Frequently Asked Questions

EMDS (Ecosystem Management Decision Support) is a spatial decision support framework that integrates multiple analytical engines — NetWeaver, CDP, BayesFusion, and VisiRule — into your GIS environment. It allows land managers, researchers, and conservation planners to perform complex multi-criteria assessments directly inside ArcGIS Pro or QGIS.

Yes. EMDS for ArcGIS Pro and EMDS for QGIS are both free to download and use. EMDS Online requires account registration — contact us for access details. Some third-party engines bundled with EMDS (such as BayesFusion) may have their own licensing terms for commercial use.

EMDS currently supports:

• EMDS for ArcGIS Pro — Windows 10/11, requires ArcGIS Pro 3.3 or later
• EMDS for QGIS — Windows 10/11 (initial release), requires QGIS 3.28 or later. macOS and Linux support is in development.
• EMDS Online — any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)

The EMDS Consortium is a multi-institutional partnership that has guided EMDS development for over 30 years. Members include Mountain View Business Group, Rules of Thumb, InforHarvest, LPA, BayesFusion, and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. Mountain View Business Group develops and maintains the software on behalf of the Consortium.

Visit the Download page. The current releases are:

• EMDS for ArcGIS Pro 9.0 — EmdsForArcGisPro33.zip
• EMDS for QGIS 9.0 — EmdsForQGis4.zip

1. Download EmdsForArcGisPro33.zip from the Download page
2. Extract the ZIP to a local folder (avoid paths with spaces)
3. Close ArcGIS Pro if it is running
4. Run setup.exe as administrator
5. Follow the installer prompts and accept the default install location
6. Launch ArcGIS Pro — the EMDS toolbar will appear in the Add-In Manager

If the add-in doesn't appear, verify your ArcGIS Pro version is 3.3 or later under Help → About ArcGIS Pro.

1. Download EmdsForQGis4.zip from the Download page
2. Extract the ZIP to a local folder
3. Open QGIS and go to Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins → Install from ZIP
4. Select the extracted plugin folder and click Install
5. The EMDS panel will appear in your QGIS interface

EMDS for ArcGIS Pro requires .NET Framework 4.8. Download it from Microsoft's .NET download page, install it, restart your computer, and then run the EMDS installer again.

1. In ArcGIS Pro, go to Project → Options → Add-In Manager
2. Verify EMDS appears in the list and is not disabled
3. If it shows as blocked, click Options and set the security level to allow add-ins from all publishers
4. Restart ArcGIS Pro

EMDS v9.0 requires ArcGIS Pro 3.3 or later. If you are on an older ArcGIS Pro version, you may be able to use a legacy EMDS release — contact us for details. ArcMap support is available for legacy users but receives no new features.

Yes. EMDS works with any valid ArcGIS Pro license level (Basic, Standard, or Advanced) and supports both named-user and concurrent-use licensing models. The specific analytical capabilities you can use do not depend on your ArcGIS license level.

Yes — EMDS for QGIS 9.0 includes the complete analytical suite: NetWeaver, CDP, BayesFusion, and VisiRule, at the same version level as EMDS for ArcGIS Pro 9.0. The Python connector framework is fully supported. C# connectors and macOS/Linux builds are in development for a future release.

EMDS for QGIS requires QGIS 3.28 or later. We recommend using the Long Term Release (LTR) version of QGIS for the most stable experience. QGIS can be downloaded free from qgis.org.

The initial release (v9.0, March 2026) supports Windows 10/11 64-bit only. macOS and Linux native builds are actively in development and will be released as a free update. If cross-platform support is critical for your project, contact us to discuss your timeline.

EMDS connectors can be written in:

• Python — supported on both ArcGIS Pro and QGIS
• C# — ArcGIS Pro only (QGIS support in development)
• R — available via the R connector package
• JavaScript — for EMDS Online integrations

See the Developer Hub for code examples and API reference.

Yes. EMDS integrates with Wexflow, an open-source workflow engine that lets you define multi-step processing graphs with conditional branching, scheduling, and error handling. See the Wexflow section on the Developer Hub for setup instructions.

EMDS is free to download and use. The source code is not publicly available, but the connector SDK is fully documented and open for extension. Several bundled components (such as Wexflow) are open source under their respective licenses.

Yes. EMDS has been used in numerous federal, state, and commercial projects. For large-scale deployments, consulting engagements, or custom connector development, please contact Mountain View Business Group to discuss your project requirements.

For research and government use, the bundled versions of BayesFusion and VisiRule included with EMDS are sufficient. Commercial use of these components may require separate licensing agreements with their respective vendors. Contact us if you need guidance for your specific use case.