GRASS GIS software was developed in response to the need for improved analysis of landscape “trade offs” in managing government lands and the emerging potential of computer-based land analysis tools. During the last decades of the 20th century, government land managers in the U.S. (and across the world) faced increasing requirements from legislation and stakeholder groups to examine and evaluate alternative actions. To fulfill these new requirements, land managers needed new tools.
During this same era, computational capabilities wondrously improved. Tasks requiring days and months with paper and acetate overlays could be accomplished with this newly emerging geographic information technology within minutes. But even in the mid-1980s, GIS technology involved significant capital investment. Managers wanted to see results before they spent their limited funds on new technologies.
The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois has the mission of developing and infusing new technologies for managing U.S. Department of Defense installations. These installations include millions of acres of lands needed for military training and testing. Other uses included wildlife management, hunting and fishing and forestry, grazing and agricultural production. Other priorities were added through legislation – such as protecting endangered species and habitats, protecting cultural sites, and limiting the on and off-post impacts of noise, ordnance, contaminants and sediments.
