In 2003 GRS was selected by National Park Service to create a detailed land-cover map of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and 
Preserve(WRST). This 18-million acre park and preserve is the largest U.S. National Park and is characterized by its rugged terrain including magnificent mountains, glaciers, river valleys, and coastal shoreline.
GRS initiated land cover classification and mapping efforts of the 18-million acre project area in late-2003 for the Alaska Support Office (AKSO) of the National Park Service in an effort to upgrade and improve vegetation/land cover information for the WRST.
The WRST Land Cover Mapping Project was undertaken by GRS, in association with the ABR Inc. (ABR), and with support from the NPS-Alaska Region. GRS directed training site selection, navigation, and verification components of field data collection efforts, as well as all image data acquisition, preparation, training, evaluation, and classification efforts that led to the creation of the delivered land cover data sets. ABR provided expertise regarding vegetation classification, land cover type descriptions, and ecosystem characterization during ground and aerial data collection efforts, as well as input and feedback regarding post-field type class descriptions and classification-related issues. AKSO personnel participated in ground vegetation transects and aerial surveys, managed field data collection logistics, and provided project coordination and review of GRS’s Discrete Classifications.
The project encompassed classification of 9 mosaics of 16 Landsat scenes of multi-spectral imagery. Ground-truth used to develop training sites was collected during thirty days of aerial survey efforts during the summers of 2004-2006. Discrete Classification efforts resulted in the identification of over 1,300 training pixel classes. All classes were verified using GRS’s Confusion and Fidelity Reports to identify and resolve any confused sites and confirm that pixel classes were being properly applied. Estimation of map accuracy of the final map data set included type estimates based on the Viereck Alaskan Vegetation Classification system, as well as cover estimates of the primary conifer, shrub, and herbaceous cover components estimated as a part of each pixel class. All classification results were mosaiced into one map data set for the entire 18-million acre area and delivered to the NPS in an ESRI grid format with associated attribute tables. Attributes included the typical Viereck type/density classes, but also species-specific estimates of cover. Mortality estimates were included to enable the estimation and mapping of the degree of Spruce Bark Beetle kill, as it affected the White Spruce in WRST. As a result GRS's Discrete Classification mapping efforts enabled discrimination of white spruce and black spruce cover, as well as varying degrees of healthy forest stands.
The complete Wrangell-St. Elias report may be downloaded at the following NPS link: https://irma.nps.gov/Reference.mvc/DownloadDigitalFile?code=152201&file=LC_WRST_2008_Vol2.pdf
