Thermal infrared and photogrammetric data collected by small unoccupied aircraft system for the evaluation of wetland restoration design at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Small unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) are now often used for collecting aerial visible image data and creating 3D digital surface models (DSM) that incorporate terrain and dense vegetation. Lightweight thermal sensors provide another sensor option for generation of sub meter resolution aerial thermal infrared orthophotos that can be used to infer hydrogeological processes. UAS-based sensors allow for the rapid and safe survey of groundwater discharge areas, often present in inaccessible, boggy, and/or dangerous terrain. Visible light and thermal infrared image data were collected March 2018 and March 2019, respectively, at Tidmarsh Farms, a former commercial cranberry bog located in coastal Massachusetts, USA (41°54'17.6"N 70°34'17.4"W), where a comprehensive stream and wetland restoration was performed. Wetland restoration actions at Tidmarsh Farms were made possible by a landowner decision to enroll in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetland Reserve Easement Program. The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration (MDER) later became the lead manager for the design, permitting, and implementation of stream and wetland restoration actions on the site. In 2017, after the completion of the largest freshwater wetland restoration in Massachusetts to date, the property was purchased by the Massachusetts Audubon Society who in 2018 opened the Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary to the public.