GIS Analysis

Our GIS experts can help you turn raw aerial data into actionable insights. Importing an orthomosaic or Digital Elevation Model into a GIS suite opens up a world of possibilities for creating counts and measurements to answer your research questions, prioritize limited resources, and report impacts to stakeholders

Turn aerial data into actionable insights

Harness the power of aerial data with our GIS Analysis. We offer a plethora of analytical options, from counts to measurements, tailored to address your research inquiries.

A map of the Tweedle creek river restoration project with a drone-derived orthomosaic overlaid with polygons from GIS showing the restored riparian area, large wood, and invasive reed canary grass for removal.
A high-resolution aerial orthomsaic from drone imagery showing a pile of large woody debris (LWD) with overlaid GIS measurements of the individual lengths for each piece of wood.

Deliverables

✔︎ Together we define the scope and metrics of interest for your needs.

✔︎ Data delivered in raster, vector, or tabular formats.

✔︎ A detailed methods report is provided to support your reporting and publication needs.

A false color image of a digital elevation model (DEM) of the hearthwood wetland in Oregon with lower elevations shown in purple and blue, and higher elevations in green and yellows.

What Our Partners Say

  • "Nick Wagner and his crew at ForeSight Drone Services were thoughtful, organized and efficient throughout the whole process. They were able to adapt to changing study plans on the fly in response to unforeseen changes in landowner permissions. We would happily work with them again."

    Casey Justice, Fishery Biologist, CRITFC

  • "Nick is considered a world expert in flying this UAS and after spending a week in training with him, I understand why. Nick has an excellent work ethic and enthusiasm for instruction. He is extremely organized, reliable and has excellent communication skills..."

    Melissa Cook, Ph.D., Research Fishery Biologist, NOAA

  • “The whole process working with [ForeSight] so far has been great. You took my vision and turned it into a reality, producing some really useful and well-organized data/files.”

    Jack Halsey, Executive Director, Oswego Lake Watershed Council

  • “Nick went above and beyond for us and we greatly appreciate his skill and professionalism.”

    Matt Benotsch, Greenbelt Land Trust

  • “Drones are incredible tools for viewing wetlands and for helping us bring the magic of the wetland to those who aren’t able to don waders and tromp through it themselves.”

    Katie Ryan, Executive Director, The Wetlands Conservancy

  • “Native Fish Society is really grateful to have Nick collaborating with us and lending his skills to our conservation work in the Oregon Coast Range.”

    Jennifer Fairbrother, Conservation Director, Native Fish Society

Applications

See our comprehensive list of applications for aerial imagery and GIS analysis.

  • There are many too many metrics to list them all, but for example, when assessing habitat in a salmon river, some of the potential metrics that can be measured with Aerial Mapping and GIS Analysis are: river complexity, side channel ratio, riparian tree cover, riparian tree height, large wood area percentage, overhanging vegetation cover.

    Let's talk about the metrics you're most interested in and how we can help capture them at scale.

  • Cheatgrass, milfoil, reed canary grass, thistle, loosestrife, armenian blackberry, all can be massive problems for land stewards. Measuring the problem is the first step to doing something about it.

  • GIS Analysis can help measure changes due to beaver reintroduction, or wetland restoration, or stage 0 river restoration, etc, etc.

  • With repeat mapping, GIS Analysis can quantify changes over time, whether those changes are phenological, or man-made, or climate change induced.

  • With aerial mapping and GIS Analysis, measure emergent vegetation, invasive species, and classify plant communities.

  • Make detailed and geoaware planting plans that consider slope, elevation, and height above river for increased diversity and survival rates.

  • Fuel modeling and classification, burn severity assessment, risk assessment and planning.

  • Forest inventory, health and stress indication, timber volume estimation, habitat mapping, reporting and documentation.

  • Supervised and unsupervised classification, multispectral for vegetation health and species discrimination, invasive species detetion, fire fuel type mapping, and monitoring restoration efforts.

  • Colonial nesting bird surveys with machine learning object detection, marine mammal surveys, habitat classification.

FEATURED CASE STUDY

Surveying marine debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch utilizing ship-launched drones

 FAQs

  • Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis involves turning raw aerial data, such as orthomosaics or Digital Elevation Models, into actionable insights. By importing this data into a GIS suite, we can analyze and interpret it to answer specific research questions, manage resources, and report impacts.

  • An orthomosaic is a series of individual photos stitched together to form a single, high-resolution map image. Read more about our Aerial Mapping service. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is a 3D representation of a terrain's surface, created from terrain elevation data. Read more about our Aerial Topo Mapping.

  • “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” And you can’t measure what you can’t see. Aerial Imagery gives you the perspective, and GIS Analysis gives you the measurements.

    GIS Analysis can assist with environmental monitoring, ecological resource planning, resource management, and many more. See our complete list of applications. GIS Analysis enables data-driven insights for better management and stewardship.

  • We can analyze a wide range of aerial data, including 2D land cover, vegetation indices, and 3D topographic data, depending on your project needs. GIS Analysis can also incorporate other publicly available datasets like LiDAR, and satellite imagery datasets from government agencies.

  • Yes, our GIS Analysis services are scalable and can be applied to projects of any size, from small local studies to large regional analyses.

  • By providing detailed spatial information, GIS Analysis helps in prioritizing resource allocation, identifying areas of concern, and planning for sustainable management.

  • Our experts use a variety of industry-standard GIS software suites, which are selected based on the specific needs and goals of each project.

  • The timeframe varies depending on the project's complexity and the volume of data. We aim to deliver insightful results in a timely and efficient manner.

  • Yes, we offer training and support to help you understand and effectively use the GIS data and analysis we provide. We also provided detailed reporting of our methods for use in project reports to partners, or for scientific publication.

  • GIS Analysis can benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, environmental organizations, researchers, and businesses.

  • Yes, we tailor our GIS Analysis services to meet the specific requirements and objectives of your project. We incorporate the latest and best methods known to science.

Other Services

  • 360° Virtual Tours

    Give your audience an experience. Engage the next generation of followers

    Learn More

  • Aerial Mapping

    Monitor better with a high-res photo map of your site. Chronicle your site and measure changes over time.

    Learn More

  • 3D Story Mapping

    Wow funders with guided virtual tours of your site in 3D. Engage the next generation of supporters.

    Learn More

  • Aerial Topo Mapping

    Analyze your site in three dimensions for better stewardship Bring your site to supporters with a digital 3D Story Map

    Learn More

  • Photo-Point Monitoring

    Tell the story of seasonal and restoration changes on a landscape scale

    Learn More

  • Aerial Photo & Video

    Tell the story of your work with rich and eye-catching visuals from above

    Learn More

  • Drone Training

    Build drone capacity in-house. We develop custom curricula tailored to your organization and team needs.

    Learn More

Interested in GIS analysis?

Stay informed with the latest updates! Learn how Foresight Drones is collaborating with local organizations to positively influence the Pacific Northwest ecology.