Janis Ruhser
Janis Ruhser
Research Interests:
- Aerial imagery acquisition flight planning, processing of raw imagery and interpretation.
- Using unmanned aerial vehicles/systems (UAV/UAS) for resource monitoring and invasive species detection
- Geo-referencing of historical aerial photography
- Delineation and categorization of past and current aquatic area layers based on systemic land cover and other ancillary data
- Wildlife detection using thermal infrared sensors
- Developing high-resolution digital surface models from stereo aerial photography
- Creating stereo models for viewing, interpretation, and editing of aerial imagery in 3D
Active Projects:
- Use of advancing technologies in the detection and monitoring of species of concern and important habitats, including thermal camera systems, unmanned aerial vehicles/systems (UAV/UAS), and high-resolution aerial video
- Image processing of an aerial survey of several archaeological sites in southern California
- Image processing and development/evaluation of moose detection protocol on thermal and true color imagery of Isle Royale National Park
- Image processing of thermal and true color imagery surveys of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska
- Orthorectification of scanned frame photography of the Upper Mississippi River
Education and Certifications
1994 B.S. Biology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Science and Products
Develop Orthophotos and Mosaics from systemic color infrared aerial photography of the Upper Mississippi River System from 1975, 1989, 1994, and 2000
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element is implemented by the U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC), in cooperation with the five Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Color infrared aerial photography was...
2020 Systemic Land Cover/Land Use Aerial Imagery Acquisition, Image Interpretation, and Spatial Data Products for the Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (UMRR-LTRM) element, is completing the 2020 decadal update of Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) for the entire Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Dissemination of the 2020 LCU database will provide a fourth systemic dataset to compare to the 1989, 2000, and 2010/11...
Filter Total Items: 13
2020 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System during the summer of 2020. A Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial database was developed based on the 2020 aerial imagery, which adds a fourth systemic-wide database to the existing 1989,
Vegetation Map for the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (Vector and Tabular Data)
This project created a detailed vegetation map of the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument for National Park Service managers. This is the final data covering all final products of the project related to tabular data collected during the project and vector data created from project imagery.
2019 Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument 4-Band Imagery Products
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was established on August 24, 2016. The monument spans mountains and forest lands in north central Maine. High-resolution aerial imagery was collected on October 5, 2019 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 RGB camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 Achromatic camera. Images from the two cameras are merged to create 4-band imagery that can be displayed as e
2020 Systemic Imagery, Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) during the summer of 2020. The main purpose of the aerial imagery was to develop Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial datasets of navigable pools (the stretch of river between lock
Illinois River: Emiquon and surrounding area aerial imagery
Located in floodplain of the Illinois River near Havana, IL, Emiquon is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the Midwest. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manage a TNC preserve and FWS Naitonal Wildlife Refuge in this area. In 2012, the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge was designated a "Ramsar Wetland of International Importance."
2018 Eastern Lake Erie Shoreline 4-band orthophotos and mosaics
High-resolution digital aerial imagery was collected on August 24, 2018, with an 80-megapixel Phase One iXU-R 180 natural color aerial camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 achromatic aerial camera. Software co-registers the simultaneously collected images to create 4-band imagery that can be displayed in either true color (RGB) or color-infrared (CIR) format. The camera system is connecte
Updated vegetation map of Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge using 2019 acquired imagery
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a 50,000 acre refuge overlaid on portions of the former Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) in Jefferson, Jennings, and Ripley counties, Indiana. Beginning in 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began managing the area. Big Oaks NWR was established in June 2000 as an “overlay” Refuge through a 25-year real estate permit from the U.S. Army. As an o
2019 Illinois Waterway Aerial Image Mosaics
The Corps of Engineers' Rock Island District is planning an unprecedented closure of the Illinois Waterway in 2020 in order to perform required maintenance on locks. Aerial imagery will document river conditions prior to the closure (2019) and after the locks are reopened (2021). Under a separate but related effort, aerial imagery of the entire Illinois Waterway will be collected in 2020 as part o
2018 Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms Preserves, 4-Band Mosaics
This mosaic was created using high-resolution aerial imagery collected on September 14, 2018 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 aerial camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 Achromatic camera. The raw image files from the two cameras are combined to create 4-band imagery. The mission was flown at approximately 1,2000 meters above ground level resulting in a ground sample distance of 0.15 meters/pix
2017 True Color Mosaic, Emiquon Preserve and Spunky Bottoms
The true color aerial imagery contained in this mosaic was collected on September 19, 2017 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 aerial camera system. The mission was flown at approximately 1,200 meters above ground level resulting in a ground sample distance of 0.15 meters/pixel (6"/pixel). The area of interest is the Emiquon Preserve and the mosaic is for the purpose of habitat monitoring.
2010/11 Level 3 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) created high-resolution land cover/use data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Aerial images of Pools 3-13 Upper Mississippi River System and Pools, Alton-Marseilles, Illinois River were collected in color infrared (CIR) in August of 2010 at 8/pixel and 16/pixel respectively using a mapping-grade Appl
2010/11 Level 2 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has created high-resolution land cover/use data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Aerial images of Pools 3-13 Upper Mississippi River System and Pools, Alton-Marseilles, Illinois River were collected in color infrared (CIR) in August of 2010 at 8/pixel and 16/pixel respectively using a mapping-grade
Mapping the thermal landscape of the Upper Mississippi River
Temperature has a fundamental influence on physical, chemical and biological processing in aquatic ecosystems. River temperatures respond to a diverse array of drivers including air temperature, streamflow, and thermal inputs, but the physical template has been shown to play a significant role in structuring spatial and temporal variation in water temperature. How these factors interact to affect
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Larry R. Robinson, John Kalas, Alicia Carhart, Brian R. Lubinski, Janis Ruhser
National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Vegetation Mapping Project
The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Na
Authors
Kevin D. Hop, Andrew C. Strassman, Stephanie Sattler, Milo Pyne, Judy Teague, Rickie White, Janis Ruhser, Enrika Hlavacek, Jennifer Dieck
National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Appalachian National Scenic Trail vegetation mapping project
The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program classifies, describes, and maps existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest
Authors
Kevin D. Hop, Andrew C. Strassman, Mark Hall, Shannon Menard, Ery Largay, Stephanie Sattler, Erin E. Hoy, Janis Ruhser, Enrika Hlavacek, Jennifer Dieck
General classification handbook for floodplain vegetation in large river systems
This handbook describes the General Wetland Vegetation Classification System developed as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program, Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element. The UMRR is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minne
Authors
Jennifer J. Dieck, Janis Ruhser, Erin E. Hoy, Larry R. Robinson
Science and Products
Develop Orthophotos and Mosaics from systemic color infrared aerial photography of the Upper Mississippi River System from 1975, 1989, 1994, and 2000
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element is implemented by the U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC), in cooperation with the five Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Color infrared aerial photography was...
2020 Systemic Land Cover/Land Use Aerial Imagery Acquisition, Image Interpretation, and Spatial Data Products for the Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (UMRR-LTRM) element, is completing the 2020 decadal update of Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) for the entire Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Dissemination of the 2020 LCU database will provide a fourth systemic dataset to compare to the 1989, 2000, and 2010/11...
Filter Total Items: 13
2020 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System during the summer of 2020. A Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial database was developed based on the 2020 aerial imagery, which adds a fourth systemic-wide database to the existing 1989,
Vegetation Map for the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (Vector and Tabular Data)
This project created a detailed vegetation map of the Seboeis Unit of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument for National Park Service managers. This is the final data covering all final products of the project related to tabular data collected during the project and vector data created from project imagery.
2019 Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument 4-Band Imagery Products
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was established on August 24, 2016. The monument spans mountains and forest lands in north central Maine. High-resolution aerial imagery was collected on October 5, 2019 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 RGB camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 Achromatic camera. Images from the two cameras are merged to create 4-band imagery that can be displayed as e
2020 Systemic Imagery, Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, through its Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element, collected aerial imagery of the systemic Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) during the summer of 2020. The main purpose of the aerial imagery was to develop Land Cover/Land Use (LCU) spatial datasets of navigable pools (the stretch of river between lock
Illinois River: Emiquon and surrounding area aerial imagery
Located in floodplain of the Illinois River near Havana, IL, Emiquon is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the Midwest. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manage a TNC preserve and FWS Naitonal Wildlife Refuge in this area. In 2012, the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge was designated a "Ramsar Wetland of International Importance."
2018 Eastern Lake Erie Shoreline 4-band orthophotos and mosaics
High-resolution digital aerial imagery was collected on August 24, 2018, with an 80-megapixel Phase One iXU-R 180 natural color aerial camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 achromatic aerial camera. Software co-registers the simultaneously collected images to create 4-band imagery that can be displayed in either true color (RGB) or color-infrared (CIR) format. The camera system is connecte
Updated vegetation map of Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge using 2019 acquired imagery
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a 50,000 acre refuge overlaid on portions of the former Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) in Jefferson, Jennings, and Ripley counties, Indiana. Beginning in 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began managing the area. Big Oaks NWR was established in June 2000 as an “overlay” Refuge through a 25-year real estate permit from the U.S. Army. As an o
2019 Illinois Waterway Aerial Image Mosaics
The Corps of Engineers' Rock Island District is planning an unprecedented closure of the Illinois Waterway in 2020 in order to perform required maintenance on locks. Aerial imagery will document river conditions prior to the closure (2019) and after the locks are reopened (2021). Under a separate but related effort, aerial imagery of the entire Illinois Waterway will be collected in 2020 as part o
2018 Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms Preserves, 4-Band Mosaics
This mosaic was created using high-resolution aerial imagery collected on September 14, 2018 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 aerial camera co-mounted with a Phase One iXU-RS 160 Achromatic camera. The raw image files from the two cameras are combined to create 4-band imagery. The mission was flown at approximately 1,2000 meters above ground level resulting in a ground sample distance of 0.15 meters/pix
2017 True Color Mosaic, Emiquon Preserve and Spunky Bottoms
The true color aerial imagery contained in this mosaic was collected on September 19, 2017 with a Phase One iXU-R 180 aerial camera system. The mission was flown at approximately 1,200 meters above ground level resulting in a ground sample distance of 0.15 meters/pixel (6"/pixel). The area of interest is the Emiquon Preserve and the mosaic is for the purpose of habitat monitoring.
2010/11 Level 3 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) created high-resolution land cover/use data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Aerial images of Pools 3-13 Upper Mississippi River System and Pools, Alton-Marseilles, Illinois River were collected in color infrared (CIR) in August of 2010 at 8/pixel and 16/pixel respectively using a mapping-grade Appl
2010/11 Level 2 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System
The U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has created high-resolution land cover/use data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Aerial images of Pools 3-13 Upper Mississippi River System and Pools, Alton-Marseilles, Illinois River were collected in color infrared (CIR) in August of 2010 at 8/pixel and 16/pixel respectively using a mapping-grade
Mapping the thermal landscape of the Upper Mississippi River
Temperature has a fundamental influence on physical, chemical and biological processing in aquatic ecosystems. River temperatures respond to a diverse array of drivers including air temperature, streamflow, and thermal inputs, but the physical template has been shown to play a significant role in structuring spatial and temporal variation in water temperature. How these factors interact to affect
Authors
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Larry R. Robinson, John Kalas, Alicia Carhart, Brian R. Lubinski, Janis Ruhser
National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Vegetation Mapping Project
The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Na
Authors
Kevin D. Hop, Andrew C. Strassman, Stephanie Sattler, Milo Pyne, Judy Teague, Rickie White, Janis Ruhser, Enrika Hlavacek, Jennifer Dieck
National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Appalachian National Scenic Trail vegetation mapping project
The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program classifies, describes, and maps existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest
Authors
Kevin D. Hop, Andrew C. Strassman, Mark Hall, Shannon Menard, Ery Largay, Stephanie Sattler, Erin E. Hoy, Janis Ruhser, Enrika Hlavacek, Jennifer Dieck
General classification handbook for floodplain vegetation in large river systems
This handbook describes the General Wetland Vegetation Classification System developed as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program, Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element. The UMRR is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minne
Authors
Jennifer J. Dieck, Janis Ruhser, Erin E. Hoy, Larry R. Robinson