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MRRMaid: Mesic Resource Restoration Monitoring Aid

The Project

A satellite-based monitoring tool for mesic ecosystems in drylands of the American West

 

An illustration of a NASA satellite collecting images of an Idaho landscape with mountains, hills and rivers across spring, summer, fall and winter seasons. Graphic created by Emily Iskin Art and Design.

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. The web apps in this toolbox have been designed so that a user can zoom in and out of specific areas, draw polygons for their area of interest, and then show maps and plots of mesic ecosystem change over time.

The Toolbox

The MRRMaid toolbox is constantly evolving and improving over time, and currently consists of two web applications powered by Google Earth Engine. Access the MRRMaid Monthly, MRRMaid MVP, and MRRMaid MVPRestore apps, user guides, video tutorials, and associated publications below.

MRRMaid Monthly App screenshot

Launch MRRMaid Monthly!

MRRMaid Monthly App: Monthly maps and time-series of mesic vegetation and surface water during the growing season.

Kolarik, N., Shrestha, N., Iskin, E., and Brandt, J. (2023). Decision Support Tool – GEE Web App for Monthly MRRMaid.

Launch MRRMaid MVP app screenshot

Launch MRRMaid MVP!

MRRMaid MVP App: Maps of mesic vegetation persistence (MVP) and dense seasonal and inter-annual time-series of mesic vegetation.

Shrestha, N., Kolarik, N., Iskin, E., and Brandt J. (2023). Decision Support Tool – GEE Web App for Mesic Vegetation Persistence.

MRRMaid MVPRestore App screenshot

Launch MRRMaid MVPRestore!

MRRMaid MVPRestore App: Maps of mesic vegetation persistence (MVP) and dense seasonal and inter-annual time-series of mesic vegetation designed specifically for river restoration practitioners.

Rojas Lucero, J.C., Iskin, E., Shrestha, N., Kolarik, N. and Brandt, J. (2024). Decision Support Tool – GEE Web App for MVPRestore.

Watch our virtual MRRMaid Training Webinar

MRRMaid Training Webinar

This 1-hour long webinar was delivered virtually on February 22, 2024, and gives an overview of the MRRMaid toolbox and basic instructions to get you started using the MRRMaid tools.

Virtual MRRMaid Training Webinar

Restoration Network for Rangeland Mesic Ecosystems in Idaho and Oregon

The Mesic Restoration Network holds regular virtual webinars to discuss topics of interest among network participants. Below we provide links to recordings of our virtual webinars. Please contact jodibrandt@boisestate.edu if you would like to join the network list-serv and receive emails about our activities.

 

A NASA-funded project to provide decision support for beaver rewilding



Researchers Partner with Ranchers, Beavers, and NASA

Transcript of the “Researchers partner with ranchers, beavers and NASA” video

An illustration of a NASA satellite collecting images of an Idaho landscape with mountains, hills and rivers across spring, summer, fall and winter seasons. Graphic created by Emily Iskin Art and Design.

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.

Project Team

  • Jodi Brandt

    Jodi Brandt
    Jodi Brandt

  • Emily Iskin

    Emily Iskin
    Emily Iskin

  • Nick Kolarik

    Nick Kolarik
    Nick Kolarik

  • Nawaraj Shrestha

    Nawaraj Shrestha
    Nawaraj Shrestha

  • Nancy Glenn

    Nancy Glenn
    Nancy Glenn

Partners and Funding Sources

  • U.S Department of Agriculture
  • Utah State University
  • North Arrow Research
  • Idaho Fish and Game
  • US Fish and Wildlife
NASA logo

Photo Gallery

The Boise State MRRMaid crew assembles for instructions on how to build dams to attract beavers.
The restoration crew assembles for instructions on how to build dams to attract beavers.
The crew places evergreen branches across a stream to build a dam.
The crew places evergreen branches across a stream to build a dam.
The crew adds mud and grass to the dam.
The crew adds mud and grass to the dam.
A partial dam in a stream to attract beavers.
A partial dam in a stream to attract beavers.
Logs placed in a stream to attract beavers.
Logs placed in a stream to attract beavers.
A beaver swims in a pool created by rehabitation efforts.
A beaver swims in a pool at a successful rewilding site.
A fully restored site with a beaver dam and upstream pool.
A fully restored site with a beaver dam and upstream pool.
An aerial view of the fully restored site with a beaver dam and upstream pool.
An aerial view of the rewilding site with several beaver dams and associated pools.
An image of the MRRMaid team.
Discussion at the Mesic Restoration Monitoring workshop at Boise State in January of 2023.