Satellite Photos

[sweetwoodmaple]

I was looking at some maps over the web of my local area (google maps) and decided to switch to satellite view. I made an interesting discovery.

The photo of my area was taken in May of last year. As I looked over the area that I tap, I noticed that all the sugar maples were a bright green. Typical for early spring.

What was cool was that I could see all the areas that I had scoped out a few years back from my neighbors 40 acres behind the house. I could pick out the sugar maples (for the most part) from the satellite photo due to the brighter green color of the leaves!

I have done this in the fall by being able to pick out the yellow/orange when driving by a valley or hillside. Cool that I could do it in the spring, with a satellite photo that was timed just right. I took some screen shots to use as a future reference.

FWIW as they say.

[802maple]

Thats cool, I have never looked at them with satellite pictures, They also show up in the winter as the lighter gray colored tree tops up here, down there probably the white oak would be the same so it wouldn't be as accurate.

[The Sappy Steamer]

One way to tell the difference between the white oaks and the maples around here in winter is that plastic pipe running to all the maples. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. All kidding aside, that's pretty cool. I'll have to check out our area too.

[tapper]

Two years ago I took a walk in the early spring and the only green in the woods at the time were the sugar maples. They were actually almost yellow and very bright. If I am not mistaken I beleive it was the seeds because it really didnt look like leaves. Absolutley nothing else in the woods had leaves. This wasnt the case last spring I could not find any sugar maples in my area this way last year.

[Acer]

hey sweetwood,

remembered this post and pulled up the google earth satellite photo and what do you know, sugar maples are standing out yelllow green just like you said.

Thanks for the heads up.

Dean

[Amber Gold]

This point was going around before I joined. Great idea.

I checked out my woods and the shot is full summer from the looks of it. I did notice that where I have pockets of maples there are spots of bright green. Is this what you're talking about? If so I may have found some more pockets to tap.

[Acer]

Think you are on it Josh.

Clusters of sugars are much lighter in my photo, and you are only a little ways away, so it is likely photos were taken at the same time.

Dean

[Russell Lampron]

Just checked mine and I can see 2 pipe tents on my property that were taken down 5 years ago in the picture. Looks to be mid summer when everything was dark green.

[peacemaker]

same on mine its a old pic

[dano2840]

i cant see much of my bush, i know where it is just because i know the woods well but you can tell where it is. its too leafy

[gmcooper]

I have used Google Earth for a couple years. Used print to map out my mainlines and future expansion. The photos from our area are at least 5 years old and are spring with a hint of snow in spots and no leaves yet. Some one told me there was a place to get the most current photos but I can't seem to find it. Anyone know where?
Mark

[TapME]

Mark, map quest has updated there photos and are of summer. All my trees come in at a different green than the others. Hope this helps

[adk1]

For your information, none of these are "satellite" photos, they are simply taken via plane

[gmcooper]

Lou, Thanks I just checked and sure enough the mapquest photos are now much more current. Only thing is they are mid summer and with all the leaves some things do not show up as well. Not sure if they are 2007 or 2008?
Mark

[adk1]

Mid summer? that is odd. they typically do flights in early spring/late fall

[gmcooper]

adk1
I went back and took a look again. It would have been mid to late August when they were taken at least around our place. I can tell by where our cows are grazing and have grazed and the growth on the hay ground. They were not 2008 photos. Probably 2007. I can see some of the construction projects we worked on in early spring 2007 and they are in the photos for our immediate area. Have to add that after checking further the photo has to be late summer 2006.
Mark

[Russell Lampron]

I first checked the satellite photo on Google Maps and that picture was atleast 5 years old or older. I then checked the arial view on Mapquest and my property stands right out because of the logging that I had done 5 years ago.

I cant get the picture to zoom large enough to see if I am looking at my wood elevator or a wood pile in my back field. If it's the wood pile the picture is about 2 years old and was taken in mid to late summer. If it is the elevator it could have been taken late spring or early summer of this year.

[Snow Hill Farm]

I just wanted to let everyone know of a mapping service I provide using the satellite photos. I have been working in Civil Engineering for 20 years and have a lot of AutoCAD and mapping experience. Using the photos, tax maps and topography I have created some really nice maps for sugarmakers, hunters, etc. I will gladly email a pdf example to anyone. What I have done for my sugarbush is draw the main lines and numbers representing the branch lines (and # of taps) over the photo and it has proved to be a really useful tool! I hang a copy on the wall of the sugarhouse and it definitely attracts a lot of attention. The main concern I would have for a lot of the Maple Trader users is that I'm in VT and have access to photos of the entire state (and some in NY) but am not exactly familar with photos from other states and how to obtain them. I'm sure there is a way.... In VT they are supplied by the State. Also, Google and Map Quest are great to look at on the screen but printing a large scale photo is a whole different issue which is why I made my own. Price varies widely depending on how much detail you want. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

[mapleman3]

Snow Hill.... I like the idea of having it in the sugarhouse, when folks want to get an idea of just how much area we all trudge through in deep snow ect. and to see what a sugarbush looks like from above.... cool

[gmcooper]

Something interesting I came across today. Maybe everyone else has seen it. While checking directions to a farm in MA I am planning to visit soon I clicked the link they had to Goggle maps. On the left side of the map when enlarged was a figure of a person in yellow. Moused over it and if you click or drag it you get a camera view at street level. You can rotate 360 degrees, zoom in or out and travel each direction on the road. Incredibly cool but kind of scarry as the details were amazing. The closer to the road the greater the detail. But I could see enough to determine what model tractor was setting in the yard. I could see the gooseneck trailer parked inside the pole barn. Work boots on the porch beside the door.
This feature is not availible on every street but I found many around home not to mention the area in MA. Thankfully for privacy they photos/ video were several years old.
Mark

[sugarnut]

i downloaded google earth last year and it has some useful tools. one of them is a ruler that you can use to draw a line between two points and get a measurement. that should be helpful to folks who need to calculate how much mainline they need.

[220 maple]

I recently down loaded google earth, the ruler works real well but does it figure in the slope of the land when going from one point to another? The reason I question this is as I was marking trees in a new sugar bush I was trying to figure the acreage. If I have the distance in feet around the bush and divide by 43560 that should give me the acreage. I did that and the answer was 19. something acres. Which equals 175 taps per acre. That only happens in Vermont or Canada not West Virginia.

Mark 220 Maple

[mapleack]

220, there are 43,560 square feet in an acre, be sure you're dividing square feet by that.
-Andy

[MapleChaser]

I recently down loaded google earth, the ruler works real well but does it figure in the slope of the land when going from one point to another? The reason I question this is as I was marking trees in a new sugar bush I was trying to figure the acreage. If I have the distance in feet around the bush and divide by 43560 that should give me the acreage. I did that and the answer was 19. something acres. Which equals 175 taps per acre. That only happens in Vermont or Canada not West Virginia.

Mark 220 Maple

I have used goggle earth for estimateing pipe line length to. Do not know how it can figure the slope. I know the length is pretty close. How did you come up with 175 taps per acre? I would like to know the math for that.

MC

[vermaple]

If I have the distance in feet around the bush and divide by 43560 that should give me the acreage. I did that and the answer was 19. something acres. Which equals 175 taps per acre. That only happens in Vermont or Canada not West Virginia.

Mark 220 Maple

After reading the first sentence of this quote, I think you divided the perimeter of the parcel of land by 43560 which will give a number meaning nothing.

[KenWP]

You take the length and width in feet and multiply and then divide by 43560 to find the acres.

[3rdgen.maple]

Okay guys Im bored and it is raining so lets do some math shall we. If he came up with 19 acres by his calculations lets math backwords from there.
So 19 x 43560 is 827640 which would be distance in feet around the perimeter of the land. So lets assume his land is square so we will divide that by 4 to get one length 206910 now we must get square feet so we x that by itself 42811748100 square feet now lets divide by 43560 wich is the magic number 982822.5 acres. So the good news is 220 maple owns the whole state of west virginia and then some bad news he has about .003 taps per acre:D

[theschwarz1]

I don't know about Vermont or NH but if your photos are in mid summer it most likely was infrared remote sensing and then the bandwidths were altered to get a real life color. I have done this with our IR photography in Tioga county, pa. This would explain tree species standing out. That was the purpose. It most likely was taken by the fed govt for agricultural reasons.
Others have mentioned their mapping services on here. I too can do this for anyone in my general area. I not only can GPS your lines but link each tree or bush with data so you can do analysis of productivity. Its not just lines on a map!
I can also then generate Google earth files with it so you can view your bush in 3d.....or on a terrain at your home computer.
I have been in GIS for a few years now and can do a lot with it for you.
just let me know1:)

[Ace_R]

Schwarz; what GIS program are you using down there? We use a combo of Manifold and ArcMap up here. Just curious on what other people are using in the "industry"

[theschwarz1]

I use arcmap 9.3 and also fgis for some forestry related stuff. I've never worked with manifold. I'd be interested to see it. How does it compare with the 900lb gorilla (esri)?

[theschwarz1]

I recently down loaded google earth, the ruler works real well but does it figure in the slope of the land when going from one point to another? The reason I question this is as I was marking trees in a new sugar bush I was trying to figure the acreage. If I have the distance in feet around the bush and divide by 43560 that should give me the acreage. I did that and the answer was 19. something acres. Which equals 175 taps per acre. That only happens in Vermont or Canada not West Virginia.

Mark 220 Maple

When you measure a line or area on g-earth, you can see it lay as the terrain actually is (using 20ft contours for terrain), so I believe it does take slope into account.

[Ace_R]

We are a little behind the times up here, we only have ArcMap 8, but it works well for us. Manifold is very comparable to ArcMap and definatley a much cheaper package then the ESRI stuff. Which is why we went with it. Takes a little getting used to, but once you establish the learning curve it's actually quite user friendly.

[theschwarz1]

Also folks, you can download a free GIS software from forestpal.com its called fGIS. It was created by the University of WIsconsin Forestry program. The old non-supported version is free, and the newer updated version by Tatuk GIS costs...but is still cheap compared to other GIS software.

[theschwarz1]

I have used Google Earth for a couple years. Used print to map out my mainlines and future expansion. The photos from our area are at least 5 years old and are spring with a hint of snow in spots and no leaves yet. Some one told me there was a place to get the most current photos but I can't seem to find it. Anyone know where?
Mark

Search NAIP2010

[theschwarz1]

Mid summer? that is odd. they typically do flights in early spring/late fall

NAIP Imagery is mid summer its by the feds for ag. reasons ...should be new naip imagery every two years, not the best resolutuion, but it does have certain species showing different colors bc they reflect different bands of IR. Those colors you see on GE are namipulated to look like green and whatnot....you can manipulate the bands in any way to show different results....blacktop, species, moisture..and so on.

[theschwarz1]

I just wanted to let everyone know of a mapping service I provide using the satellite photos. I have been working in Civil Engineering for 20 years and have a lot of AutoCAD and mapping experience. Using the photos, tax maps and topography I have created some really nice maps for sugarmakers, hunters, etc. I will gladly email a pdf example to anyone. What I have done for my sugarbush is draw the main lines and numbers representing the branch lines (and # of taps) over the photo and it has proved to be a really useful tool! I hang a copy on the wall of the sugarhouse and it definitely attracts a lot of attention. The main concern I would have for a lot of the Maple Trader users is that I'm in VT and have access to photos of the entire state (and some in NY) but am not exactly familar with photos from other states and how to obtain them. I'm sure there is a way.... In VT they are supplied by the State. Also, Google and Map Quest are great to look at on the screen but printing a large scale photo is a whole different issue which is why I made my own. Price varies widely depending on how much detail you want. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Again, I can cover the twin tiers (ny/Pa) for mapping services. ITs not just a way to get pretty maps, but to have data behind the lines and points so you can do analysis and track production over the years.
For example, if you changed taps in one area you could track its performance over the old taps and so on....visualize your data through GIS!

[220 maple]

I was looking at the Sat./Ariel photo of a new Sugar Camp in our state. You can actually see the inch an half mains in the woods because the image was taken in Nov. with out leaves blocking the view!
How do I type the Lat. and Lon. numbers so others can find the location.
Thanks Mark 220 Maple

[halfast tapper]

Okay guys Im bored and it is raining so lets do some math shall we. If he came up with 19 acres by his calculations lets math backwords from there.
So 19 x 43560 is 827640 which would be distance in feet around the perimeter of the land. So lets assume his land is square so we will divide that by 4 to get one length 206910 now we must get square feet so we x that by itself 42811748100 square feet now lets divide by 43560 wich is the magic number 982822.5 acres. So the good news is 220 maple owns the whole state of west virginia and then some bad news he has about .003 taps per acre:D

Don't you have to divide 827640 by 2? You only need length and width to get square footage.

[220 maple]

3rdgen.maple
When I get them all tapped, I'll be number 1!

Mark 220 Maple

[220 maple]

Here is the numbers for a Sugar Camp
38 degrees 45 minutes, 48.42 seconds North
79 degrees 37 minutes, 23.14 seconds West

You can follow the main lines into the mountains
Surely there is camps up north that you can follow the mains back into the Sugar bush?

Just Curious
Mark 220 Maple

[antelope76]

Don't you have to divide 827640 by 2? You only need length and width to get square footage.

Your 827640 is the square footage. 43560 is the number of square feet in an acre.