Various trees appear to be near their peak color, with a stand of evergreens in the background and a corn field in the foreground in North Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Forecasters have predicted the fall foliage colors to be outstanding this season because of the heavy rain in the beginning of the summer. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine's forest rangers are using some high-tech help to track fall foliage.
They're using personal data assistants, or PDAs, which allow them to collect foliage information and transmit it electronically to Department of Conservation headquarters right away.
The primary purpose of the devices is to gather information for risk assessments during emergencies and disasters. The Bangor Daily News reports the Maine Forest Service received the PDAs in April and used them during the spring flooding and the wildfire season.
It seemed a natural transition to adapt the technology to the annual foliage reports. The department worked with Global Relief Technologies, the Portsmouth, N.H.-based company that developed the technology, to adapt it to the collection of foliage information.
Report a correction
In order to make comments, you must verify your account.
In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.
Login or create an account here.
Our policy prohibits comments that are:
- Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
- Excessively foul and/or vulgar
- Inappropriately sexual
- Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
- Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
- Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.