Photo By Justin Pacheco | Cadet 1st Class Camryn Miller and Cadet 2nd Class Adam Rouse spot signs of dwarf...... read more read more
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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Two cadets made their mark on the conservation of Rocky Mountain forests in a Department of Economics and Geosciences sustainability class project. Cadet 1st Class Camryn Miller and Cadet 2nd Class Adam Rouse created a location-based survey instrument to map and help mitigate the spread of dwarf mistletoe at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Dwarf mistletoe is a parasite that targets coniferous trees such as the Douglas fir and ponderosa pine found throughout the 18,500-acre installation. The parasitic plant embeds itself into a tree’s branches and siphons water and nutrients to weaken the tree and stunt its growth. The parasite accelerates ecosystem decline and creates fire hazards. The initiative is aligned with the Academy’s commitment to integrate cutting-edge research with problem-solving in cadet training.
“The value of contributing to environmental sustainability and supporting a healthier forest ecosystem is immense,” said Rouse, a Meteorology major. “As future leaders of character, engaging in projects focused on environmental preservation fosters opportunities for critical thinking, time management and the development of interpersonal skills. This experience allows me and other cadets to collaborate with diverse teams. We address complex challenges such as forest management, fire mitigation and monitoring.”
Part of the mitigation project involved developing a preliminary quiz. Users learn how to identify the types of trees the parasitic plant grows on and general dwarf mistletoe information. Once users complete the quiz, they can access the location-based survey in an application. Here, they are prompted for the location of the infected tree, its species identification, an infestation assessment and upload photos.
“The project could eventually mitigate fire dangers on the installation and target other areas of infestation,” Miller, a Geospatial Science major, said. “Tracking and identifying the locations of this invasive species provides in-situation data that can be used to determine whether remote sensing could be employed to locate other infestations. I feel proud to know that this work could contribute to protecting natural resources on base for years to come.”
This year, Cadet 1st Class Rys Halverson lead USAFA Green club members in implementing cadet Miller and Rouse’s plan. The cadet club fosters a more sustainable environment and inspires green-minded leaders for the future of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. Halverson organized two outings where approximately 15 club members systematically combed parts of the installation for the parasite and recorded each instance they encountered using the survey Miller and Rouse developed.
“This experience is a great example of the collaboration between mission elements and different majors. It certainly exemplifies the core value of service before self,” said Department of Economics and Geosciences Assistant Professor Dr. Amélie Davis.
The cadets’ dwarf mistletoe mapping presents a real-world application of their critical thinking skills. To end up with a product (here, the location-based survey) that the client (in this instance, the base forester) found useful required critical decision-making, project management and teamwork. It also offers an outlet for cadets to practice geospatial skills in the field, said Capt. Jared Dumale, a Department of Geospatial Science instructor and active-duty intelligence officer.
“Not every cadet is destined to become a geoscientist, but every cadet is expected to be a warfighter,” Dumale said. “While the cadets may not be looking for dwarf mistletoe for the sake of national defense, they are capturing the characteristics of the problem set. The spatial association of these characteristics is part of a larger process that includes the gathering of information and communicating it to a decision-maker or strategic leader. These skills are critical to providing military leadership with a wider scope for their decision calculus.”
Miller and Rouse plan on serving as weather officers after graduation. Both cadets will take the lessons learned from this project into their Air Force careers. They expect the experience to prove useful for data collection and problem-solving.
“I see a direct connection between this project and my future role as a weather and environmental sciences officer,” Miller said. “Understanding how parasitic species like dwarf mistletoe degrade trees and increase their susceptibility to fires will help me devise strategies to protect and mitigate damage to natural resources. Looking ahead, I would like to see the mapping program expand to include the collection of additional data. This information could enable further analysis to assess the feasibility of using drone imagery to detect dwarf mistletoe.”
| Date Taken: | 01.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2025 12:39 |
| Story ID: | 490895 |
| Location: | U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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