The Environmental Remote Sensing Applications laboratory (ERSAL) was established in 1972 with funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The initial purpose of the Laboratory was to engage in pilot projects and research to forward the application of remote sensing technology. The ERSAL staff collaborated with state and county governments, municipalities, and federal agencies in Oregon on a variety of resource and human environment problems, with a strong emphasis on land use planning. The Laboratory was initially under the oversight of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and became a unit of the College of Forestry in 1988. C.E. Poulton was the first Director, from 1972 until 1974; Barry J. Schrump became Director in 1974, a position he held until 1988.
The Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory Records consist primarily of Research Projects Case Files. These files include correspondence, reports, excerpts from staff meeting minutes, research notes, and photographs. The case files document projects with a variety of organizations and agencies, primarily in Oregon, pertaining to land use planning, watersheds and wetlands, field burning, forests, and wildlife habitat.
The Records also include a report of the first year of activities for the Laboratory (1972-1973), several issues of the ERSAL Newsletter for 1973-1974, and Oregon Landsat Mosaics for 1978-1980. The mosaics depict land cover and some land use, including forest harvest patters, agricultural developments, reservoirs, and fire scars.
Collection is open for research.
Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory Records (RG 218), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.
The Research Projects Case Files were transferred from ERSAL in 1985. The Oregon Landsat Mosaics were transferred from the Horner Museum collections in 1996.
The Research Office Records (RG 170) include materials pertaining to the administration and general oversight of the Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory.