This layer displays timber harvest and other vegetation management activities proposed as part of the Telephone Gap IRP associated with various alternatives, along with a set of information about the stands associated with these activities. The layer is based on the original USFS spatial stand layer (FSVeg Spatial), clipped to the Telephone Gap IRP boundary, and then modified to include information associated with the proposals. Alternatives 2, 3, and 4 are the same as Alternatives B, C, and D (ie 2=B, 3=C, 4=D). Additional information about FSVeg Spatial data can be found below.

Spatial features stewarded within the FSVeg Spatial application typically represent areas of land where vegetation is somewhat homogenous. The polygon delineations may be determined through satellite image processing, aerial photography, site visits or some combination of methods. Vegetation attribute data associated with each polygon evolves over time as new data is acquired. Data may change on a daily basis.

Vegetation polygons support Forest Service vegetation data management and analysis. Vegetation data is critical in support of land management; whether it be for wildlife habitat analysis, fire and fuels management, watershed management, or timber production. A vegetation polygon is a logical sampling unit; a logical area of land on which to describe vegetation conditions. Over time, data is collected for some or all of these polygons. Data such as canopy cover or forest type may be derived for each polygon via satellite image processing or photo interpretation. Field crews may be sent to a selection of polygons to collect detailed data where individual trees are measured or down woody material is measured along transects. The amount and currency of data describing each vegetation polygon varies widely since it is cost-prohibitive to maintain detailed and current data for all polygons at any point in time. Data for some polygons may be more than 10 years old, while data for other polygons may have been collected yesterday. Typically where active project work or landscape analysis is occurring, better data is available since there is a need for good data for that area at that point in time. Data for polygons within the NRIS_VegPoly feature class is changing on a daily basis as data is updated by Forest Service staff. This feature class is a working dataset; that is, it supports day-to-day Forest Service land management.