Building on the successful workshop series from our first NASA Carbon Monitoring System project, we are planning our next “Maine Forest Carbon Workshop” for May 18-19, 2026, on the University of Maine campus in Orono. This two-day workshop will bring together participants representing forest industry, state agencies, conservation organizations, academic researchers, and carbon project developers. The workshop agenda will include:

Day one – morning:

• Presentations from NASA CMS Science Team members on relevant developments in carbon monitoring using the state-of-the-art in airborne and spaceborne remote sensing.
• Project updates from our 91���� CMS-2023 research team on small-area estimation methods, large-scale enhanced forest inventory approaches,  and multi-model carbon assessments.

Day one – afternoon:

• Hands-on demonstrations of new data products and tools, including the pyFIA software for forest carbon calculations and forest landscape modeling for scenario analysis.

Day two – morning:

• Updates from our external partners and data end-users, including the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Forest Service, and forest industry collaborators.
• Facilitated discussions on partner needs for high-resolution carbon data products, advanced modeling capabilities, and user-designed decision support tools.

Day two – afternoon:

• Optional field trip to the Howland Research Forest

This workshop represents an important opportunity to gather input on scenario development for our multi-model comparison work and to demonstrate how our carbon inventory and map products can support our partners’ specific applications at scales ranging from forest stands and management units to statewide assessment.

Please join us and share this with others in your networks who might be interested.

A detailed agenda and registration information will be coming soon!

Coastal Spruce Forests: A Guide to Ecological Management is available here:

This management guide is the culmination of Rose Gellman’s Master of Forestry project in the School of Forest Resources. Co-authored by our very own Greg McHale, among others.

Last week, the Wheatland Lab spent several days with Phoenix LiDAR Systems () setting up, testing, and training on its new integrated high-performance lidar and true color mapping camera system.

A recent article in The Maine Monitor describes current research at the University of Maine on coastal spruce resilience in the age of climate disruption. Wheatland Geospatial Lab grad student, Greg McHale, is a member of this research team. Greg is using hyperspectral and thermal imagery collected from UAVs, as well as lidar, to assess vegetation stress in coastal red spruce forests in Maine. The Maine Monitor article can be found at: .

This summer, the Wheatland Lab is spearheading a comprehensive forest inventory field campaign across multiple sites in Maine. The initiative aims to gather essential on-the-ground plot data to calibrate and validate maps of merchantable volume and aboveground biomass. These maps are derived from photo-based 3-D point clouds acquired statewide by the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP).

The team has successfully completed inventory work at Howland Research Forest, Demeritt University Forest, and the Schoodic Peninsula, covering a total of over 87 plots. Currently, the most intensive phase is underway at the Penobscot Experimental Forest, with approximately 70 plots being sampled through mid-August.

Utilizing various sampling designs, the team collects detailed tree-level data and high-precision GPS coordinates from fixed-area plots ranging from 250 m² to 500 m². This approach allows researchers to assess the impact of different sampling designs on the performance of 3-D NAIP models.

The core field crew, comprising graduate and undergraduate students, collaborates with faculty and research professionals, gaining invaluable experience in forest mensuration and remote sensing workflows. This project not only advances mapping accuracy but also provides practical training for the next generation of forestry professionals.

Wheatland Geospatial Lab staff members, Dave Sandilands and Tony Guay are traveling to San Diego for the Esri User Conference!