Data collected and managed by Forest Service programs is available in a map service and two downloadable file formats – in a shape file and an ESRI file geodatabase.
Metadata is available that describes the content, source, and currency of the data.
You can filter the list by the topic categories in the menu at the left to help you find information you are interested in.
You can view the feature classes in a single dataset by clicking on the name of the parent dataset at the bottom of the abstract.
More Forest Service map services are available in ArcGIS Online
Shapefiles do not exist for all National Datasets.
This format has technical limitations which make them unsuitable for multiple datasets within this clearinghouse. These constraints include file size, attribute name length, field length, number of fields, limited data types, lack of topological representations and floating-point rounding errors leading to inevitable data loss.
The EDW Team is unable to support Shapefile exports for datasets that approach those limits. Esri File Geodatabases (FGDB) will remain available. Alternative formats including GeoPackage, GeoJSON, Character Separated Values (CSV), Map Services and Geospatial Discovery Tool offerings will be used to provide open format access to these National Datasets. Once these formats are available for all National Datasets, EDW will retire the shapefile format as a supported file exchange format.
Requests for KML/KMZ output
The Enterprise Data Warehouse Team tested exporting out to KML/KMZ files as a deliverable and due to the complexity and size of the datasets this has been unsuccessful.
To obtain a KML file for any EDW dataset, go to the Geospatial Data Discovery Tool and search for the dataset. An option to download to KML is available from that website.
If you have questions, contact: SM.FS.data@usda.gov.
IRR_LN (Integrated Resource Restoration (IRR): Line) depicts the location of activities funded through the NFRR (National Forest Resource Restoration) Budget Line Item and reported through the FACTS (Forest Service Activity Tracking System) database. The activities fall under number of acres treated annually to sustain or restore watershed function: acres of forestlands treated using timber sales, acres of forestland vegetation improved, acres of forestland vegetation established, acres of rangeland vegetation improved, acres treated for noxious weeds/invasive plants on NFS lands, and acres of hazardous fuels treated outside the wildland/urban interface (WUI) to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fire. The activities are self-reported by Forest Service Units.
The Knutson-Vandenberg Act (K-V) of June 9, 1930 (16 U.S.C. 576-576b; 46 Stat. 527), as amended by the National Forest Management Act of October 22, 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.) authorized collection of deposits from federal timber purchasers for prompt and efficient use of funds to reestablish, protect, and improve the production of renewable resources on timber sale areas. This includes performing soil improvement and watershed restoration, wildlife habitat improvement, control of insects, disease, and noxious weeds, tree planting, seeding and other cultural treatments necessary to maintain and improve land productivity. Since its creation millions of acres of National Forest System lands (NFS) have been treated and restored to resilient conditions and terrestrial and aquatic habitat improved. Public Law 109-54 of August 2, 2005, Title IV - General Provisions, Sec 412 further amended the K-V Act to allow the collection and use of CWKV funds for watershed restoration, wildlife habitat improvement, to prepare timber sales, control of insects, disease, and noxious weeds, fire community protection activities, and the maintenance of forest roads within the Forest Service region in which the timber sale occurred. Provided that such activities may be performed through the use of contracts, forest product sales, and cooperative agreements. Note that these activities are to be performed by contract and not Forest Service personnel. The Forest Service used this amendment to administratively create two K-V programs within the K-V fund; CWKV (Cooperative Work, Knutson-Vandenberg, Sale Area Projects) and CWK2 (Cooperative Work, Knutson-Vandenberg, Regional Projects). This layer shows the spatial representation where activities accomplished and funded with CWKV and CWK2 funds and reported through the Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS) database. It is important to note that this layer may not contain all CWKV or CWK2 accomplished activities; the spatial portion of the activity description is not currently enforced by FACTS and at this time some are optionally reported by Forest Service units. As spatial data reporting is enforced by the application and acceptant of reporting both tabular and spatial we hope to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of the data used for this layer in coming years.
The Brush Disposal Program (BD) was established in 1916. It requires all purchasers of National Forest timber to make deposits to the United States for the estimated cost of disposing of brush and other unwanted debris (slash) resulting from its cutting operations on timber sale contracts, stewardship contracts and permits, that are not disposed of by the purchaser. The geospatial representation portrays the footprint area where activities funded through BDBD budget line item (BLI) and PPPP (Purchaser elect) and reported through the Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS) database are located in the landscape database. Not all Forest Service units have debris generated requiring BD funds for disposal. Brush disposal activities must be consistent with direction established in forest land and resource management plans, and identified in environmental documents developed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). It is important to note that this layer may not contain all brush disposal activities; the spatial portion of the activity description is not currently enforced by FACTS and at this time is optionally reported by Forest Service units. As spatial data is a new requirement for all brush disposal activities, we hope to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of the data used to develop this layer in coming years.
The Healthy Forest Restoration Act feature class depicts National Forest System (NFS) Lands within 37 States designated under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. Designated areas were selected based on a set of eligibility criteria regarding forest health and do not include any areas coinciding with Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas. The data is comprised of selected HUC-6 units or other areas of similar size and scope clipped to Proclaimed National Forest System lands. Non-Forest Service land ownership areas (inholdings) are also removed. In some cases, entire National Forests were designated. Some state designations' methodologies may differ from the national standard. Please note that this data is current as of the last refresh date, and changes to designated areas will be republished and archived on a weekly basis. Therefore, the most current layer along with previous years' data are available, and the user should ensure that they understand which layer is being accessed. Previous years' data will have a date stamp in the file name, while the most current layer will not. Further, the attribute, "Latest_Revision_Date" contains the date of the most recent designation layer for each state.
Purpose:
This data represents areas designated within National Forest System Lands, in 37 States, that are eligible for insect and disease treatments under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. This is the most current dataset.
Allotment is a feature class in the Rangeland Management data set. It represents the area boundaries of livestock grazing allotments that include active pastures associated with the allotment. The area corresponds to tabular data in the RIMS (Rangeland Information Management System).
Purpose:
The Allotment feature class designates boundaries to establish extent of livestock distribution and management within the allotment. This is a published layer created by combining GIS data managed by each National Forest and attribute data stored in the Rangeland Information Management System. The data is used to create permit maps, field working maps and any other logical uses that the internal and external public may determine this information is helpful for.
Pasture is a feature class in the Rangeland Management data set. It represents the area boundaries of livestock grazing pastures. The area corresponds to tabular data in the RIMS (Rangeland Information Management System).
Purpose:
The Pasture feature class designates boundaries to establish extent of livestock distribution and management within pastures. This is a published layer created by combining GIS data managed by each National Forest and attribute data stored in the Forest Service Infra database application. This dataset is designed for reporting and analysis and is not used to enter or edit data. The data will be used to create permit maps, field working maps and any other logical uses that the internal and external public may determine this information is helpful for.
This feature class depicts area boundaries of Wild Horse and Burro Territories to correspond to tabular data in the RIMS (Rangeland Information Management System).
Purpose:
The Wild Horse and Burro Territories feature class designates boundaries to establish extent of distribution and management of Wild Horse and Burro territories. This is a published layer created by combining GIS data managed by each National Forest and attribute data stored in the Forest Service RIMS database application. This dataset is designed for reporting and analysis and is not used to enter or edit data. The data will be used to create field working maps and any other logical uses that the internal and external public may determine this information is helpful for.
This data depicts terrestrial aerial fire retardant avoidance areas delivered as part of the 2011 Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land Environmental Impact Statement, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision. This data shows areas, provided by each National Forest, where the aerial application of fire retardant should be avoided in order to prevent the potential of impacts to Federally listed threatened or endangered species as identified through consultation, or Forest Service sensitive species.This data is to be used in planning and implementation phases of U.S. Forest Service fire activities to help prevent intrusions of aerial fire retardant in known areas of TEPCS (Threatened, Endangered, Proposed, Candidate, Sensitive) species throughout National Forest lands. Provided here is a National merged dataset derived from each National Forest contribution. This data has been merged, dissolved, and erased of attributes contained in each original component dataset. For this purpose, specific attributes are not necessary, as any spatial areas depicted simply show areas where aerial fire retardant use is to be avoided as stated in U.S. Forest Service guidelines.
Purpose:
This data depicts terrestrial aerial fire retardant avoidance areas for use in digital, hardcopy, and online mapping to support the 2011 Record of Decision for the Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land EIS, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision. This data should be used in conjunction with aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance area data. An aerial fire retardant avoidance area is defined as an area in which application of aerial fire retardant is prohibited to avoid, limit, or mitigate potential impacts to specified resources. For additional information please see the Interagency Wildland Fire Chemicals Policy and Guidance: https:/www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/chemicals
This data depicts aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas delivered as part of the 2011 Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land Environmental Impact Statement, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision.This data shows areas where the aerial application of fire retardant should be avoided in order to prevent the potential of impacts to aquatic features across National Forest lands. The data is based on the high resolution National Hydrographic Dataset (NHD) produced by USGS. Each National Forest has the opportunity annually to modify the default NHD water representation (300ft buffer around all perennial and intermittent water features) to more accurately represent aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas.This data is to be used in planning and implementation phases of U.S. Forest Service fire activities to help prevent intrusions of aerial fire retardant in these aquatic areas throughout National Forest lands. Provided here is a regionally merged dataset. This data has been merged, dissolved, and erased of attributes contained in each original component dataset. For this purpose, specific attributes are not necessary, as any spatial areas depicted simply show areas where aerial fire retardant use is to be avoided as stated in U.S. Forest Service guidelines.
Purpose:
Note that this data is current as of March 1, 2025 for Region 3 and April 1, 2025 for all other Regions. It is updated annually. This data depicts aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas for use in digital, hardcopy, and online mapping to support the 2011 Record of Decision for the Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land EIS, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision. This data should be used in conjunction with terrestrial aerial fire retardance avoidance area data. An aerial fire retardant avoidance area is defined as an area in which application of aerial fire retardant is prohibited to avoid, limit, or mitigate potential impacts to specified resources. For additional information please see the Interagency Wildland Fire Chemicals Policy and Guidance: https:/www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/chemicals
This data is intended for read-only use. The purpose of the data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining locations of designated communications sites located on National Forest System lands, for Forest Service managers and other interested parties.
Purpose:
An area of National Forest System (NFS) lands administered by an administrative unit for the purpose of authorizing, via a lease or permit, a government or non-government entity to construct, operate, maintain and terminate communications facilities and ancillary improvements. The area encompasses NFS lands that are specifically designated for this purpose.
Ecosystem Terrestrial Ecological Unit Inventory Status
The purpose of this dataset is to display the extent of existing Terrestrial Ecological Unit inventory (TEUI) data internally to facilitate inter-agency collaboration. The feature class for this dataset will display polygons of the ecological unit plots, acreages, and percent coverages of National Forest and Grassland administrative boundaries using their common names, with a percent coverage for Land Type and acres of forest per plot.
Emergency Situation Determination: Healthy Forest Restoration Boundaries and Wildfire Hazard Potential- High/Very High
Emergency Situation Determination (ESD) lands, per the Secretary's Memo 1078-006: Increasing Timber Production and Designating an Emergency Situation on National Forest System Lands, have been designated by either being at risk from insect and diseases under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, or have a high or very high wildfire hazard potential. Only Forest Service owned lands are included in this feature. https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/edw/edw_resources/meta/BdyDesg_HFRA_EmergencySituationDetermination.xml
Purpose:
This data represents areas designated as Emergency Situation Determination lands owned by the National Forests by the USDA Secretary's Memo 1078-006 Emergency Situation Determination (ESD) that, under section 40807 of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA), identified all National Forest System lands that are eligible for insect and disease treatments under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and all National Forest System lands designated as having a high or very high wildfire hazard potential.
The FIRESTAT (Fire Statistics System) Fire Occurrence point layer represents ignition points, or points of origin, from which individual wildland fires started on National Forest System lands. The source is the FIRESTAT database, which contains records of fire occurrence, related fire behavior conditions, and the suppression actions taken by management taken from the Individual Wildland Fire Report. This publicly available dataset is updated annually for all years previous to January 1 on or after February 16th.
Basic Description: The FSCommonNames dataset contains the common names of the national forests and grasslands and their respective FS WWW URL information that is used for both display of the national forest and national grassland boundaries on any map product and for dynamic interactivity of the map. This published dataset consists of one polygon feature class. There is also a generalized version of this dataset called FSCommonNames_Gen. Detailed Description: This dataset exhibits the following characteristics: 1. Granularity of the polygon features: The spatial extent of the national forests and the grasslands match the way the agency would like to communicate with the public. 2. Preferred /Common Name of the National Forest Units: The common names of the national forest and grassland match the preferred name column that is present in the common names decision table maintained by the Office of Communication. 3. Hyperlinks to FS WWW Home page: This column contains the national forest and their respective FS WWW URL information. This URL could be used on any interactive map applications to link users directly to a forests home page.
Purpose:
The FS Common Names dataset satisfies a business need to be fed into ArcGIS Online and the Interactive Visitor Map (IVM) application. Specifically for display in the IVM, the forests and grasslands are displayed with their specific (common) names instead of being lumped together. For example, the National Forests in Texas display as Sam Houston National Forest, Davy Crockett National Forest, Angelina National Forest, Sabine National Forest, Caddo National Grassland and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland instead of all being represented as just 'National Forests in Texas'. In addition, any web map or web application created in the USFS ArcGIS Online organizational account will have the ability to pull in the FS Common Names Layer by referencing map services containing this data. Labels and queries will show the common name for each forest and grassland. The data will also be made available to USFS partners to assist with consistent outward communication. The data will used in various other Agency map products. New custom digital applications or hard copy maps may use the common names layer to display the common names recognized by the public or in the way the agency wants to depict them to the public.
This dataset is a spatial display of US Forest Service stumpage market appraisal zones. A zone may encompass a Region, a National Forest, a group of Ranger Districts, or combinations thereof. Each unique market appraisal zone defines a localized stumpage market. In each market area, stumpage values reflect the market value of standing trees (on the stump) prior to felling, removal, and utilization in a value-added manufacturing activity. The zone boundary is typically determined by factors including, but not limited to, manufacturing facilities, hauling distances, species yield compositions, timber quality, market area competition, and logging methods.
Purpose:
The purpose of this dataset is to spatially display USFS stumpage market and geographical extent of Agency appraisal zones. This information assists the USFS to quantify supply and demand for stumpage, serves as the basis for project economic analysis, defines the geographic extent of base appraisal data, and helps Agency partners and customers prepare bids for federal stumpage. The geographic extent of Agency appraisal zones serves as the foundational basis to perform market research and competitive analysis. The geographic area may encompass a Region, National Forest, a group of Ranger Districts, or combinations thereof. The zone boundary is typically determined by factors including, but not limited to, manufacturing facilities, haul distances, species yield compositions, timber quality, market area competition, and logging methods.
This feature class contains water runoff metrics from Forest Service lands. Note: 'Forest Service Lands' are here defined as those lands within the Forest Service administrative boundaries; these include some inholdings and other non-USFS lands enclosed within these boundaries. This feature class was generated from the original study "Modeled historical streamflow metrics for the contiguous United States and National Forest Lands" (Luce, et. al., 2017) and the 2012 snapshot of the stream layer from the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). More information pertaining to the original streamflow dataset is available on the Research Data Archive: https://www.fs.usda.gov/rds/archive/Product/RDS-2017-0046.
Purpose:
Available water supply varies greatly across the United States depending on topography, climate, elevation and geology. Forested and mountainous locations, such as national forests, tend to receive more precipitation than adjacent non-forested or low-lying areas. However, contributions of national forest lands to regional streamflow volumes is largely unknown. This streamflow metrics feature class provides a high resolution, spatially explicit estimate of annual and summer flow volumes that can be used in more extensive studies of water quantity and water quality. In addition, the dataset highlights the relative importance of national forest lands to overall water quantity.
This dataset contains the detailed information about the individual asset linear features such as roads and trails that make up Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) projects. This data can be used together with the project summary data to display general project locations. The data is refreshed on a nightly basis from the US Forest Service database of infrastructure projects which is stewarded by the individual National Forests and Grasslands.For more information about Forest Service GAOA projects visit our website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa
This dataset contains the detailed information about the individual asset point features such as recreation sites, that make up Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) projects. This data can be used together with the project summary data to display general project and asset locations. The data is refreshed on a nightly basis from the US Forest Service database of infrastructure projects which is stewarded by the individual National Forests and Grasslands. For more information about Forest Service GAOA projects visit our website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa
Great American Outdoors Act Project Summary: Point
This dataset displays the approximate location of US Forest Service, Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) projects. The data is refreshed on a nightly basis from the US Forest Service database of infrastructure projects which is stewarded by the individual National Forests and Grasslands.This dataset is a spatial data layer of points representing the approximate or general location where the project takes place. The point location is intended for use in small scale maps to indicate the general location of the projects across the country. The location data is maintained by staff on the individual National Forest or Grassland using the database of record. Because a project can be made up of many assets distributed across a land area, a single project location point will not always reflect the specific location and extent of the work in the project. The project detail data can be used to display the individual assets that make up the project. For more information about Forest Service GAOA projects visit our website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa
Purpose:
This dataset is a spatial data layer of points representing the approximate or general location where the project takes place. The point location is intended for use in small scale maps to indicate the general location of the projects across the country. The location is data is maintained by staff on the individual National Forest or Grass land using the Infra Project Module. Because a project can be made up of many assets distributed across a land area, a single project location point will not always reflect the specific location and extent of the work in the project. The detailed project asset data can be used to meet this need.
The Healthy Forest Restoration Act feature class depicts National Forest System (NFS) Lands within 37 States designated under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. Designated areas were selected based on a set of eligibility criteria regarding forest health and do not include any areas coinciding with Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas. The data is comprised of selected HUC-6 units or other areas of similar size and scope clipped to Proclaimed National Forest System lands. Non-Forest Service land ownership areas (inholdings) are also removed. In some cases, entire National Forests were designated. Some state designations' methodologies may differ from the national standard. Please note that HealthyForestRestoration_2023 is an archived version. The most current version of this data is contained in the feature class named simply HealthyForestRestoration. Therefore, the most current layer along with previous years' data are available, and the user should ensure that they understand which layer is being accessed. Previous years' data will have a date stamp in the file name, while the most current layer will not. Further, the attribute, "Latest_Revision_Date" contains the date of the most recent designation layer for each state.
Purpose:
This data represents areas designated within National Forest System Lands, in 37 States, that are eligible for insect and disease treatments under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. This is a previous version of the dataset, archived in 2023.
The Healthy Forest Restoration Act feature class depicts National Forest System (NFS) Lands within 37 States designated under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. Designated areas were selected based on a set of eligibility criteria regarding forest health and do not include any areas coinciding with Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas. The data is comprised of selected HUC-6 units or other areas of similar size and scope clipped to Proclaimed National Forest System lands. Non-Forest Service land ownership areas (inholdings) are also removed. In some cases, entire National Forests were designated. Some state designations' methodologies may differ from the national standard. Please note that HealthyForestRestoration_2024 is an archived version. The most current version of this data is contained in the feature class named simply HealthyForestRestoration. Therefore, the most current layer along with previous years' data are available, and the user should ensure that they understand which layer is being accessed. Previous years' data will have a date stamp in the file name, while the most current layer will not. Further, the attribute, "Latest_Revision_Date" contains the date of the most recent designation layer for each state.
Purpose:
This data represents areas designated within National Forest System Lands, in 37 States, that are eligible for insect and disease treatments under section 602 and 603 of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. This is a previous version of the dataset, archived in 2024.
In 2021, the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) initiated a tracking mechanism that requires all federal agencies that own or manage land to categorize the acres of those lands into three broad categories of predominant land use and produce an annual report. In this context the USDA Forest Service has considered the definitions of each category and classified all acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands into 1. Conservation/Preservation, 2. Commercial, 3. Operational designations. Those designations are additionally separated by whether the lands have been identified as Stewardship lands, or if the lands were acquired by the federal government for General Plant, Property & Equipment purposes. In response, the Washington Office Lands and Realty Management staff determined the appropriate data sources for this annual report and developed classification rules and a geoprocessing methodology to overlay and extract a seamless and complete NFS acreage total by the required categorizations. The acres of land in each category are dynamic, as the status of surface ownership may change from year to year based on administrative and congressional designations, purchases, dispositions, or exchanges. The data used to generate the report are updated weekly, and this translates into continuously refreshed reporting and mapping products. Presented here is the spatial representation of the rule-based land category designations of NFS lands.
The FASAB land categories are defined as follows:
Conservation/ Preservation: land or land rights that are predominantly used for conservation or preservation purposes.
Conservation: protection and proper use of natural resources.
Preservation: the protection of buildings, objects, and landscapes.
Commercial: land and permanent land rights that are predominately used to generate inflows of resources derived from the land itself or activities that nonfederal third parties perform on the land, usually through special use permits, right-of-way grants, and leases.
Operational: land that is used for general or administrative purposes.
The Land_FASAB dataset covers National Forest System Lands including federally owned units of forest, range, and related land consisting of national forests, purchase units, national grasslands, land utilization project areas, experimental forest areas, experimental range areas, designated experimental areas, other land areas, water areas, and interests in lands that are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service or designated for administration through the Forest Service.
Additional information on this FASAB and the geoprocessing used to produce this dataset can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Land-FASAB-dataset-FAQ.pdf
National Forest Lands with Nationally Designated Management or Use Limitations
This dataset is intended for read-only use. These show the current boundaries of areas which impose management or use restrictions on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The boundaries in this dataset have been merged by area name and provide a simplified view of the boundaries which are suitable for general mapping and analysis. The OtherNationalDesignatedAreaStatus dataset provides more detailed information about the boundaries for use in more advanced mapping and analysis. The purpose of the data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining current boundary information for Forest Service managers, GIS specialists, and others.
Purpose:
This dataset represents the current boundaries of areas (excluding National Wilderness and National Wild & Scenic Rivers) which impose management or use restrictions on National Forest System (NFS) lands. These areas were designated by legal authority above the Agency level (Congress and/or the President). Examples of other national designated areas include National Recreation Area, National Monument, and National Game Refuge.
National Forest Lands with Nationally Designated Management or Use Limitations: Legal Status
This dataset is intended for read-only use. This dataset represents the transactional boundaries of areas (excluding National Wilderness and National Wild & Scenic Rivers) which impose management or use restrictions on National Forest System (NFS) lands. In this dataset, discrete polygons represent the original area designated and subsequent additions/deletions/modifications to that area. These are areas designated by a Public Law, Executive Order, Presidential Proclamation, or other authority. Related details include the date of designation, status of the final boundary description, authority, and land status case and document information associated with the areas.The boundaries in this dataset provide detailed information suitable for advanced land status mapping and analysis. The OtherNationalDesignatedArea dataset provides the current area boundaries (not split by transaction) which is suitable for most mapping and analysis. The purpose of these data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining current boundary information for Forest Service managers, GIS specialists, and others.
Purpose:
This dataset represents the transactional boundaries of areas (excluding National Wilderness and National Wild & Scenic Rivers) which impose management or use restrictions on National Forest System (NFS) lands. It also provides detailed information about the designation of the area, such as the designation date, legal authority, establishing document, and more. These areas were designated by legal authority above the Agency level (i.e. Congress and/or the President). Examples of other national designated areas include National Recreation Area, National Monument, and National Game Refuge.
Themes: alp land dataset, usda forest service, nfs land unit, nfs lands, national preserve, purchase unit, research and experimental area, other area, land utilization project, national forest, land status, national grassland
This dataset is intended for read-only use. The purpose of these data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining current boundary information for Forest Service managers, GIS specialists, and others.
Purpose:
This dataset represents National Forest System Land Units, which is a classification of federally owned Forest, Range, and related lands that are administered by the Forest Service or designated for administration through the Forest Service. National Forest System Land Unit types include Proclaimed National Forest, Purchase Unit, National Grassland, Land Utilization Project, Research and Experimental Area, National Preserve, and Other Land Area. Each National Forest System Land Unit is identified by a National Forest Fiscal Identifier (NFFID) code, a unique 4-digit number that is used for accounting purposes.
Existing Forest Service roads with attributes representing their characteristics. Each feature represents a segment of road where the attributes are the same. Attributes apply either to the entire road or to some measured distance along the road.
Purpose:
This feature class represents existing National Forest System (NFSR) roads necessary for the protection, administration and utilization of the National Forest. Only roads under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service are included.
The TrailNFS_Publish Layer is designed to provide information about National Forest System trail locations and characteristics to the public. When fully realized, it will describe trail locations, basic characteristics of the trail, and where and when various trail uses are prohibited, allowed and encouraged. Because the data readiness varies between Forests, each Forest will approve which level of attribute subset are published for that forest. Forests can provide no information or one of three attribute subsets describing trails. The attribute subsets include TrailNFS_Centerline which includes the location and trail name and number; TrailNFS_Basic which adds information about basic trail characteristics; and TrailNFS_Mgmt which adds information about where and when users are prohibited, allowed, and encouraged. When a Forest chooses to provide the highest attribute subset, TrailNFS_Mgmt, these attributes must be consistent with the Forest's published Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM).
Purpose:
The TrailNFS_Publish Layer is designed to provide information about National Forest System trail locations and characteristics to the public. When fully realized, it will describe trail locations, basic characteristics of the trail, and where and when various trail uses are prohibited, allowed and encouraged. Because the data readiness varies between Forests, each Forest will approve which level of attribute subset are published for that forest. Forests can provide no information or one of three attribute subsets describing trails. The attribute subsets include TrailNFS_Centerline which includes the location and trail name and number; TrailNFS_Basic which adds information about basic trail characteristics; and TrailNFS_Mgmt which adds information about where and when users are prohibited, allowed, and encouraged. When a Forest chooses to provide the highest attribute subset, TrailNFS_Mgmt, these attributes must be consistent with the Forest's published Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM).
The FirePerimeterFinal polygon layer represents final mapped wildland fire perimeters. This feature class is a subset of the FirePerimeters feature class. Incidents of 10 acres or greater in size are expected. Incidents smaller than 10 acres in size may also be included. Data are maintained at the Forest/District level, or their equivalent, to track the area affected by wildland fire. Records in FirePerimeter include perimeters for wildland fires that have corresponding records in FIRESTAT, which is the authoritative data source for all wildland fire reports. FIRESTAT, the Fire Statistics System computer application, required by the USFS for all wildland fire occurrences on National Forest System Lands or National Forest-protected lands, is used to enter and maintain information from the Individual Fire Report (FS-5100-29).
Purpose:
The FirePerimeter polygon data layer is a representation of where wildland fire incidents have occurred on National Forest System Lands and/or where protection is the responsibility of the US Forest Service. Data are maintained at the Forest/District level, or their equivalent, to track the occurrence and the origin of individual USFS wildland fires. Knowing where wildland fire events have happened in the past is critical to land management efforts in the future. This data is utilized by fire & aviation staffs, land managers, land planners, and resource specialists on and around National Forest System Lands. The attributes included within the FirePerimeter polygon layer are needed to meet the needs of the US Forest Service, for data exchange between interagency data systems, to relate to the FireOccurrence point data layer and various fire data systems, and to track the areas affected by wildland fire.
The FireOccurrence point layer represents ignition points, or points of origin, from which individual USFS wildland fires started. Data are maintained at the Forest/District level, or their equivalent, to track the occurrence and the origin of individual USFS wildland fires. Forests are working to include historical data, which may be incomplete.
Purpose:
The FireOccurrence point layer represents ignition points from which individual USFS wildland fires started on National Forest System Lands and/or where protection is the responsibility of the US Forest Service. Knowing where wildland fire events have happened in the past is critical to land management efforts in the future. This data is utilized by fire & aviation staffs, land managers, land planners, and resource specialists on and around National Forest System Lands. The attributes included within the FireOccurrence point layer are needed to meet the needs of the US Forest Service, for data exchange between interagency data systems, to relate to the FirePerimeter polygon data layer and various fire data systems, and to track the locations of wildland fires.
The FirePerimeter polygon layer represents daily and final mapped wildland fire perimeters. Incidents of 10 acres or greater in size are expected. Incidents smaller than 10 acres in size may also be included. Data are maintained at the Forest/District level, or their equivalent, to track the area affected by wildland fire. Records in FirePerimeter include perimeters for wildland fires that have corresponding records in FIRESTAT, which is the authoritative data source for all wildland fire reports. FIRESTAT, the Fire Statistics System computer application, required by the USFS for all wildland fire occurrences on National Forest System Lands or National Forest-protected lands, is used to enter and maintain information from the Individual Fire Report (FS-5100-29).
Purpose:
The FirePerimeter polygon data layer is a representation of where wildland fire incidents have occurred on National Forest System Lands and/or where protection is the responsibility of the US Forest Service. Data are maintained at the Forest/District level, or their equivalent, to track the occurrence and the origin of individual USFS wildland fires. Knowing where wildland fire events have happened in the past is critical to land management efforts in the future. This data is utilized by fire & aviation staffs, land managers, land planners, and resource specialists on and around National Forest System Lands. The attributes included within the FirePerimeter polygon layer are needed to meet the needs of the US Forest Service, for data exchange between interagency data systems, to relate to the FireOccurrence point data layer and various fire data systems, and to track the areas affected by wildland fire.
This dataset is intended for read-only use. The purpose of these data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining current boundary information for Forest Service managers, GIS specialists, and others.
Purpose:
This dataset represents the boundaries encompassing the National Forest System (NFS) lands within the original proclaimed National Forests, along with subsequent Executive Orders, Proclamations, Public Laws, Public Land Orders, Secretary of Agriculture Orders, and Secretary of Interior Orders creating modifications thereto, along with lands added to the NFS which have taken on the status of 'reserved from the public domain' under the General Exchange Act or other authorities. This dataset is the source of the “FS National Forests” dataset in the National Geospatial Data Assets collection.
Original Proclaimed National Forests and National Grasslands
This dataset is intended for read-only use. This layer includes both Proclaimed Forest and National Grassland boundary areas, which allows the two boundaries to be more easily used in tandem. The purpose of these data is to provide display, identification, and analysis tools for determining current boundary information for Forest Service managers, GIS specialists, and others.
Purpose:
This dataset represents both Proclaimed Forest and National Grassland boundary areas. The Proclaimed Forest boundaries encompass lands within the original proclaimed Forest Reserves and National Forests, along with subsequent Executive Orders, Proclamations, Public Laws, Public Land Orders, Secretary of Agriculture Orders, and Secretary of Interior Orders creating modifications thereto, along with lands added to the National Forest System which have taken on the status of 'reserved from the public domain' under the General Exchange Act or other authorities. A National Grassland is a unit designated by the Secretary of Agriculture and permanently held by the Department of Agriculture under Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.
The USDA Forest Service Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) program produces geospatial and related data representing post-fire vegetation condition by means of standardized change detection methods based on Landsat or similar multispectral satellite imagery. RAVG data products characterize the impact of disturbance (fire) on vegetation within a fire perimeter, and include estimates of percent change in live basal area (BA), percent change in canopy cover (CC), and the standardized composite burn index (CBI). Standard thematic products include 7-class percent change in basal area (BA-7), 5-class percent change in canopy cover (CC-5), and 4-class CBI (CBI-4). Contingent upon the availability of suitable imagery, RAVG products are prepared for all wildland fires reported within the conterminous United States (CONUS) that include at least 1000 acres of forested National Forest System (NFS) land (500 acres for Regions 8 and 9 as of 2016). Data for individual fires are typically made available within 45 days after fire containment ("initial assessments"). Late-season fires, however, may be deferred until the following spring or summer ("extended assessments"). Annual national mosaics of each thematic product are prepared at the end of the fire season and updated, as needed, when additional fires from the given year are processed. The annual mosaics are available via the Raster Data Warehouse (RDW, see https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/RDW_Wildfire). A combined perimeter dataset, including the burn boundaries for all published Forest Service RAVG fires from 2012 to the present, is likewise updated as needed (at least annually).
RAVG Perimeters - Postfire Vegetation Change by Forest
The USDA Forest Service Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) program produces geospatial and related data representing post-fire vegetation condition by means of standardized change detection methods based on Landsat or similar multispectral satellite imagery. RAVG data products characterize the impact of disturbance (fire) on vegetation within a fire perimeter, and include estimates of percent change in live basal area (BA), percent change in canopy cover (CC), and the standardized composite burn index (CBI). Standard thematic products include 7-class percent change in basal area (BA-7), 5-class percent change in canopy cover (CC-5), and 4-class CBI (CBI-4). Contingent upon the availability of suitable imagery, RAVG products are prepared for all wildland fires reported within the conterminous United States (CONUS) that include at least 1000 acres of forested National Forest System (NFS) land (500 acres for Regions 8 and 9 as of 2016). Data for individual fires are typically made available within 45 days after fire containment ("initial assessments"). Late-season fires, however, may be deferred until the following spring or summer ("extended assessments"). Annual national mosaics of each thematic product are prepared at the end of the fire season and updated, as needed, when additional fires from the given year are processed. The annual mosaics are available via the Raster Data Warehouse (RDW, see https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/RDW_Wildfire). A combined perimeter dataset, including the burn boundaries for all published Forest Service RAVG fires from 2012 to the present, is likewise updated as needed (at least annually). This current dataset is derived from the combined perimeter dataset and adds spatial information about land ownership (National Forest) and wilderness status, as well as the areal extent of forested land (pre-fire) that experience a modeled BA loss above 50 and 75 percent.
This is a once-over landslide inventory of the Tongass National Forest. This inventory includes all mass wasting features--including talus slopes, snow avalanche fields, and snow avalanche chutes. Each of these are coded differently in the attributes. It may be necssary to exclude several polygons in this data set when using it to determine landslide rates. Most of these landslide polygons were digitized on the 1998 to 2010 ortho photos in GIS. Many of them were age bracketed using air photos back to the 1929 Navy Trimegon photos. It includes both field and photo interpreted landslides. All of the landslides included once-over completed in FY2024 were age bracketed. There is an associated Points feature class that are the landslide initiation zone approximations. These points only exist for true landslides--debris avalanches, debris torrents, combination debris avalanches/torrents, slumps, rotation failures, and rock fall-initiated failures.
Purpose:
Landslide inventory of the Tongass National Forest Proclamation Boundary. Work completed in FY 2024
This is the point feature class for theonce-over landslide inventory of the Tongass National Forest. Most of the landslide polygons were digitized on the 1998 to 2010 ortho photos in GIS. Many of them were age bracketed using air photos back to the 1929 Navy Trimegon photos. It includes both field and photo interpreted landslides. This is only the point layer with initiation points for debris avalanches, debris torrents, combination debris avalances-debris torrents, slumps, rock fall initiated failures, and rotational failures.
Purpose:
Estimated initation points for the landslide inventory of the Tongass National Forest Proclamation Boundary. Intended to accompany the polygon feature class named TongassLandslideAreas. Updated in FY 2024
Sixty-seven maps from "Indian Land Cessions in the United States," compiled by Charles C. Royce and published as the second part of the two-part Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1896-1897 have been scanned, georeferenced in JPEG2000 format, and digitized to create this feature class of cession maps. The mapped cessions and reservations included in the 67 maps correspond to entries in Royce's Schedule of Indian Land Cessions (Schedule), "indicating the number and location of each cession by or reservation for the Indian tribes from the organization of the Federal Government to and including 1894, together with descriptions of the tracts so ceded or reserved, the date of the treaty, law or executive order governing the same, the name of the tribe or tribes affected thereby, and historical data and references bearing thereon," as set forth in the subtitle of the Schedule.
Purpose:
For several years, the U.S. Forest Service’s Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) has explored opportunities to improve accuracy and completeness of mapping data of contemporary and historical tribal land areas through conversations with Forest Service Lands and Engineering staff. The data's utility has been demonstrated in numerous instances; for example, in support of improved decision-making surrounding both incident and resource management, meeting Forest Service treaty and trust responsibilities, defining the scope of tribal needs and interests on Forest Service lands, and identification of cooperative opportunities, such as those authorized by the Tribal Forest Protection Act. That much of the land Tribes ceded to the United States through treaties are now National Forest Service lands compels the Forest Service to try and determine the tribal interests that may still exist in those lands today, regardless of whether the Tribes are still physically on the land or were removed.
This is a table used for joining additional attributes to the feature class called TribalCededLands, which is the result of scanning, georeferencing and digitizing sixty-seven maps from "Indian Land Cessions in the United States," compiled by Charles C. Royce and published as the second part of the two-part Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1896-1897. The mapped cessions and reservations included in the 67 maps correspond to entries in Royce's Schedule of Indian Land Cessions (Schedule), "indicating the number and location of each cession by or reservation for the Indian tribes from the organization of the Federal Government to and including 1894, together with descriptions of the tracts so ceded or reserved, the date of the treaty, law or executive order governing the same, the name of the tribe or tribes affected thereby, and historical data and references bearing thereon," as set forth in the subtitle of the Schedule.
Purpose:
For several years, the U.S. Forest Service’s Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) has explored opportunities to improve accuracy and completeness of mapping data of contemporary and historical tribal land areas through conversations with Forest Service Lands and Engineering staff. The data's utility has been demonstrated in numerous instances; for example, in support of improved decision-making surrounding both incident and resource management, meeting Forest Service treaty and trust responsibilities, defining the scope of tribal needs and interests on Forest Service lands, and identification of cooperative opportunities, such as those authorized by the Tribal Forest Protection Act. That much of the land Tribes ceded to the United States through treaties are now National Forest Service lands compels the Forest Service to try and determine the tribal interests that may still exist in those lands today, regardless of whether the Tribes are still physically on the land or were removed.
