Get reliable science

Synergy Resource Solutions, Inc. (Synergy) collected rangeland resource inventory data on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO) during summers of 2012 and 2013.  Inventory of existing fences contributed important data for the GIS model for estimating carrying capacity.  This inventory also allowed managers to evaluate costs for installation, maintenance, repair, and removal of the extensive fence infrastructure on the reservation. In order to manage resources utilized by 9000 head of livestock and unknown populations of big game species, fences are an important part of management decisions.  The Warm Springs Reservation had an unknown number of fences, in unknown locations, of various ages and states of repair. Synergy designed protocols and trained CTWSRO technicians to survey the location, condition, and type of fences.  Tribal technicians surveyed fence on over 420,000 acres, marking fence condition and type, along with marking gates, corners, braces, and cribs. Fences were logical delineators for the geodatabase because they both restrict animal movement in the real world and provide boundaries for GIS analysis in the digital world. Technicians classified fences as good, fair, or poor. Prior to the inventory, Synergy established criteria for classification, created photo guides for field reference, created a sampling and data recording protocol, and trained technicians. Managers can use the fence inventory to determine how much fence needs to be built, repaired, or removed in a project area.  Cost information for each of these actions can be incorporated into the geodatabase, allowing managers to build budgets for fences in any combination of polygons. Each waypoint included a georeferenced digital photo for incorporation into the geodatabase.  This allows managers and fencing crews to look at an area in need of repair before leaving the office.  A couple of good pictures convey a message more effectively than volumes of numerical data.