The Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program

The KARS program is an applied research and development group affiliated with the Kansas Biological Survey. It was established in 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the state of Kansas to conduct applied research on techniques that enable public agencies and private firms to better utilize data from satellite and airborne remote sensing systems.

KARS with federal Projects undertaken by, state and local agencies and private industry are designed to identify and enhance ways in which remote sensing technologies and related geographic information systems (GIS) can aid in decision-making, policy formulation and planning in a variety of applications.

KARS projects have included land use/land cover inventory, monitoring land use change, wildlife habitat evaluation, mapping of irrigated lands, surface mined lands inventory, recreational area planning, soil conservation needs assessment, wetlands inventory, rangeland condition evaluation, and urban area analysis.  

KARS Program staff include specialists with backgrounds in geography, ecology, biology, cartography, computer science, environmental studies and natural resources management.

The Program's expertise in both landscape-level and close-range remote sensing is nationally recognized. In addition, KARS has over 20 years of experience developing databases and natural resource models for implementation in GIS environments. Since its inception, KARS has been instrumental in fostering the introduction and growth of remote sensing and GIS technologies.