Visible land-cover change
Compare quality-screened observations where the automated screen detected a significant difference.
Historical Satellite Land Change Reports for Rural Property
See the landscape change
Watch decades of property history in seconds
TimberSentry turns quality-screened annual satellite observations into a comparable visual timeline, helping you see clearing, regrowth, canopy shifts, and other broad land-pattern changes.
Boundary workspace
Property Map
Use the polygon tool to define the land. Edit or delete controls appear on the map.
Landsat1982-present
NAIPUS aerial coverage
Free searchDates and source links
Report$29-$49 by region
Step 2
Review Available Historical Coverage
See which dates and sources are available, compare seasonal consistency, and open individual public source records. Property-specific pixel analysis begins only in the paid report.
Want the answer, not the raw files?
Turn this coverage into a clear property land change report.
The paid analysis includes a printable web report, natural-color/color-infrared MP4, and GIS-ready ZIP package.
Choose a comparable season
When is imagery most consistently available?
| Month | Years with candidates | Typical best catalog cloud | Recommendation |
|---|
View detailed year-month inventory
Open a month to inspect each available image, preview, and public source record.
| Year-month | Representative date | Source | Native resolution | Candidates | Lowest scene cloud | Action |
|---|
Important: Catalog cloud cover describes the full scene, not cloud measured inside your property. Paid processing measures cloud and quality obstructions inside the boundary.
Step 3
Get the Analyzed Land Change Report
Turn the free catalog results into readable, property-specific evidence without becoming a remote-sensing analyst.
Skip hours of manual imagery work.
You can spend hours downloading source files, comparing dates, screening clouds, clipping imagery, analyzing change, and assembling the evidence yourself. Or, for a small one-time fee, TimberSentry can handle the technical work and deliver a clear, organized property history report. See example report (opens in a dialog)
The free inventory ends at Step 2. Individual public files stay free. Step 3 charges for quality control, property-specific processing, analysis, and organized delivery - not access to public imagery.
Comparable observationsLowest cloud cover selected consistently by season.
Property QACloud, shadow, snow, fill, saturation, and coverage measured inside the boundary.
Qualitative change screeningQuality-screened before-and-after imagery is reviewed by the automated screen; an approximate footprint may locate the signal without asserting acreage or cause.
Three paid deliverablesPrintable web report, natural-color/color-infrared MP4, and GIS-ready ZIP package.
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One property land change history report, over 250 and up to 5,000 acres.
Encrypted & processed securely by Square. Your email creates a passwordless report account for instant status updates and download access.
View Sample ReportThe analyzed product
A Historical Satellite Land Change Report Built for Due Diligence
TimberSentry turns Landsat property history and NAIP historical aerial imagery into a clear, source-traceable rural land timeline. Use it to screen canopy change, investigate possible timber harvest periods, and focus professional or field follow-up.
- 1Screen image quality
Review season, cloud and quality masks, geometric consistency, and usable coverage inside the boundary.
- 2Compare the whole property
Summarize vegetation and land-cover change across valid property cells, not isolated sample points.
- 3Explain the evidence
Organize before-and-after imagery, dates, qualitative findings, limitations, and source records.
Included with the paid analysis
Web report, MP4 time-lapse, and GIS-ready package
- Private browser report with print/save-to-PDF support
- Three strongest regression-ranked change comparisons
- Selected and withheld imagery audit appendix with criteria
- MP4 time-lapse with natural-color and color-infrared annual imagery
- GIS-ready ZIP package, boundary GeoJSON, and source manifest
What the imagery can reveal
What Can Historical Imagery Help You See?
Look back before a purchase, management decision, or site visit and identify changes worth investigating.
Roads, trails, and access
Identify visible new routes, widened corridors, landings, and access changes.
Clearing and development
Trace the appearance of buildings, pads, utilities, fields, or other land conversion.
Water and drainage change
Compare visible pond, wet-area, stream-corridor, and drainage conditions over time.
Storm or disturbance patterns
Screen for sudden, spatially coherent vegetation change that may merit field review.
Historical land use
Understand how cultivated, wooded, developed, and open areas shifted across decades.
Important: Detectability depends on image resolution, timing, season, cloud, and the size of the change. Historical imagery is evidence for due diligence, not proof of cause, ownership, legality, or exact boundary location.
Useful before the next land decision
Built for Decisions About Rural Land
Land buyers and investors
Research visible site history before committing more time or capital.
Owners and land managers
Build a clearer record of change across a working property.
Foresters and consultants
Use source-traceable imagery to guide follow-up questions and field work.
Rural real estate professionals
Give clients a practical visual timeline with appropriate limitations.
Choose how far you want to go
Search Free. Pay Only for Property-Specific Analysis.
| Included | Free imagery search | Paid analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Available dates and sources | Included | Included |
| Individual public source links | Included | Included |
| Property-level cloud and quality QA | - | Included |
| Comparable imagery selected and clipped | - | Included |
| Regression-ranked change comparisons | - | Included |
| Printable browser report | - | Included |
| Natural-color/color-infrared MP4 | - | Included |
| GIS-ready ZIP package | - | Included |
Methodology and data sources
Landsat and NAIP Evidence with Qualified Findings
Every satellite canopy change detection report shows what was used, what was excluded, and how strongly the available imagery supports each conclusion.
Source records
Sensor, acquisition date, native resolution, and original public record are retained for traceability.
Property cloud cover
Cloud, shadow, snow, fill, saturation, and unavailable pixels are measured inside the property.
Comparable evidence
Observations are screened for season and quality before qualitative visible-change comparisons are shown.
Qualified findings
Each qualitative finding includes data gaps, alternate explanations, limitations, and a requirement for independent verification.
Primary imagery sourcesUSGS/NASA Landsat Collection 2 surface reflectanceUSDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)Public acquisition details and source records
TimberSentry is an automated remote-sensing screening service - not a survey, appraisal, environmental assessment, certification, legal opinion, regulatory determination, or substitute for field inspection. Visible or spectral change does not by itself establish cause, ownership, legality, deforestation, or exact parcel boundaries.
Questions before you search
Historical Property Imagery FAQ
Can I view historical satellite imagery for a specific property?
Yes. Draw or upload the property boundary and TimberSentry searches public Landsat and NAIP imagery catalogs for dates that intersect that land. Availability varies by location, year, source, and image quality.
Is the NAIP historical aerial imagery search free?
Yes. Searching catalog dates, reviewing Landsat and NAIP coverage, and opening individual public source records are free. No account or payment is required.
What is included in the paid historical satellite land change report?
The paid report includes a private browser preview that can be printed or saved as PDF, an MP4 with natural-color and color-infrared imagery, and a GIS-ready ZIP package with annual imagery, the submitted boundary, source records, and a manifest. Findings remain qualitative; any mapped screening footprint is approximate and no acreage is asserted.
How far back does the imagery go?
Landsat coverage can reach back to the early 1980s. US NAIP aerial coverage is generally more recent and varies by state. A specific property may have fewer usable dates.
Can historical imagery show a timber harvest or canopy change?
It can show when substantial visible or spectral canopy change occurred and support timber harvest history research. Imagery alone cannot prove the cause, ownership, intent, legality, or exact activity on the ground.
Does TimberSentry provide a mapped change footprint or acreage?
The report may show an approximate automated screening footprint to help locate a spectral change signal. It does not assert surveyed acreage, legal boundaries, ownership, cause, legality, or a field-verified determination.
Will every year have a usable image?
No. Clouds, snow, scan gaps, source schedules, season, and incomplete boundary coverage can make some years unavailable or unsuitable for comparison.
Is this a survey or environmental assessment?
No. TimberSentry is a remote-sensing screening and rural land imagery due-diligence aid. Confirm important findings through original records, qualified professionals, and field inspection.