Abstract

(Relatively) Automatic Forest Layer!
Track: State and Local Government
Author(s): Jonathan Bode

The availability of localized forest layers is quite scarce, generally speaking. Most forest layers that are publicly available often are acquired at state-wide or national scales, which is not particularly useful for county-level mapping applications. So how does one go about developing a usable forest layer for their county? One option would be to pay an orthophotography vendor to create one as part of their contract for remote sensing services, possibly in a topographic/planimetric phase of the project. Another option, which may prove more affordable, while giving the county much more in-house control of the creation of the layer, would be to generate one based on USGS Topographic DRG's. These maps were widely produced at a scale of 1:24,000, which is quite useful for counties. Here I will demonstrate the methodology and workflow I developed to create a county-wide forest layer for Boone County Missouri, using this resource.

Jonathan Bode
Boone County Missouri
801 E Walnut, Room 123
Columbia , Missouri 65201
United States
Phone: 5738864303
Fax: 5738864322
E-mail: jbode@boonecountymo.org