STORY CONTACT: Larry Lass, (208) 885-7802, llass@uidaho.edu
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Loftus, (208) 885-7694, bloftus@uidaho.edu

National Geographic Explorer will present "Gorillas on the Edge" Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. PST on CNBC about efforts to save Rwanda’s mountain gorillas. A McCall-based company and UI weed scientist Larry Lass were part of the project.

The program is about the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International’s efforts to save mountain gorillas in Rwanda and a National Geographic Society expedition to map the animals’ habitat.

Lass joined the expedition to Rwanda this summer. He worked with McCall- based Earth Search Sciences on the mapping project.

National Geographic contracted with ESS to use its sophisticated hyperspectral remote sensing equipment and software to help map the rugged jungle on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes.

Lass, a weed scientist at the University of Idaho, hiked into the jungle to record locations and other characteristics of plants gorillas eat. "Preliminary results indicate three plant species used by the mountain gorillas for food and bedding are detectable with this technology", he said.

Additional ground work by the Fossey group in December, Lass said, will help identify the locations of other species.

The hyperspectral data will help define areas in the park impacted by humans and inventory the limited remaining gorilla habitat. He developed his expertise through efforts to track and prevent the spread of noxious weeds, including yellow starthistle in Hells Canyon.