The recent growth of Vineland and Garrison, Minnesota, coupled with the loss of water quality on Lake Mille Lacs due to failing septic systems, has resulted in the need of an improved water treatment system. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe spearheaded the siting of a new wastewater treatment facility to serve the Band and neighboring communities. The treated waters of the treatment facility will be discharged into the wetland for polishing.

Changes in wetland plant communities are expected due to the addition of nutrient enriched waters. The Band is required to monitor these expected changes to the wetland plant communities.

This is a true color image taken at 0.5 meter resolution

GPSI provided initial digital aerial image coverage of the wetland at the onset of the project to determine the plant communities originally in the wetland. Use of vegetation indicies and infra-red image bands allows for monitoring annual plant community change.

This is a color infra-red image taken at 0.5 meter resolution

Traditional methods of monitoring wetland plant communities involve procedures such as designating transects or permanent plots, and performing ground surveys of the wetland. GPSI has provided an alternative method to monitor wetland changes over the period of the project through capture of these digital aerial images.

Aerial images provide coverage of the entire wetland during a single event. GPSI staff expertise in aerial photo interpretation provides a more timely manner of determining vegetation types than these traditional methods practiced in ecology and wetland science.