[OSGeo-Board] FW: LDCM and OSGeo input

Wed May 17 18:40:10 PDT 2006

Mark,

Here is a draft letter of support. Please feel free to modify as you see
fit. 

I'm traveling next week but when I get back I'll start drafting a protocol
statement for receiving and processing formal support requests. 

Thanks for your help with this.

All the best, 

Ned 

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Lucas [mailto:mlucas17 at mac.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 10:58 PM
To: Ned Horning
Cc: board at board.osgeo.org; discuss at mail.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Board] FW: LDCM and OSGeo input

Ned and fellow board members,

I'd certainly support this. I'd suggest we put it out for quick comment on
discuss, prepare a letter for the board, put it on the agenda for the next
board meeting, discuss and approve. I've added it to the agenda for this
Friday's board meeting. If there are any concerns or issues that arise from
the discuss list or fellow board members we can discuss and/or defer until
they are resolved.

Ned, it would expedite things if you could draft the letter for the board.

comments?

Mark

On May 16, 2006, at 10:37 PM, Ned Horning wrote:

Mark,

Thanks for the quick reply. The proposal I am working on now needs to be
wrapped up by Monday the 29th so this is somewhat urgent. Assuming the board
considers that our proposed work falls within the category of a "well
intentioned effort" would it be best for me to draft a letter of support so
you have something to work with or is there a good wordsmith on the board
who could write something without too much trouble?

I'll start thinking about a protocol for receiving and processing this sort
of request. Would you prefer that I float initial ideas with the board or
the discuss list?

Here is the summary section as it stands now and I'm happy to provide more
details from the proposal if that would be useful. Comments would also be
welcome.
--
Landsat image data are an invaluable component for conservation planning and
management (REF). With an archive beginning in 1972, the Landsat program
represents the premier Earth observing satellite by providing the longest
contiguous dataset of repeat satellite imagery applicable to analyses of
land use/land cover (LULC) and to land use/land cover change (LULCC) at
local (REF), regional (REF) and continental (REF) scales. Despite the great
potential of Landsat image data for use in natural resource management and
conservation planning, broader application of these data and acceptance of
their derived products has been slow within both the biological and
conservation community. The general reluctance toward the use of Landsat
image date is partially due to the limited accessibility of affordable
analytical tools. However, there are also overarching concerns regarding the
ability to precisely identify features within satellite imagery and validate
the accuracy of resulting products. While access to Landsat image data has
dramatically improved in recent years, access to analytical tools and data
vital for interpretation, classification, and validation of image data has
largely been overlooked.

Greater use of Landsat image data and better acceptance of derived products
could be achieved through improved awareness of open source tools and the
formulation of a spatially and temporally complementary archive of ground
data collected in situ. Ground data provides an important reference set
(e.g., land cover, habitat type, percent canopy closure) that can be used to
improve interpretation, classification, and validation of analyses based on
Landsat image data. Typically, ground data are collected on a project by
project basis in a geographically focused area and simply recorded as
geocoded textual descriptions. Textual descriptions are perceived to have
limited usability because they are not always reinterpretable. A more robust
form of ground data are geocoded ground-level photographs. Photographic data
contain a greater amount of information than textual descriptions alone and
can be reexamined and reinterpreted as needed.

Since 1993, the American Museum of Natural History's (AMNH) Center for
Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) has been working locally and
internationally with conservation professionals and governmental and
non-governmental agencies to foster a greater interest and capacity for
applying remote sensing techniques to the conservation and management of
biodiversity by 1) expanding scientific research on diverse species in
critical ecosystems; 2) strengthening the quality and quantity of scientific
data used to inform conservation strategies and public policy; 3) building
professional and institutional capacity; and 4) contributing to the Museum's
efforts to heighten public understanding and stewardship of biodiversity.
Through these efforts and a diverse network of individual, institutional,
and organizational collaborators, the American Museum of Natural History's
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation is uniquely positioned to represent
the conservation community and make a considerable contribution to the
Landsat Data Continuity Mission's (LDCM) objectives.

We propose a new initiative focused on improving access to complementary
resources vital for accurate analysis of land use/land cover change with the
goal of increasing the use and interoperability of Landsat image data with
historic, current, and future remotely sensed data for the purpose of
ecosystems monitoring.

To accomplish this goal we will:
1.	Develop an Internet-based interactive archive and complementary
desktop tools for the acquisition, visualization, and distribution of
geocoded, ground-level photographs to support the interpretation, analysis,
and validation of Landsat image data and their derived products,
2.	Implement and promote open data standards for the collection,
storage, and distribution of data within the scope of LDCM objectives
3.	Promote, distribute and develop additional free resources and tools
pertaining to the use and integration of Landsat image data with other
remotely sensed image data for LULCC analysis,
4.	Encourage public involvement in the collection and stewardship of
spatial data relevant LDCM objectives through citizen science initiatives.
--

All the best,

Ned

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Lucas [mailto:mlucas17 at mac.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 3:08 PM
To: Ned Horning
Cc: board at board.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Board] FW: LDCM and OSGeo input

Ned,

First, thanks for taking the initiative on these efforts. Being fairly new,
we don't have a formal process for any of this yet. In general, everyone
that is pitching in is of like mind on what we are trying to accomplish and
understands what the goals and limits of osgeo are. Given the common
motivation and open source background I would expect that we could move
pretty rapidly to put together a support letter for well intentioned
efforts.

I would welcome your efforts to put forward a protocol for deciding what
gets supported and how we communicate and approve it. We can review it
before the board and then approve the process. In the interim, if there is
something that needs to get worked quickly, we can probably move quickly and
bring it up at the next board meeting.

Let us know when you are ready and we can bring it and discuss it with you
at an upcoming board telecon. Let me know if you need anything.

Mark

On May 16, 2006, at 2:22 PM, Ned Horning wrote:

Hi,

Last week I sent the message below to the "discuss" list and didn't get a
response so I thought trying the "Board" list might be a good second step.
The basic question I have is if it is possible to receive a letter of
support from OSGeo for specific proposals. This seems to be an important
question and I expect the response will be of interest to many in the OSGeo
community. For the proposal I am working on at the moment I mention how we
will promote (through example and discussion) the OSGeo ideals but getting a
letter of support from OSGeo would carry significant weight to show that the
foundation explicitly supports our proposed work.

If this is possible then a protocol for deciding what gets supported should
be put in place so folks like me know how to go about it. I am happy to help
define and document this process. I will also send more details about the
proposal to see if this specific project is something OSGeo should support.
If the basic concept of formally supporting project proposals doesn't fit in
the scope of the Foundation then that would be good to know as well.

Any comments would be helpful.

Thanks,

Ned

--
-----Original Message-----
From: Ned Horning [mailto:nedh at lightlink.com]
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 11:26 AM
To: 'discuss at mail.osgeo.org'
Subject: LDCM and OSGeo input

All,

I wanted to see if I could get some feedback regarding a proposal I am
starting to write. I envision the project would have an open source software
development component as well as exploration of open data and public
participation issues related to data collection that would mesh well with
the OSGeo goals. Two objectives are to improve accessibility to Landsat data
as well as involve a broader community in the collection of ancillary data
(primarily photographs) to help users of Landsat data better interpret land
cover from the imagery. The details are still being worked out and probably
aren't important at this point. I'd like to know appropriate ways to
associate this work with OSGeo goals in the proposal. For example, do you
think it would be possible to get a letter of support from OSGeo? Can you
think of other ways association with OSGeo can benefit and benefit from new
projects? This discussion/information might be useful to others who are
thinking about mutual benefits of associating proposed projects with OSGeo.

All the best,

Ned

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Mark Lucas

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Mark Lucas

(321) 266-1475 (mobile)
-------------------
http://radiantbluetechnologies.com

http://web.mac.com/mlucas17/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

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