Customer Spotlight: Tanner Arrington Combats Invasive Species with Highly Accurate Machine Learning Models

For Tanner Arrington, nature is more than just a backdrop to his work — it’s the purpose behind it. His passion for the outdoors fuels his work in conservation, environmental studies, and natural resources. As an independent GIS Consultant and former GIS Manager at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), Tanner used Arrow 100^® and Arrow Gold^® GNSS receivers with Esri’s ArcGIS^® apps to deliver reliable, high-accuracy data across a wide range of projects, including mapping trails, georeferencing drone imagery, and tracking the spread of invasive species. His goal is to use reliable data to accurately represent and care for the world we live in.

Keep reading to see how Tanner uses high-accuracy GNSS to get the job done — no matter the weather, canopy, or terrain.

1. Why are you passionate about your job?

A spatial view of things has always made sense to me. I guess it’s just a way that I’m wired. I get to apply that framework to the other things I love, like conservation, environment, and outdoor recreation, which means my job as a specialist in GIS in those disciplines is always interesting.

2. How did you first find out about Eos Positioning Systems’ GNSS products?

I first ran across Eos products at SCDNR when I was on the hunt for a receiver to use with Esri’s then-new Collector for ArcGIS app (now ArcGIS Field Maps). We were designing workflows within the ArcGIS system, but we wanted to get better accuracy than what our phones offered. My research revealed Eos as a good option. We tested an Arrow 100 to map a trail that was routed along a property boundary, so accuracy was important. It did well for us, even under the canopy. We started encouraging other programs at SCDNR to give them a shot.

3. What do you use Eos GNSS products for?

We have used the Eos GNSS products for all kinds of things. The SCDNR Archaeology program uses them for shovel test pit (STP) surveys. An STP survey is a sampling method for cultural resources that involves setting up a grid across a property and digging a hole every set number of meters, depending on the project. If artifacts are found in a pit, the team might decide to investigate the area in more detail. We developed a method to accurately create and work through a GIS-based grid that used the Arrow GNSS receivers for accuracy and Esri’s ArcGIS Field Maps and ArcGIS Survey123 for navigation and data collection. This replaced the traditional method of pulling a field measuring tape and following bearings with a compass.

As you can see in the photos, the traditional method would be especially challenging in thickly forested areas. The Arrow units help us navigate more easily and accurately, and by combining them with the Esri apps, we can record the actual location of each grid marker and hole. Plus, the results of the shovel tests can be monitored in ArcGIS Dashboards, enabling real-time decisions rather than having to wait to see the results after field work is completed.

Additionally, the GIS team and other programs at SCDNR have used the receivers for mapping assets and infrastructure on properties, setting ground control points on drone flights, tracking shellfish resources, monitoring shoreline changes, and collecting field data for an image analysis project for monitoring invasive wetland species. For projects that require higher accuracy, the Arrow Gold is especially useful for achieving centimeter accuracy with a real-time kinematic (RTK) network connection.

4. Do you have a favorite experience or memory from your projects with Eos hardware?

My favorite project recently is the image analysis project I mentioned above. The project involved a machine learning model for mapping an invasive wetland plant called Phragmites australis over thousands of acres of historic rice fields, now managed as waterfowl impoundments on an SCDNR property. We needed good field data in order to train and validate the model to identify the plant in satellite imagery. Since the Phragmites patches are sometimes small and mixed with other vegetation, getting accurate field data was key to the project’s success. The Eos units helped us get the confidence we needed in our field data to develop a good model, which gave us an estimate on the amount of Phragmites present on the property. The goal is to repeat the process to inform and understand the efficacy of treatments over time.

5. Do you have a favorite feature of Eos GNSS receivers?

My favorite thing about the Eos receivers is that they are reliable and work under all conditions. We have used them under canopy and in poor weather and continued to get good submeter locations. And the ease of use with ArcGIS apps is great.

6. Is there anything we didn’t ask you that you’d like to share with us?

Of course, any successful project involves a good team. Kelsey Thachik and Jim Davis, on the GIS crew at SCDNR, are important to all of our GIS projects, including the Phragmites mapping project. Courtney Lewis, an SCDNR intern and graduate student, developed the image analysis model under the guidance of Joe Lemeris and Megan James in the Natural Heritage Program. Achi Treptow, an SCDNR biologist and property manager, and his crew guided us in air boats around the property and showed us what Phragmites look like in the field.