Explore GTAC

“We are thrilled to announce the release of the new LCMS Data Explorer, which leverages work accomplished by a diverse science team composed of Forest Service researchers, academia, and other government organizations. The data set's increased geographic coverage allows agency and public users to view, analyze, summarize, and download extensive imagery data showing landscape changes over time across the nation,” said Deb Oakeson, GTAC Director.

Prior to the latest release, the LCMS data covered only Region 4 (the Intermountain Region) of the National Forest System plus four other national forests. In addition, the updated LCMS Data Explorer offers new kinds of data.

“In addition to the original Vegetation Loss data layer, users can now use LCMS to analyze Vegetation Gain, Land Cover, Land Use, Fast Loss, and Slow Loss data layers,” said Kevin Megown, GTAC's Program Lead for Resource Mapping, Inventory and Monitoring. Megown oversees the GTAC team that updates and improves LCMS data, visualization tool, and user support.

How is LCMS data used? GTAC's online LCMS Data Explorer was originally developed to leverage USFS research to visualize the process of change across a landscape. (Link to time-lapse example on the Rocky Mountain Research Station's website). Managers then used it to make informed decisions for future management. For example, Forest Service regional and forest-level staffs have helped identify many applications for LCMS data including forest planning and revision, updating existing vegetation maps, assessing landscape conditions, supporting post-fire recovery, Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS) analysis, disturbance tracking, and meeting broad-scale monitoring requirements.

The history of federal forest management dates to 1876 when Congress recognized the need for oversight of the quality and conditions of forests throughout the country. This foresight has evolved into today's Forest Service, with a mission firmly rooted in sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Located in Salt Lake City, UT, GTAC provides leadership in geospatial science implementation in the USDA Forest Service. Learn more about GTAC's mission, projects, career opportunities, and publicly available geospatial applications by visiting the center's USDA Forest Service website at https://fs.usda.gov/about-agency/gtac.

Using NASA data, Forest Service’s Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) modernized the application to provide wildfire managers and suppression personnel and the public real-time access to data, maps, and visualization products of active wildfires across all land ownerships. Examples of visualization products tailored to meet the strategic information and modelling needs of wildfire response analysts include 2-D and 3-D time-lapses of smoke, predictions of smoke/fire movement, fire temperature over time, and more.

“We appreciate our colleagues and partners at NASA, and we are excited to complete this latest effort together to ensure availability of state-of-the-art active wildfire mapping,” said Deb Oakeson, Director at GTAC.

According to Oakeson, wildland fire response is an interagency effort. Among other roles, the Forest Service coordinates the fire remote sensing services for mapping large incidents. Since the earliest active fire mapping version in 2001, the USDA Forest Service application has been enabled by satellite imagery and technologies provided by NASA.

“NASA values its on-going partnership with the Forest Service that is improving our ability to use near real-time satellite data to respond to wildfires. This joint effort to modernize GTAC’s Active Fire Mapping applications by leveraging NASA’s FIRMS both enhances our global FIRMS application framework and focuses it on the needs of US and Canadian operational fire management activities,” said Robert Wolfe, Chief of the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center.

Brad Quayle is a remote sensing and GIS specialist who leads the active fire mapping application team at GTAC. With the FIRMS-US/Canada app now live, Quayle says the legacy application will continue to be available for about a year.

“The period of overlap will provide a gradual sunset for the legacy platform. Wildfire agencies, decision support applications, and the public are ensured continual access to the legacy platform as they transition to the upgraded tool,” he said. Meanwhile, the partners will implement additional enhancements to the new application.

The history of federal forest management dates to 1876 when Congress recognized the need for oversight of the quality and conditions of forests throughout the country. This foresight has evolved into today’s Forest Service, with a mission firmly rooted in sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

The Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) applies new geospatial science, technology, and methods to the Forest Service’s daily work to help the agency achieve its mission using the best science available. Learn more about GTAC’s mission, projects, career opportunities, and publicly available geospatial applications by visiting the center’s USDA Forest Service website at https://fs.usda.gov/about-agency/gtac.

The Forest Service has a long record of land management success working in complex and changing environments. Our vast collection of geospatial information and data, and our capacity to embrace new technologies and techniques contribute to that success. Lidar data serves the Forest Service's mission by providing the best available data about our forests on a landscape scale. We use lidar data to directly sample forests to measure vegetation height, canopy cover, and canopy gaps, as well as to create digital elevation models that we use to quickly correct road alignments, map archaeological sites, and model hydrography. Together with field sampling and modeling, we can use lidar to estimate forest structure metrics like basal area, volume, and biomass. As these landscapes change, our data services provide timely analyses of scientifically sound information that lead to better informed management decisions in our collective effort to care for all lands and deliver sustainable benefits to people. Perhaps most importantly, lidar data collected by the Forest Service become part of the public domain and are freely available to academia, federal, state, nonprofit entities, and the public, solidifying the Forest Service as an essential partner in forest management.

Launch this new StoryMap to see what Lidar looks like and how it is used.

In December 2020, USDA Forest Service's Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) Employee Association recently donated to a new bike library and bike shop class at Salt Lake Center for Science Education (SLCSE) Bryant Middle School.

"So far, we have contributed 9 bicycles, 8 helmets, tools, and over seven hundred dollars to the school," said Stacie Bender, a GTAC geospatial specialist who helped organize the employee organization's contribution. Contributors included Forest Service and contractor staff at GTAC, USDA Farm Production and Conservation Business Center employees, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees.

Located near the GTAC office in downtown Salt Lake City, UT, the SLCSE Bryant bike program is led by seventh grade science and bike shop class teacher, Mr. Lucas Matelich. "Our primary learning objective is to engage students in hands-on, playful learning while implementing engineering and design processes to problem solve, tinker, collaborate, and fix bikes," he said.

Students will learn bicycle repair and maintenance as well as bicycle etiquette, safety, and common practices for daily bike transportation. Twice a week, the SLCSE Bryant bike community will take afternoon group rides known by students as "Urban Cruising".

"Students will be exposed to the beauty and sustainability of bicycles as portals to freedom and play. Bikes facilitate exploration, adventure, curiosity, and whole health – all critically importance to the SLCSE Bryant philosophy," Mr. Matelich said.

Due to Covid-19, the class has not been held, giving Matelich time to gather needed equipment. Once open, the free bicycle library will allow SLCSE Bryant students to borrow a bicycle for the year. Students will have access to all the tools and education necessary to maintain the functionality of their bike, returning it at the end of the school year for use by students the following academic term.

"At this point we are preparing the bike fleet and shop so that we can hit the ground running whenever we return to in-person learning," Mr. Matelich said.

He noted that SLCSE Bryant sees bicycles as an amazing avenue to bring wellness to its students and the community. "Bikes can be used for utility as well as fun, and they can bring people together in a healthy, safe, and sustainable manner. Come ride with us – all are welcome," Mr. Matelich said.

"As technology professionals in a natural resources agency, we're excited to support a project that gets kids involved in science, technology, engineering and math while also encouraging them to engage in outdoor recreation," said Tyler Jones, a Geospatial Specialist at GTAC.

Additional donations are needed to expand the bike shop; contact Mr. Lucas Matelich (Lucas.Matelich@slcschools.org) for information. Learn more about GTAC's mission, projects, career opportunities, and publicly available geospatial applications by visiting the center's USDA Forest Service website at https://fs.usda.gov/about-agency/gtac.

Joshua Heyer is a geospatial analyst on GTAC's Resource Applications and Technology Implementation team. Heyer's presentation summarized a workflow developed to reduce big data for remotely sensed imagery. The innovative workflow allows land managers to more easily use large volumes of image data to benefit land management decisions. For instance, the National Land Cover Database, including the USDA Forest Service's Tree Canopy Cover model, provides land managers and the public with data essential to land management planning.

Leah Campbell, PhD, is a statistical analyst and programmer who works with GTAC's Resource Mapping, Inventory and Monitoring program. Campbell provided an overview of innovations using the Landscape Change Monitoring System (LCMS) to monitor recovery in areas affected by wildfire. The tool helps Forest Service land managers monitor, understand and plan for land recovery after catastrophic events like wildfire, such as with the Bridger-Teton Recovery Viewer app.

Claire Simpson is a Remote Sensing Specialist on GTAC's Resource Mapping, Inventory and Monitoring team. Simpson's lightning talk addressed a creative method to parse satellite imagery data (Landsat timeseries) to unveil pre-disturbance landscapes. This ingenious method produces maps of stable, pre-disturbance landscapes that help Forest Service land managers identify baseline conditions, which is useful when planning land restoration.

All three presenters are employed by Redcastle Resources, an onsite contractor to the USDA Forest Service's GTAC in Salt Lake City, UT, where they support the Forest Service mission to care for National Forest System lands for the public benefit. With a workforce of both Forest Service and contract staff, GTAC provides leadership in geospatial science implementation in the USDA Forest Service by:

• exploring and developing emerging technologies;
• working with partners to demonstrate their application in land and resource management;
• providing solutions to inform decision making; and
• building capacity to support new ways of "Caring for the Land and Serving People.

Learn more about GTAC's mission, projects, career opportunities, and publicly available geospatial applications by visiting the center's USDA Forest Service website at https://fs.usda.gov/about-agency/gtac.