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.
StwrdCntrctng_LN (Stewardship Contracting: Line) depicts the linear activities within Stewardship Contracting Project Boundary. Activities are implemented through stewardship contracts or agreements and are self-reported by Forest Service Units through the FACTS (Forest Service Activity Tracking System) database. This feature class is derived from Activity linear features and FACTS Activities tabular data located in the EDW.
Purpose:
This layer represents activities entered through FACTS accomplished through stewardship contracts and agreements. Stewardship End Result Contracting helps achieve land management goals while meeting local and rural community needs, including contributing to the sustainability of rural communities and providing a continuing source of local income and employment. It focuses on the "end result" ecosystem benefits and outcomes, rather than on what's removed from the land. The USDA Forest Service and the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received authority to implement stewardship contracting and agreements in Section 347 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY 1999, as amended by Sec. 323 of P.L. 108-7, 2003. As spatial data is a new requirement for the program, we hope to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of this data in coming years.
StwrdshpCntrctng_PT (Stewardship Contracting: Point) depicts the locations of activities within Stewardship Contracting Project Boundary. Activities are implemented through stewardship contracts or agreements and are self-reported by Forest Service Units through the FACTS Service Activity Tracking System) database. This feature class is derived from Activity point features and FACTS Activities tabular data located in the EDW.
Purpose:
This layer represents activities entered through FACTS accomplished through stewardship contracts and agreements. Stewardship End Result Contracting helps achieve land management goals while meeting local and rural community needs, including contributing to the sustainability of rural communities and providing a continuing source of local income and employment. It focuses on the "end result" ecosystem benefits and outcomes, rather than on what's removed from the land. The USDA Forest Service and the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received authority to implement stewardship contracting and agreements in Section 347 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY 1999, as amended by Sec. 323 of P.L. 108-7, 2003. As spatial data is a new requirement for the program, we hope to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of this data in coming years.
StwrdshpCntrctng_PL (Stewardship Contracting: Polygon) depicts the area of activities within Stewardship Contracting Project Boundary. Activities are implemented through stewardship contracts or agreements and are self-reported by Forest Service Units through the FACTS Service Activity Tracking System) database. This feature class is derived from Activity polygon features and FACTS Activities tabular data located in the EDW.
Purpose:
This layer represents activities entered through FACTS accomplished through stewardship contracts and agreements. Stewardship End Result Contracting helps achieve land management goals while meeting local and rural community needs, including contributing to the sustainability of rural communities and providing a continuing source of local income and employment. It focuses on the "end result" ecosystem benefits and outcomes, rather than on what's removed from the land. The USDA Forest Service and the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received authority to implement stewardship contracting and agreements in Section 347 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY 1999, as amended by Sec. 323 of P.L. 108-7, 2003. As spatial data is a new requirement for the program, we hope to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of this data 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.
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
Surface Drinking Water Importance - Forests on the Edge
These data have been depreciated and an updated dataset is available titled Forests to Faucets 2.0 (2022). More information about Forests to Faucets 2.0 can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ecosystemservices/FS_Efforts/forests2faucets.shtml
The Forests on the Edge feature class is based on the digital hydrologic unit boundary layer to the Subwatershed (12-digit) 6th level for the continental United States. This 2015 data set is an updated version of the 2011 Forests to Faucets data set. America’s private forests provide a vast array of public goods and services, including abundant, clean surface water. Forest loss and development can affect water quality and quantity when forests are removed and impervious surfaces, such as paved roads, spread across the landscape. In this study rank watersheds across the conterminous United States were ranked according to the contributions of private forest land to surface drinking water and by threats to surface water from increased housing density. Private forest land contributions to drinking water are greatest in the East but are also important in Western watersheds. Development pressures on these contributions are concentrated in the Eastern United States but are also found in the North-Central region, parts of the West and Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest; nationwide, more than 55 million acres of rural private forest land are projected to experience a substantial increase in housing density from 2000 to 2030. Planners, communities, and private landowners can use a range of strategies to maintain freshwater ecosystems, including designing housing and roads to minimize impacts on water quality, managing home sites to protect water resources, and using payment schemes and management partnerships to invest in forest stewardship on public and private lands.
