Careers at the GO
The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Grounded in world-class science and technology—and rooted in communities—the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other.
Working with GO
If you are passionate about exploring and developing emerging technologies, working with partners to apply technologies 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," the Geospatial Office may be a great career choice for you! Our team at the GO advances the Forest Service mission through the application of new geospatial science, technology, and methods to meet business requirements.
GO's Technology Teams
To implement our unit's mission of "mapping the future together," our GO mapping staff is spread among several program areas. Check out the dropdown list below to learn more about our teams:
DDC works across the Forest Service to update map products, develop standards for new national datasets, create national datasets from multiple sources and establish workflows to improve existing data. The data we collect, analyze, and develop supports agency planning, projects, and initiatives. DDC provides a suite of products and services to the Agency and the public in order to help communicate conditions, actions, and opportunities to our leadership, stakeholders, partners, and the public we serve.
Products & Services
Production of Primary Base Series maps.
Production of Secondary Base Series maps including Forest Visitor Maps, special use maps such as Wilderness maps, and National Forest Atlases.
Production of custom thematic maps including The Chief’s Map, Guide to your National Forests and Grasslands, and Aerial Fire Retardant Avoidance Mapping.
Data development services for the Automated Land Program (ALP), National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), Special Uses Database (SUD), as well as supporting the Enterprise Data Center.
DAS provides tactical and strategic support to Forest Service units and external partners in response to disturbance events. The program provides rapid (hours to months) assessment and data analysis following major disturbance events such as wildland fire, flood and other weather events. Services include remote sensing-based rapid event detection and mapping, post-event condition assessment, disturbance data analysis, information management and distribution, and support to incident management teams.
Products & Services
AFM, Active Fire Mapping
Non-fire Disturbance Assessment
In cooperation with the agency's Chief Information Office, our EDS team provides the Forest Service easy access to enterprise remote sensing software systems; large volumes of aerial photography, satellite imagery, and a wide array of derived geospatial data for resource analysis; and custom web map products. The EDS program gives the Agency access to enterprise tools, software, and data used to support resource management decisions.
Products & Services
Publication of geospatial datasets to map or image services as part of the Enterprise Data Warehouse or GTAC Image Services.
Custom geospatial web applications using ArcGIS Online (AGOL).
AGOL administration.
Access to enterprise geospatial software (i.e. ArcGIS desktop and Pro, ERDAS, Summit Evolution, eCognition, Photoscan, and Google Earth Engine).
Geospatial hardware testing
NAIP acquisition
The GTAC RATI team provides geospatial technology support services to improve the collection, quality, and accessibility of resource information requirements. The program focuses on the use of emerging GIS, remote sensing, photogrammetry, and mobile GIS sciences. Program functions include advanced GIS analysis, remote sensing imagery and analysis, photogrammetry/lidar data applications, and mobile GIS and field data collection tools.
Products & Services
Geospatial Technology and Applications Steering Committee (GeoTASC).
Remote sensing guidance to the agency.
Support for the remote sensing needs of Forest Health Protection and State & Private partners.
Coordination with academia and partners to investigate UAS platforms for operational use within the Forest Service.
Development and distribution of remote sensing, GIS, and photogrammetry technology transfer materials.
Coordination with agency entities on mobile, GIS, RS, and photogrammetry technology integration
> Resource Mapping, Inventory, and Monitoring
> Training and User Support
Jobs with GO
There are several ways to learn more about working at GO. Open the dropdown to learn more:
> Work with Us
Learn More
GO provides leadership in geospatial science implementation in the USDA Forest Service. To learn more:
Our Work - Explore examples of our work by following the links on the GO home page.
Jobs - Intrigued by the idea of working with the GO? Want to know more about contracting? You can learn more by contacting our Program Management Office: SM.FS.GTAC@usda.gov