RMLands: Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator

Home Page

What is RMLands?

During the past several years, a small team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass) and Colorado State University (CSU) has developed RMLands: Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator. RMLands is a computer software program designed to simulate natural (e.g., fire) and anthropogenic (e.g., logging) disturbances and succession processes in the Rocky Mountains. The software is being developed to aid Forest Service planners evaluate the historic range of variation in landscape structure and wildlife habitat, and to evaluate the potential consequences of alternative future land management scenarios.

The purpose of this web site is to facilitate the dissemination of information pertaining to RMLands. Specifically, as the software is developed and applications are completed, the results will be made available via this web site.

About The Developers

RMLands was developed by the following core team of scientists:

• Kevin McGarigal (UMass) --Landscape ecologist; responsible for conceptual development of CAPS and general project oversight.
• William Romme (Colorado State University)-- Landscape ecologist; responsible for conceptual development of RMLands and providing expertise on succession and disturbance processes for applications.
• John Kim -- Ecologist/Modeler; responsible for original software development.
• Eduard Ene-- Computer programmer; responsible for current software development.
• David Goodwin -- Spatial data specialist; responsible for data development and model parameterization in the initial application.
• Edwin Roworth -- Spatial data specialist; responsible for data development and model parameterization and analysis in the initial application.

What's In This Website?

This web site is logically organized into the following pages:

• Documentation -- This page contains links to all RMLands documentation, including a description of the model and user guidelines.
• Downloads -- This page is where you go to download the software as well as a demonstration database.
• Links -- This page contains links to other web sites containing information on related software.
• Presentations --This page contains links to several slide presentations on RMLands, including an overview of the simulation model and results from the initial application.
• Applications -- This page contains links to RMLands applications.

Disclaimer

The RMLands software is intended for the public domain, although it is still under development and not yet available to the public. Unfortunately, the existing documentation is not sufficient for most users to be able to run the software. This site was designed principally to facilitate the exchange of the software between developers and sponsors. Hence, we do not provide technical support for persons other than our project sponsors that download and attempt to use this software. The recipient of any future release of the software may not assert any proprietary rights thereto nor represent it to anyone as other than as a product of the University of Massachusetts. RMLands is to be provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The user will assume all responsibility for the accuracy and suitability of this program for a specific application. In no event will the authors or the University be liable for any damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of or the inability to use this program.

Acknowledgements

Many individuals provided valuable input during the development and many revisions of this software, including Thurman Wilson, Claudia Regan, Dan Greene, Dave Dallison, Rosalind Wu, Chris Schultz, Jeff Redders, John Rupe, and many others of the US Forest Service. We are especially grateful to Thurman Wilson and Claudia Regan for their support of this work. Funding for work was provided by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, Colorado, the San Juan National Forest, Durango, Colorado, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Kevin McGarigal
Department of Environmental Conservation
University of Massachusetts
304 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center
Box 34210, Amherst, MA 01003
Fax: (413) 545-4358; Phone: (413) 577-0655
Email: mcgarigalk@eco.umass.edu