticipated and we found out that a building permit is required - so that one is on hold until we get all the other stuff taken care of (I'm thinking winter).

So, the advice: remember, if you tear a wall down, you have to put it back up (generally speaking). Keep that in mind.

Course structure and options

The course I will be teaching is supposed to touch on four major topics in 16 weeks. Those being GIS, GPS/field data collection, remote sensing, and a tiny bit of Python at the end of the semester. Lots of info to cover, but I have to do it superficially enough not to overwhelm - yet with enough detail to provide a foundation.

With such a broad, yet connected set of topics, I'm left wondering what the best method is for assessing student abilities and understanding? I could offer four, well three really, distinct modules with exams at the end of each; I could structure it such that the course attempted to flow thereby presenting perhaps a late midterm exam and a final project; or I could build a project based course with "check-in" points throughout the semester.

Decisions, decisions. I want to be able to assess that the students (undergraduates) are learning the material - but, at the same time, I'm not a big "test" person myself. I would rather have a hands-on exam/project to assess my abilities than a regurgitation of theory (but, the theory is also important). Of course it can be argued that if a project is completed properly, the understanding of theory will present itself.

Another question... should I expect that the students, younger undergrads for the most part, have the ability to take the initiative to develop a worthy semester project? Something that will take foresight from essentially the first week of class. I honestly think as an undergrad I could have done it, and likely enjoyed it, but I was weird.

So... what is the best method, or is there technically a "best" method? Sometimes a class like this makes teaching algebra or calculus simple. You have a clearly defined set of questions you can ask and projects aren't really a option (generally speaking).

ETA: The course is a 4-credit undergraduate course w/ lab sections and ~65 students. At the end of today I'm leaning towards 11 assignments (that correspond to 14 required labs), six quizzes, one late-season midterm, and one final project. I'll have to sleep on it.