In case anyone hasn't seen this yet...
Company Press Release
Earth Search Sciences Positioned as High Tech Tool
for Future in U.N. Event for Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
International and National Geographic Explorer
MCCALL, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1999--Earth Search Sciences, Inc. (OTCBB:EDIS - news) founder and
chairman Larry Vance and officials from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and National Geographic Explorer are
among the featured attendees Wednesday in a special event at the United Nations.
A project team led by Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) and remote sensing technology provider Earth Search
Sciences will be featured in front of officials from throughout the world during a special premiere of the National Geographic
EXPLORER documentary Gorillas on the Edge at the United Nations December 8, 1999.
''We are proud of our contribution to this important conservation mission to save the endangered mountain gorilla,'' said Vance,
a member of the project team who worked in Rwanda. ''The documentary's premiere at the UN also affords us the opportunity
to demonstrate before world leaders the Probe-1's capabilities in addressing environmental issues and in enabling informed
decision-making.''
In August, Earth Search Sciences and its proprietary Probe-1 remote sensing system collected and processed comprehensive,
highly detailed ''hyperspectral'' image data from Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park and Virungas Mountain Range. Earth
Search Sciences' precision mapping data affords Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's scientists unprecedented
opportunities to monitor and examine on a minute level the habitat conditions affecting Africa's mountain gorillas.
''This information is key to our work in determining the mountain gorilla's prospects for survival into the new millennium,'' said
Clare Richardson, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International President and CEO. ''The pioneering data produced by Earth Search
Sciences is allowing our scientists to see how the mountain gorillas are faring and to very specifically assess the damage to the
mountain rain forest habitat. This project could not have happened without the enthusiastic cooperation of the Rwandan
government.''
National Geographic EXPLORER chronicles the journey to Volcanoes National Park by Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
International conservationists and a team of experts from Earth Search Sciences in its new documentary, Gorillas on the Edge,
which premieres on Friday, December 10, 1999 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on CNBC.
Earth Search Sciences' Probe-1 remote sensing system is cited as the scientists' crucial technology tool in the film. The
documentary showcases conservationists' initial findings as they examine the first-of-its-kind gorilla habitat information from
Earth Search Sciences' mapping project.
Due to the country's civil war, the Rwandan government closed Volcanoes National Park in 1997. When the park reopened in
July of this year, Rwandan officials invited National Geographic to bring the first film crew into Volcanoes National Park since
its closure.
''In a ground-breaking mission, a team of experts from Earth Search Sciences, Inc., flew over the park and collected
extraordinarily detailed data on the gorillas' habitat and surrounding area. This data is now being used to create special
high-resolutiuon maps of the ecosystem that will assist in future conservation efforts,'' National Geographic Television said in its
news release about Gorillas on the Edge.
''When this exciting project is complete, we expect it will yield comprehensive information about the extent of mountain gorilla
habitat damage and help us determine how many gorillas the rainforest can support,'' said Dieter Steklis, DFGFI chief scientist
and Rutgers University professor of anthropology. ''We'll finally be able to say with a degree of scientific certainty: 'This is what
is happening and if this continues, these are the consequences we face.'''
Earth Search Sciences' Probe-1 instrument and associated software systems deliver highly accurate images that enable scientists
and other technical users to determine habitat conditions and to answer a host of other environmental questions. Probe-1 is
mounted in a light aircraft to carry out the work of scanning the earth and delivering highly accurate, processed ''hyperspectral''
reflections of everything covering the earth's surface.
''By using cutting edge, remote-sensing technology to map Volcanoes National Park, National Geographic is helping to support
pioneering research and usher in a new era of gorilla conservation,'' National Geographic Television said in its news release
about the documentary.
The project is the first phase of a Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International multi-year collaboration. Collaborators include Earth
Search Sciences, Inc., Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Technology Research Institute, Clarke Atlanta University, the
National University of Rwanda, and Zoo Atlanta. Initial funding has been provided by the Georgia Research Alliance, the
Turner Foundation, a private New York foundation and the National Geographic Society.
Vance said that for Earth Search Sciences, the project was made possible by key investment from longtime investors, Dr. and
Mrs. Jan Arnett.
For more information about the project, please contact the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International at 800/851-0203 or visit the
foundation's website at www.gorillafund.org.
National Geographic EXPLORER's site on the world wide web is at www.nationalgeographic.com.
Earth Search Sciences information is available at www.earthsearch.com and at the company's public relations firm, Scott
Peyron & Associates, Inc., at www.peyron.com. Earth Search Sciences also expects to launch the first phase of a new website
at www.earthsearch.com on December 10, 1999.
Contact:
Peyron & Assoc.
Scott Peyron, 208/388-3800
or
Investor Contact
Ken Danchuk, 250/712-0356 |
