An example of RapidEye imagery, of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, U.S.

A new Natural Resources Imagery Grant Program from Esri, PCI Geomatics, MDA and Rapid Eye will assist in natural resource management through the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and RASARSAT-2 and RapidEye imagery.

Twenty grant recipients will receive software, data, and training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), image processing, and remote-sensing technologies, worth $100,000 per award, for a total of $2 million.

Grant recipients will be encouraged to use technologies to discern, monitor, and track changes in land cover and apply the data to solve pressing natural resource problems.

A variety of organizations are eligible, including companies, educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, state and regional governments, and tribal governments in the United States.

According to Esri, the following items are necessary for grant candidates:

‰Û¢ An established GIS or imagery program

‰Û¢ Existing geospatial infrastructure including suitable hardware, software, and databases

‰Û¢ Ability to communicate an understanding of the imagery and GIS technologies used.

Successful candidates also must meet specific project requirements:

‰Û¢ Include objectives to measure land-use change

‰Û¢ Access information from remotely sensed images beyond the visible spectrum

‰Û¢ Move the organization forward using both GIS and imagery technologies.

Additional consideration will be given to projects that develop data and applications for enhancing decision support, extending GIS throughout the enterprise, and improving the operational use of imagery.

Grant applications will be accepted from Sept. 1-Nov. 16, 2012.

For further details, see Esri’s Natural Resources Grant Program page.

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