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DUC 2017 Fieldwork Overview: Akaitcho Wetland Mapping Project

Prepared for MobileDemand

Project Managers: Kevin Smith, Al Richard Lead Technical Analyst: *Michael Merchant

Support Analysts: Becca Warren, Becky Edwards, Adam Spitzig

*Project Contact

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1.0 Executive Summary

Boreal wetlands represent a large percentage of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada

landscape (20-50%) and provide critical ecosystem services such as water filtration and

storage, carbon sequestration, and subsistence and recreational hunting and fishing. In

addition, wetlands provide critical habitat for wildlife including listed species and many

birds of high conservation priority. Despite their abundance and internationally recognized

importance, wetlands in the NWT remain poorly understood, in part because a spatial

wetland inventory (i.e. wetland maps) of appropriate ecological representation does not

exist. The Akaitcho wetland mapping project is led by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), in

collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Incorporated (DUI) and a committee of interested

groups including local First Nations and Métis communities, to produce ecologically relevant

digital wetland inventories using satellite based remotely sensed data for a portion (77

million acres) of the Akaitcho Traditional Territory (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Project boundary extent for the DUC Akaitcho wetland mapping project, Northwest Territories, Canada.

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2.0 Methods

Figure 2: Example of a false color Landsat satellite image acquired over Alberta, Canada (left) used to develop a DUC

digital wetland inventory (right).

To develop wetland maps using satellite imagery, ground truthed field data must first be

collected. This allows the analyst to then train computer models that classify the satellite

images into various land cover types (see Figure 2 for example), and then provide an

assessment on its accuracy. To support the Akaitcho wetland mapping project, a field

campaign was conducted in July 2017 within the NWT. Ground data collected during this

field campaign consisted of vegetation surveys at various pre-selected locations (i.e. field

sites) within the mapping project boundary. Via overhead helicopter, the following information was recorded at each field site location:

1) Vegetation species composition, height, and cover

2) Wetland Class (e.g. open water, marsh, etc.)

3) Landscape characteristics (e.g. nutrient, moisture, etc.) 4) Site photographs

This information is required to complete the wetland mapping computer processing

completed by the analyst’s, post-field work. Helicopters, rather than by foot or ground

transportation, are required to navigate from site-to-site due to the spatial extents of the

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project and the general inaccessibility (i.e. remoteness) of many of the locations. However,

some reconnaissance was completed using boat access within the Slave River Delta, as well

as fixed-wing across the more distant remote stretches of the project in-which helicopters

could not reach.

3.0 MobileDemand Products

MobileDemand T8650 rugged xTablets were acquired by the DUC field team to support in-

field navigation and spatial data recording purposes. Spatial mapping software (ArcGIS) was

loaded onto the tablets prior to the field campaign. This software allowed the Analyst to view

satellite imagery in the field in relation to their GPS spatial location. Furthermore, this

supported the navigation from site-to-site, and was a welcomed time-reduction in

comparison to paper-map navigation techniques. Lastly, tablets allowed the analyst to

record a GPS point each time a site was surveyed, making the recording process more

seamless and quicker.

4.0 Pictures of the Field Campaign and In-Field Tablet Usage

Figure 3: View of the helicopter from the ground used to complete overhead vegetation surveys. Note* Northern Shield

Helicopters was the company contracted for helicopter flying.

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Figure 4: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant prior to helicopter take-off for vegetation surveying.

Figure 5: Helicopter cockpit view of a large wetland complex.

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Figure 6: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant navigating with the MobileDemand tablet during a helicopter flight,

and collecting vegetation survey information.

Figure 7: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant using the MobileDemand tablet to support boat navigation within

the Slave River Delta, NWT.

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Figure 8: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren prior to take-off for fixed-wing reconnaissance across remote parts of

eastern Northwest Territories, NWT.

Figure 9: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren viewing satellite imagery and recording spatial locations with the

MobileDemand Tablet during a Fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT.

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Figure 10: Remote Sensing Analyst Becca Warren viewing satellite imagery with the MobileDemand Tablet during a

Fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT.

Figure 11: Remote Sensing Analyst Michael Merchant working with a local Métis technician, describing satellite imagery

using the MobileDemand Tablet during a fixed-wing flight across eastern NWT.

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Figure 12: View of the MobileDemand Tablet with ArcGIS mapping software, and an example of satellite imagery and

field site location points.