Link to RMLANDS Home Page
Link to RMLANDS Documentation Page

Rocky Mountain Landscape Simulator (RMLANDS)

Quantifying Dynamics in Landscape Structure and Wildlife Habitat Under Alternative Disturbance Scenarios

Welcome To RMLANDS!
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 dissemination of the software and the results of simulation experiments, and to generally facilitate the exchange of information among project collaborators.

About the Authors

RMLANDS was developed by Dr. Kevin McGarigal (University of Massachusetts) and Dr. William Romme (Colorado State University), with programming by John Kim (Wheaton College), Erik Haugsjaa (UMass) and Eduard Ene (UMass), and additional technical assistance by David Goodwin (UMass) and Ed Roworth (UMass). Dr. McGarigal is the principal developer and primary contact person for questions and comments.

What's in This Website

This web site is logically organized into the following pages:

  • RMLANDS Documenation -- 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 and documentation, as well as a demonstration database. All future patch updates and releases can be downloaded from this page.
  • Links -- This page contains links to other web sites containing information on related software.
  • Slide Presentations --This page contains links to several slide presentations on RMLANDS, including an overview of the research project, the software, and results from initial experiments.
Disclaimer

This software is in the public domain, and the recipient may not assert any proprietary rights thereto nor represent it to anyone as other than an University of Massachusetts-produced program. RMLANDS is 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 assumes 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.

NOTE, RMLANDS was not initially developed for public distribution. Consequently, the 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.

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 Natural Resources Conservation
University of Massachusetts
304 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center
Box 34210
Amherst, MA 01003
Fax: (413) 545-4358
Phone: (413) 577-0655
Email: mcgarigalk@forwild.umass.edu