Eagle Forestry Services (EFS) is a full service forestry consulting firm with extensive experience in providing leading-edge resource management services for the forest industry. Headquartered in Monticello, Arkansas, the company’s broad-based expertise lies in the management of private non-industrial forests, from planning and maintenance to value assessment and sales. With a team of highly-skilled professionals, Eagle Forestry has maintained its position at the forefront of the industry by providing innovative solutions using the most efficient and effective technology.

Challenge
In the past ten years the forest industry in the United States has seen many advances in information technology, and the environmental and commercial benefits these developments can bring. These include accurate and affordable Global Positioning Systems (GPS), hand held data recorders and associated software, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that are now even more user-friendly. Eagle had seen a corresponding shift in the technological sophistication of its client-base as well as their project requirements for aerial imagery, which included improvements in image quality, positional accuracy, and rapid data turnaround.

Eagle (EFS) had been generating orthorectified mosaics and orthoquads for forest resource management purposes, using a standard film-based methodology. The medium-format film cameras used generated an excellent product, but the imagery was subject to the delays and quality control issues associated with film processing, scanning and image orthorectification. Glen Dabney, President of Eagle Forestry, began an exhaustive search for a digital system that would best suit his organization’s needs, and address those of his customers.

Solution
The solution came with the acquisition of the Trimble DSS system, which had an almost immediate impact on Eagle’s business, due to its efficient all-digital approach to data acquisition and handling. Generating directly georeferenced and radiometrically consistent image products was now possible with opportunities for both wide-area coverage and color/CIR options using 35mm and 55mm lenses.

Result
By tailoring the functionality of the system to suit their clients’ particular project requirements, Eagle’s workload increased dramatically. “With the ability to optimize air-time, and the greater operational window available with a digital system, we have broadened our capabilities to include time-dependent projects, such as those posed by the agricultural sector,” Glen Dabney commented. “However, the most significant attribute has been the availability of excellent customer support. There is always an experienced Applanix person we can contact for technical assistance, regardless of whether it is hardware or software related. If it requires an on-site visit, a complete re-installation, or just an over-the-phone answer to a processing problem, the response is tremendous. When integrating a new technology into a fully operational business, there is always some trepidation. When we introduced the DSS we expected compatibility and a smooth transition - Applanix provided it, without question.”

CIR as taken by POS AV and DSS	VIS as taken by POS AV and DSS solution