This database contains attribute information from four existing vegetation mapping projects prepared for the Chugach National Forest to provide up-to-date and more complete information about vegetative communities, structure, and patterns across the Forest. The Copper River Delta vegetation dominance type product was completed in 2013 and structure attributes were added in 2021; the Kenai Peninsula data products were completed in 2017; Cordova was completed in 2021; and the Glacier project area was completed in 2022. Project vegetation types were cross-walked to a regional cover type and to the Division and Macrogroup levels of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC).

Nearly 11 million terrestrial acres were mapped through a partnership between the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC), Chugach National Forest, the Alaska Regional Office, and other State, Tribal and Federal agencies. The Chugach National Forest and their partners prepared the regional classification system and identified the desired map units (map classes) that characterized the existing vegetation. GTAC served as the technical lead for developing the mapping methodology that produced the final data products. A combination of field and image interpreted reference data were used to inform the map models. Federal, State, and contracted staff collected plot data on the ground, while Ducks Unlimited and GTAC personnel collected reference information from a helicopter. Classification and regression models were used to characterize modeling units (mapping polygons) with the following vegetation attributes: 1) vegetation type; 2) tree canopy cover; 3) tree size; and 4) tall shrub canopy cover. The minimum map feature depicted is 0.25 acres. All map products were designed according to National Forest Service vegetation mapping standards and are stored in Federal databases.

For more detailed information on mapping methodology please see the individual project reports and the Chugach Regional Vegetation Mapping Report.