Decide who will monitor
There are several possible approaches for who at the land trust reviews images.
- Option A
In the first method, the land trust chooses who will be reviewing the images; that person then chooses the review method. When choosing a remote or aerial monitor, organizations often already have dedicated staff or volunteers for specific regions or property types—for example, easement lands or fee lands. This method may be helpful because the staff or volunteers reviewing the images will know their properties best.
- Option B
Another approach is to have a dedicated remote monitor: someone who reviews all the images of all properties and completes the reports that are sent to the staff or volunteers most familiar with the properties. The staff then review the reports and confirm any notes made by the remote monitor. Interpretation of aerial images requires skill, and having one person who is dedicated to that task can strengthen the interpretation of the images while still providing cost savings.
Reviewer qualifications
When selecting the best person(s) to review remote imagery, be aware they should be qualified to review remote imagery, interpret the data and have on the ground familiarity with the subject property. Qualifications include boundary line interpretation skills, anticipating boundary inaccuracies and ability to locate boundaries remotely. The reviewer should understand how landscape features, such as different types of trees, water features, wet areas, rocks and man-made structures appear in remote imagery and how those objects look on a multispectral lens. If the imagery platform requires the user to upload shapefiles, the reviewer should have experience with shapefiles and GIS.