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October 2017: LFDAT, Interview, Helpdesk, Twitter
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Playing Through!
The Eagle Creek Fire near Oregon's Columbia River Gorge didn't deter players on the ninth green at the Beacon Rock Golf Course in North Bonneville, WA.

It's here: LFDAT now compatible with ArcGIS 10.3 - 10.5  

The LF Data Access Tool (LFDAT) is an ArcGIS toolbar that allows users to interact with the LF data distribution site (DDS) and download LF data directly from ArcMap. Once the data are downloaded, it can automatically process the data into raster formats ready for analysis.



LFDAT allows an ArcGIS user to drag a box in an ArcMap session to define a download area, select the desired LF layers, and then download data from the DDS for the specified extent rectangle. The downloaded zip files can be from any number of LF layers, can include single piece or multiple- piece downloads, and can include layers from any number of different spatial extent rectangles. Once all the data of interest have been downloaded, the LFDAT Smart Assembler will batch unzip the files, merge multiple-piece layers back into a single output layer if necessary, and reattach attribute fields to the output raster attribute tables. Output raster layers can be generated in ESRI GRID, Erdas Imagine, or GeoTiff formats.
 
LF Interview: Steve Bassett
 
Spatial Analyst and GIS Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico, Steve works on a wide variety of conservation projects ranging from optimizing investment in water source protection in the forested headwaters of the Rio Grande to measuring changes in aquatic habitats following the construction of dams. 

Among his current projects is one that supports the Rio Grande Water Fund, a cross-boundary multi-stakeholder collaborative that is rapidly scaling up the pace and scale of forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction in the Rio Grande basin in New Mexico and Colorado. 

READ the LF interview with Steve and about the ways LF products support this work.
What's Your Thumbnail?

LF wants to know where and how our data products are being used. Your thumbnail sketch indicating where and how you used LF data, ranking from the biggest application to the smallest, adds to our knowledge base and contributes to overall planning and product development. Please take about 10 minutes to download a short Q/A via Excel spreadsheet and fill in six blanks, and send your notes back to us. Click the button below for more information and a link to the worksheet. May we hear from you by October 17? Thanks!
Data Product Thumbnail Sketch
From the LF Helpdesk ....
You asked...
 
I'm trying to determine a general seral stage for each S-Class. For example: " D&#34--What's this? Is it considered open or closed late seral? Is it BpS dependent? Some kind of data dictionary? The only descriptions I have found indicate that ABCDE are Succession Class ABCDE, which is cryptic to me.
We answered...

Succession class designations can be confusing. They are generally consistent with A being “Early/All Structures,” B being “Mid/Closed,” C being “Mid/Open,” D being “Late/Open,” and E being “Late/Closed” for BpS with 5 seral stages. However, many BpS do not have 5 succession classes as currently modeled/described by local/regional experts so the meaning of A, B, C, ,D and E can vary. You will also find UN and UE for Uncharacteristic Native and Uncharacteristic Exotic designations and a few other things like Barren and Water.

You need to combine the BpS spatial data with the S-class spatial data so that you know the BpS for each pixel as well as the Sclass designation. Next, review the description for the relevant BpS and identify what each S-class letter designation means specifically. The S-class layer is virtually impossible to interpret without connecting it with BpS information.

Click here for BpS models and descriptions.
If you aren't following (or lurking about) LF's Twitter feed, you're missing up-to-the-minute news, announcements, photos, and links to LF applications. For example:
  • A simple but effective use for #LANDFIRE data: map your ecosystem of interest. Sparks et al. demo this method in https://goo.gl/rJTdrd 
  • #LANDFIRE Disturbance data helped Drummond et al. explore land-use change in SE USA https://goo.gl/wKDEU3 
  • #LANDFIRE shortgrass prairie data used in Parks/Wildlife study of Swift Fox occupancy/distribution in northeast CO. http://ow.ly/N9Va30eEyLk 
  • DYK? Southern Appalachian Assessment used #LANDFIRE EVT dataset to develop "Forests Vitality Index." http://ow.ly/qCvp30euucA .
  • Read how #LANDFIRE's innovative approach captures seasonal fuel change: http://ow.ly/tlAH30e72Kt 
  • Grad students are increasingly using #LANDFIRE. See this wildfire hazard mapper developed by R. Mock in his thesis. https://goo.gl/ba7PKr
You don't need a Twitter account to drop in. Open the app and type #LANDFIRE in the search box, or jump to our feed directly.
The LANDFIRE Program is a cooperative agreement between the USDA Forest Service, agencies of the Department of the Interior, and The Nature Conservancy. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, the Program is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
 
LANDFIRE
Cons Gateway
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Henry Bastian
DOI Business Lead
Frank Fay
USFS Business Lead
Don Long

USFS Technical Lead

Kurtis Nelson
EROS Technical Lead
Jim Smith
TNC-LF Project Lead

LANDFIRE Helpdesk
Our mailing address is:

LANDFIRE Bulletin | Jeannie Patton | 1680 38th Street, #120 | Boulder, CO 80301
LANDFIRE@tnc.org