# Procedures for Vegetation Surveys

\- For the Middle Rio Grande EIS

Rio Grande River Valley, Summer 2002

Outline

I.  Areas assigned to agencies

II. Office preparation

III. Field work

IV. Post field processing

V.  Final steps

Note: some people may only be responsible for parts of steps. This is a
guideline for the entire process, not for what each person is expected
to do.

## I. Area Assignments

### *Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)*

-   Part of Reach 3 -- Pilar to Velarde

-   Reaches 4,13,14

> **mileage --** approximately 150 miles (counting both banks)

### *Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE)*

-   Reaches 9,10,12

> **mileage** - ?

#### New Mexico Interstate Stream Commision (NMISC)/ SWCA

-   Reaches 6,7,9

> **mileage** - ?

## II. Office Preparation

The Wetlands Riparian Team coordinates where the priority areas are to
go except for the areas assigned to the BOR team. Deb and Naomi assign
areas to BOR teams or individuals, as necessary. The BOR team may do
additional mapping in other agencies areas for WIFL Habitat Mapping
project using funds separate from the URGOPS funding.

The BOR has a schematic wall map of the river, with river miles that
denote areas to visit. Blocks of completed field work are recorded on
the map for reference. An average day's field work target for one person
is 5 miles (one side of the bank, for 8 hours). Areas are delineated
based on river mile, access and previous survey data.

a.  [Delineate areas to visit]{.underline}

> *need: wall map/chart of river, digital aerial photography indexes*

Draw out on the wall map (or a general chart of the reach to be covered)
sections of both sides of the river. Label the river miles in the
sections to be visited (river miles increase going upstream, so a block
north of mile marker 153 should be called polygon 153). Figure out which
digital aerial photography will be best to use for the section. Use the
most current photographs possible; if there is a choice use
color-infrared or color instead of black-and-white (but give priority to
a more current black-and-white image over an older color one). Keep a
tally or tracking sheet of which sections your team has visited as you
go.

b.  [Plot GPS points]{.underline} - The next 3 steps will generally be
    handled by Deb or Naomi, so please direct any detailed ArcView
    questions to them. For ArcView standards (datum, naming conventions)
    refer to the standards guide.

*need: ArcView, digital photos, data(river miles areas)*

In ArcView, bring in the aerial photographs that you'll be working with.
Also add any river data, roads data, or vegetation data that you might
be referencing. Create a new point theme called "segment_corners".
Digitize in the endpoints of the river mile lines. Create a table with
the following attributes and fill in the values. Once this theme has
been created, don't create a new theme each time - just add on to it as
you move along the Rio.

**segment_corners** theme attribute table

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  [Field                  [Type,                  [Values]{.underline}
  Name]{.underline}       Size]{.underline}       

  river_mile              Number, 6(2 decimals)   0-250

  wpt                     String, 16              "rm000e", for example

  location                String, 8               "e" or "w" (side of
                                                  river)

  x_coord                 Number, 16(8)           auto-calculated

  y-coord                 Number, 16(8)           auto-calculated
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

Next create a point theme called "veg_gps_points". Place points in the
5-mile section that look to be in the center of a would-be polygon. Try
to place the points where the field worker will get a good feel for the
polygon by navigating to them. Also place points in polygons that stand
out as being complex or where the canopy blocks out understory layers.
Name the points with a new number -- one that has not already been used.
I use "E001" for example, for the first east-side point and just add
numbers sequentially every day. This way, you can save these points in
the theme and add to the theme through the field season.

**veg_gps_points** theme attribute table

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  [Field                  [Type,                  [Values]{.underline}
  Name]{.underline}       Size]{.underline}       

  point_name              String, 16              A###

  x_coord                 Number, 16(8)           auto-calculated

  y-coord                 Number, 16(8)           auto-calculated
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

After plotting out the river mile endpoints for the day's area and
vegetation destination points, calculate the coordinates for both
shapefiles. Make sure the projection for the shapefile is: UTM Zone 13,
NAD27, meters. Also, make sure the View properties in ArcView are set to
"map units = meters" (display units can be anything). Run the "addxycoo"
script. When the coordinates have been calculated, export the attribute
tables to delimited text files. (See Naomi if you need instructions on
how to do this in ArcMap).

c.  [Make field maps]{.underline}

Plot the river miles, river mile endpoints and GPS points overlaid on
the aerial photos. Also plot the 1997 vegetation coverage, labeling Hink
and Ohmart classifications. Label the GPS points and river miles. All
field maps should have: legend (GPS points, river mile markers), 2-acre
box (for eyeballing estimates in the field), scale bar in miles. I use a
scale of 1:10,000 and print on an 8.5x11 sheet.

d.  [Upload GPS points to GPS unit]{.underline}

> Using the text delimited files created in step b, cut-and-paste the
> coordinates into the GPS waypoint template. Open the text-delimited
> file in Excel (or import if you have to). Open the template in Excel.
> Copy the coordinates from the delimited text file into the proper
> coordinate fields in the template. Copy the points names into the "c"
> column, or wherever the points names were in the template. Erase any
> of the remnant data points from the original template. Now do a "Save
> As", and save the pasted points as a comma delimited (.csv) file.
> Close the template, and do not save (even though it will make a fuss
> that you don't). Open the .csv file in NotePad, and delete the
> trailing commas and the quotation marks at the end of the first line.
> The last character in the first line should not be a comma or a quote.
> Save the text file, and close NotePad. Change the .csv extension on
> the file to .txt. Open Waypoint+. Set the following: File:Datum:North
> American 27 mean; File:Configuration:Utm, meters. Go to File:Open, and
> open the saved text file. Then go to Waypoints:Upload, and when its
> done verify on the GPS that it indeed uploaded the correct points with
> the correct names. Spot check a couple of them to make sure.

**III. Field Work**

*need: field maps, GPS unit, camera, classification type descriptions,
good sense of humor*

There are two options (tracks) for conducting field work. First
described is using a PDA , a handheld GPS unit, and a digital camera.
The second is using field forms and GPS unit, along with a digital or
analog camera.

a.  [Using a handheld computer with GPS (Digital or Analog
    Camera)]{.underline}

If you're using a digital camera: take one photo of the GPS screen that
shows the time when you start out for the day. For analog camera: make
sure the camera code is written (in permanent marker) on the camera or
roll of film. The code for the camera is your initials, and the
consecutive number of camera you're using. For example, if Vicky
Johansen was using her second camera of the project, she would label the
camera VJ02.

Navigate to the GPS points that are in the GPS unit. Choose a
representative place (either at the GPS point or elsewhere) that shows
the classification. Take a photo, and record the GPS point (mark a
waypoint). Record the photo number and GPS waypoint number. Note in the
waypoint field if you're using someone else's GPS unit to take waypoints
by putting a set of initials preceding the waypoint number (if the value
is just a number, I'll assume it's the GPS unit belonging to the person
who recorded the data). Fill out the rest of the questions (see itemized
instructions below), and finally, using the Hink and Ohmart
classification system, calculate a class definition for the polygon. Use
uppercase letters for the assignment. Note anything else of importance
in a field notebook or in the notes in FieldWorker.

Draw the polygon of the vegetation class extents on the field map. Label
the polygon with the Polygon_ID and the Hink and Ohmart classification,
if there's room. If not, just record the polygon_ID.

b.  [Using field forms and a GPS unit (Digital or Analog
    Camera)]{.underline}

If you're using a digital camera: take one photo of the GPS screen that
shows the time when you start out for the day. For analog camera: make
sure the camera code is written (in permanent marker) on the camera or
roll of film. The code for the camera is your initials, and the
consecutive number of camera you're using. For example, if Vicky
Johansen was using her second camera of the project, she would label the
camera VJ02.

Navigate to the GPS points that are in the GPS unit. Choose a
representative place (either at the GPS point or elsewhere) that shows
the classification. Take a photo, and record the GPS point (mark a
waypoint). Record the photo number and GPS waypoint number. Note in the
waypoint field if you're using someone else's GPS unit to take waypoints
by putting a set of initials preceding the waypoint number (if the value
is just a number, I'll assume it's the GPS unit belonging to the person
who recorded the data). Fill out the rest of the questions (see itemized
instructions below), and finally, using the Hink and Ohmart
classification system, calculate a class definition for the polygon. Use
uppercase letters for the assignment. Note anything else of importance
in a field notebook.

Draw the polygon of the vegetation class extents on the field map. Label
the polygon with the Polygon_ID and the Hink and Ohmart classification,
if there's room. If not, just record the polygon_ID.

c.  [Itemized instructions for the field form]{.underline}

    -   **Recorder, Phone \#** your last name and phone number or email
        so we can trace the data if needed in the future

    -   **Polygon ID** the unique number code for the polygon of
        vegetation you are classifying. Nomenclature is the river mile
        number (use three digits always), underscore, E or W for side of
        the river, and incremental number from today starting at 01.
        ###E\_## Example: Deb is surveying river mile 68, on the west
        side of the river, and it's the third polygon she's classified
        today. Her Polygon ID is 068W_03. The river miles will be
        numbered on the map, and they increase in number traveling north
        upstream. So if you've just walked south of river mile 43,
        you're now in mile 42. If a polygon overlaps two river miles,
        use the river mile that the majority of the polygon is in.

    -   **Photo Number** is the digital frame number (found by turning
        the dial to "review"), or the camera code and frame number of
        your film. For film, keep a lifetime count of the cameras.
        Example: Françoise Leonard has shot 5 cameras (rolls of film)
        this season, and she's on her 6^th^ roll. The number in the
        frame-count window of the camera says "8". Françoise's photo
        number is FL06_8. Turn in the camera to Naomi for processing
        when its finished.

    -   **X, Y coordinates** X is the easting value of the UTM reading,
        y is the northing value. On the Garmin GPS unit, the waypoint
        lists two numbers in a column at the bottom of the screen. X is
        the first number (on top), y is the second number (on bottom).
        In New Mexico, in the areas we'll be working in, x is always in
        the hundred-thousands, and y is in the millions (x is always
        smaller).

    -   **Waypoint \#** is the number automatically assigned to the
        waypoint by the GPS unit. When working in teams, please list the
        person's initials whose GPS unit is being used (if different
        than the person filling out the form).

    -   **Time** is the time the GPS waypoint was taken. This is
        IMPORTANT if you're using a digital camera! It is used to stamp
        the photo with a coordinate back in the office.

    -   **Hink and Ohmart Class** is the coded veg class type determined
        by completing the form. This is placed at the top of the form in
        case you are very fast at classifying or are in a hurry and just
        need to write in the code. Otherwise, fill this in last.

    -   The **species codes** are in alphabetical order by common name.
        Use these codes when listing species in the canopy and
        understory sections, and when filling in the Hink and Ohmart
        code. Unlisted species should be written out with common name.

    -   Under **\[Canopy\] Height and Cover**, circle the percentage of
        total estimated aerial coverage that the canopy occupies. Only
        circle a percentage in one bracket range (greater than 40 or
        20-40). If there are canopy trees in both ranges, choose the
        average or representative bracket. Aerial coverage includes
        branching out leaf cover (i.e, take into account the whole area
        covered by a cottonwood, not just the tree trunk area). This is
        an estimated value, so try to be consistent with your
        evaluations. Look at the field map aerial photos for additional
        help in estimating.

    -   Under **Species**, list the species present in the canopy, using
        common names or the codes. **Relative species** cover is leaf
        cover of each species, relative to all other species (in the
        canopy). Taking out all of the understory and open spaces in the
        polygon, compare the remaining aerial coverages of species.
        Circle the percentage of relative cover. Example: if there are
        several large cottonwoods that have large aerial coverage, but
        only a couple of individuals, and there are numerous Russian
        Olive trees whose leaves cover roughly the same amount of space,
        you would rate Russian Olive as 50%, and Cottonwood as 50%.
        Choose an appropriate range. Concentrate on the amount of leaf
        cover the species provides in the polygon.

    -   Use the same methods for the **\[Understory\] Height and
        Cover,** and **Species** as for the canopy.

    -   **Wetland** and **Other** categories are for an area (2 acres or
        more) that don't have a vegetation class with woody growth. In
        such a case, use the two letter code listed instead of an H+O
        veg class type.

    -   Make note of any other interesting occurrences or discrepancies
        in the Notes section (or in a field notebook).

**IV. Post Field Processing**

Back in the office, there are several steps to process the collected
field information. It is best to do this as soon as possible (ideally
the same day as the field work), so you can correct mistakes or add to
the data. The steps include: downloading digital photos, downloading the
GPS points, adding GPS coordinates to the photo watermark and field form
data (inputting the field forms if not using a PDA in the field).

a.  [Using a handheld computer with GPS]{.underline}

> *need: Compaq ipaq, transfer program, Excel*
>
> In FieldWorker (on the PDA), go to File:Export:Station Data. Choose
> "all data", and set the following options:
>
> GPS Format "Grid"
>
> Point "In basic data"
>
> Delimiter "Tab"
>
> Many Tables "Station and Name"
>
> Hit Export. Under the Save As screen, set the name to today's date,
> set the Folder to "none", set the type to "all files", and set
> Location to "storage card". Then copy this saved file from the storage
> card to the PC using Windows Explorer. Make a new folder under
> C:/work/data/field with the date as the folder name, in the format
> mmddyy. Copy the exported station data file to the folder.
>
> Open the station data file in Excel. Delete any unused GPS points,
> saving the records with a polygon-id value. Save the document as an
> Excel file, named mmddyy_from_ipaq.xls. Make two new worksheets in the
> workbook: canopy and shrub. Rename the main tab as "stations". Copy
> the canopy data into the canopy tab, and the shrub data into the shrub
> tab (this information is at the bottom of the imported spreadsheet).
> Save and close.

See step b(1) below for photo instructions.

b.  [Using field forms and a GPS unit]{.underline}

> *need: digital photos, GPS unit and transfer program, GPS PhotoLink
> program, connector cables for GPS and camera*

1.  **Download photos** (or collect photos on disk, if processing film)
    -- using the digital camera, plug in the camera to the computer
    using the serial port cable. Turn the camera on, and turn the dial
    to the "transfer" mode, (two arrows pointing in opposite
    directions). Open a Windows explorer window, and double click on the
    digital camera drive/icon (under My Computer). Double click into the
    folder named DCIM. Then open the 100K500 folder. Make a new folder
    under C:/work/data/field with the date (of the field work) as the
    folder name, in the format mmddyy. Copy all the JPEGs into the
    correct folder. If using photo-disks, copy all of the photos into
    the correct date folders.

2.  **Download GPS waypoints --** instructions for Waypoint + (the
    program on Naomi's computer):

> Plug in the transfer cord to the GPS unit and the serial port on the
> computer. Turn on the GPS unit. Open Waypoint+. Under
> [GPS:Port]{.underline}, choose COM1. Under
> [File:Configuration]{.underline} make sure the format is set to
> Universe Transverse Mercator. Choose [Waypoint:Download]{.underline},
> and it will tell you when its finished. Next choose
> [File:Save:Combined]{.underline}. Save the combined waypoint file in
> today's folder created above, as a comma delimited text file, and
> named "mmddyy_wpt". Then choose [Track:Download]{.underline} and save
> the file in today's folder as "mmddyy_track". Open the wpt file in
> Excel, and clean it up. Delete the fields with the values of the
> letter D, the old/incorrect date, and blank time. Rename the columns,
> calling the first "type", then "wpt", "east", "north", "date_time".
> Add a column at the end called "datum" and add the value that was at
> the top of the sheet. Save it as mmddyy_wpt.xls (excel) file in the
> same folder.

3.  **Enter data into Excel**

> Open the Excel template for ArcView: av_attribute_data.xls . Enter in
> all the information, EXCEPT **gps coordinates**. This will come from
> the GPS file, and its time consuming to enter. The spreadsheet is a
> digital version of the field form, except that there are three tabs:
> one for the general location info (station), one for the canopy
> species (canopy) and one for the shrub species (shrub). You only need
> to use the canopy and shrub tabs if there are more than one species
> present in those layers. Save this as mmddyy_attribute_data.xls, in
> the date folder.

4.  **Rename photos**

> Go through the field sheets/data, and determine which photos go with
> which polygons. Rename the photos with the polygon-id. If there is
> more than one photo per polygon, append an "a", "b", etc to the end of
> the polygon name for the photo.

5.  **Synchronize photos and GPS points** -- *skip this step if using
    film processed on disk*

-   Open GPS Photo Link. Go through the wizard. At the second screen
    under the "Reprocess existing photos" area, make the root directory
    C:/work/data/field (if not already) and choose today's folder
    created above as the "folder under root folder". Hit next.

-   Choose "download from GPS" and make sure the "datum" menu is set to
    UTM. Hit next.

-   Choose "use photo of the gps receiver" for the time stamp. Make sure
    everything else is set right. Hit next.

-   In the viewing screen, choose the photo of the GPS receiver, and
    check "use this photo for time entry" and say ok.

-   For the watermark, make sure "lat/long" is checked to be displayed.

-   Set the photo quality to "good" and hit Finish. After its finished
    processing, choose another folder to work on or exit.

-   Go look at the photos and make sure it worked. It should have made a
    duplicate of each photo, and renamed it with a "tag" on the end.
    Open a couple and look to see the watermark is on there. Also check
    a couple of the data sheets to see that the waypoint coordinates you
    wrote down are indeed the ones watermarked on the photo.

6.  **Update master database and tracking sheet (BOR only)**

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
a.  [Database (excel spreadsheet
    "reach##\_attribute_data.xls")]{.underline}

> Send the day's PDA station data (all three worksheets!) to Françoise.
> She keeps the master database, and every two weeks she will send Naomi
> the latest and greatest master version. If using data forms, send the
> completed data entry excel spreadsheet to Françoise.

b.  [Process tracking (excel "process_tracking.xls")]{.underline} --
    Françoise and Naomi only

> Fill in the date, polygon id's, number of polygons surveyed, photo
> numbers, gps waypoint numbers. Also input (if maintaining multiple
> people's data) whose cameras and gps units were used. Look in "daily
> template" sheet within the process tracking for an example of what you
> need to send to Françoise each day.

c.  [GIS Integration]{.underline} - every reach should have one master
    set of shapefiles. As work gets completed, merge the field day's
    shapefiles together with the master, and archive old copies so we'll
    always only have one working, current copy for each reach.

    1.  **Create "gps_photo_pts" shapefile**

> Open mmddyy_wpt.xls in date folder. Save as tab delimited text file,
> named mmddyy_wpt_av.txt. Delete all fields except: Name, Date,
> Easting, Northing, Recorder, H&Oclass, and GenNotes. Close Excel. Open
> ArcView, create a new view and add a new table. Add mmddyy_wpt_av.txt
> .

i.  In the view, choose View:Add Event Theme. Choose mmddyy_wpt_av.txt
    as the table, and set x = north, y = east. Hit ok, and then in the
    view save the newly added theme as a shapefile. Call the shapefile
    "mmddyy_gps_photo_pts".

ii. Archive a copy of the master gps_photo_points.shp for the reach
    (copy to archive and attach today's date to the end of the
    filenames). Merge this gps_photo_points\[date\] file with the master
    reach file (i.e., gps_photo_pts14).

> **gps_photo_pts** theme attribute table

  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------
  [Field                  [Type,                  [Values]{.underline}
  Name]{.underline}       Size]{.underline}       

  Name                    text, 16                polygon-id

  Date                    text, 16                date

  Easting                 number, 32(5)           UTM from GPS

  Northing                number, 32(5)           UTM from GPS

  Recorder                text, 16                initials of field
                                                  worker

  H_Oclass                text, 32                classification

  Gennotes                text, 256               notes about the point
  ----------------------- ----------------------- -----------------------

2.  **Append to the vegetation coverage**

> Modify polygons as needed, and add polygons. Attribute the polygons
> with the polygon-id and Hink and Ohmart classification. Save a copy of
> the shapefile in the archive.

**V. Final steps**

Once you've downloaded and verified all of your data, make a backup of
all the new data on your machine. Go through the camera and GPS/PDA
units, and delete out your day's work, leaving it clean for the next
day's use. Do this with caution, and make sure you've gone through all
steps above before deleting info off the field units.

Naomi and Deb are maintaining the GIS layers of the field work for the
BOR, so if you are working with BOR teams, make sure they know what
stage your work is in so they can keep track of it. For detailed
instructions on how to create the polygons in the GIS and how the data
will be stored, please contact Naomi or Deb.

Make sure when you're finished for the duration that Deb has your
contact information, and that you've given all of your notes and
completed forms back.