Title: Research Assistant Professor
Institution: Utah State University
Address: 5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-5210
Email: wally.macfarlane@USU.edu
Phone: (435) 512-1839
Visit Wally’s Research Website
Research Interests: Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool, Whitebark pine, beaver management, UAV drone, restoration monitoring, riverscape assessment
Biographical Sketch:
I am a geospatial scientist who is captivated by rivers, riparian areas and the landscapes they dissect. My research interests include developing innovative GIS, photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques to assess riverscape health, recovery potential and process-based restoration. Topics I have explored include:
- Effectiveness monitoring of low-tech process-based stream restoration
- Modeling and mapping of landforms associated with riverscapes
- Beaver dam capacity modeling
- Large woody debris capacity modeling
- Watershed-scale geomorphic condition
- Riparian condition and recovery potential
- Climate change induced disturbance
- Watershed conservation and restoration planning
I have packaged much of my research into tools and frameworks useful to both practitioners and researchers. These tools include LAS (Landscape Assessment System), VBET (Valley Bottom Extraction Tool), BRAT (Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool) and RCAT (Riparian Condition Assessment Toolbox) and GMWest System -- A GIS-based Risk Assessment System for Gypsy Moth. LAS has been widely used to document the decline of the threatened whitebark pine. VBET, BRAT and RCAT have been widely used across the US, Canada and Europe for beaver, stream and riparian restoration projects.