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.
Contextual Definition:
It is required for every National Forest to have a Land Management Plan (LMP), often referred to as a forest plan.
A Designated Area is an area or feature identified and managed to maintain its unique special character or purpose. Some categories of designated areas may be designated only by statute and some categories may be established administratively in the land management planning process or by other administrative processes of the Federal executive branch. Examples of statutorily designated areas are national heritage areas, national recreational areas, national scenic trails, wilderness areas, and wilderness study areas. Examples of administratively designated areas are experimental forests, research natural areas, scenic byways, botanical areas, and significant caves.
Land management plan decisions may include recommendations to establish additional designated areas. Some designated areas may be formally designated or established concurrently with a plan decision, while others may not. The term "designated area" refers to categories of area or feature established by, or pursuant to, statute, regulation, or policy. Once established the designation continues until a subsequent decision by the appropriate authority removes the designation.
Generally, areas that are described in 1909.12, Chapter 20 shall be used in this recommended designated area feature class. The list in Chapter 24, exhibit 01 is not comprehensive. Some plan areas may have unique designations created by special legislation or other administrative action in addition to the types identified in this section. If a land area does not qualify as a designated area or has not been designated, but needs specific guidance, the Responsible Official may identify the area as a management area or as a geographic area to apply specific plan components in the land management plan.
Eligible and Suitable Wild and Scenic Rivers will not be used in this recommended designated area feature class.
This feature class shows the geospatial extent of each Recommended Designated Area within land management plans, with pertinent metadata and includes data from both the 1982 and 2012 planning rules. This schema can also be used as a template to build data regionally or for individual units.
If and when the Recommended Designated Area becomes an official Designated Area then the authoritative data for the Designated Area will be stored in the LSRS designated area layer.
Recommended Designated Area definition:
Areas with a single unique special character or purpose designated by statue or administratively through regulation, policy or under the land management planning process.
Characteristics:
- Is labeled as "recommended" or "proposed" AND a Designation type, regardless of a proper noun (i.e. Recommended Wilderness or Ruby Mountains Recommended Wilderness).
- Has a single unique special character or purpose and may overlap with different Designated Areas.
- May overlap with Geographic and Management Areas.
- Not all LMPs include Recommended Designated Areas. However, if an LMP includes a Recommended Designated Area, it must be described in the LMP.
- May exist as a single-part or multi-part polygon.
- May have plan components or may only be described in the LMP without plan components.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This dataset is intended for read-only use. These data show the current boundaries of National Wilderness areas, including all additions/deletions/modifications to boundaries which occurred after the area was originally designated. The boundaries in this dataset are suitable for general mapping and analysis. In comparison to the Wilderness dataset, the WildernessStatus dataset includes discrete polygons for all additions/deletions/modifications to boundaries which occurred after the area was originally designated, as well as action dates and other details. 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 current boundaries of areas that have been designated as a National Wilderness area in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
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.
Purpose:
RAVG data are produced to assist in post-fire vegetation management planning. They are intended to enhance decision-making capabilities and reduce planning and implementation costs associated with post-fire vegetation management. The primary benefit is the cost-effective and efficient identification of potential areas of resource concern following wildfire. RAVG complements the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Imagery Support program, which provides information integral to determining fire effects on soils, by providing information about fire effects on existing vegetation. RAVG analysis produces a first approximation of areas that may require reforestation treatments after a fire in order to re-establish forest cover and restore associated ecosystem services. This initial approximation may be followed by site-specific diagnosis and development of a silvicultural prescription to more precisely identify reforestation needs. The addition of land ownership, wilderness status, and the extent of high percent basal area loss allows users to assess the location and extent of need more precisely.
Themes: intended wilderness, exchange authority area, special status area, secretary's order area, alp land dataset, usda forest service, nfs lands, cost share agreement area, land adjustment plan area, forest reserve, land status
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.
Survey Boundaries maintained by the US Forest Service
This dataset is intended for read-only use. This dataset indicates the location and condition of marked and posted boundaries on the ground. These data can be used by Forest Service boundary managers to query and report the status of these boundaries for planning boundary management and maintenance work, as well as supporting field work by other users. 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 status of boundaries for which the Forest Service is responsible for surveying and marking and posting (i.e. physically identifying on the ground with signage and other marks). These include the boundaries between National Forest System (NFS) Lands and non-NFS Lands and the boundaries of congressionally designated areas such as National Wilderness.
This dataset is intended for read-only use. The boundaries in this dataset provide detailed information suitable for advanced land status mapping and analysis. The Wilderness 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 National Wilderness in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Where applicable, discrete polygons represent additions/deletions/modifications to boundaries which occurred after the area was originally designated. The dataset also provides detailed information about the designation of the area, such as the designation date, legal authority, establishing document, and more.
