Do you manage or coordinate vegetation or landscape data sets such as field plot/transect data or disturbance/treatment polygons? If so, the LANDFIRE Program needs your data. LANDFIRE is an interagency vegetation, fire, and fuel characteristics mapping program, sponsored by the United States Departments of Agriculture, Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (www.landfire.gov). LANDFIRE data have served as an important data set for programmatic planning, analysis, and reporting for fire and natural resource management.

Is there anything new this year?
LANDFIRE had targeted January 2015 as the key start date for the upcoming remap effort but due to additional data advances with the USGS Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection effort, LANDFIRE is adjusting the beginning of the remap and, as a result, extending the vegetation/fuel plot data call date to March 31, 2016. LANDFIRE is evaluating changing the annual data submission date from January to March for future data calls.

Why should we submit data for remap?
LANDFIRE will be remapping data products with new imagery and new vegetation/fuel plot data to reflect contemporary conditions. There is still time to get your plot data in LANDFIRE, so geospatial landscape data are as reflective of on the ground conditions as possible. Additional plot data have a great potential to improve the quality of the data products especially in areas where lower/limited plot data were available for LF National (circa 2001). For more information on areas that had lower/limited plot data visit: http://www.landfire.gov/participate_plot.php. Locally provided data impact LANDFIRE products and evidence is available for review at http://www.landfire.gov/lf_impacts.php.

What types of data are needed?
Vegetation and Fuel Plot Data:
In preparation for the upcoming remap, LANDFIRE needs contributions of any geo-referenced point, transect, or polygon vegetation or fuel plot data along with any associated digital photos, project descriptions, or final reports. For more information on LANDFIRE’s plot data needs visit http://www.landfire.gov/participate_plot.php where examples of these data and relevant attributes can be found.

Polygon Disturbance and Treatment Activities from 2015/2016:
LANDFIRE uses recent disturbance and treatment data to update map layers in areas where vegetation and fuel have changed. At a minimum, the disturbance/treatment polygons must be attributed by disturbance/treatment (Event) type and year of occurrence. For more information, visit http://www.landfire.gov/participate_contribute.php where examples of these data and relevant attributes can be found.

In addition, LANDFIRE also welcomes feedback on current data products, for more information visit http://www.landfire.gov/participate_feedback.php .

Data Submissions, Contributions, and Thanks:
LANDFIRE collects and welcomes data submissions on an annual basis throughout the year. The data submission deadline has been changed to March 31, 2016 for this data call. Data submitted before March 31 are evaluated for inclusion in the appropriate update cycle, and submissions after March 31 are typically considered in subsequent updates. That said, due to production schedules and the amount of data that needs processing, opportunities to include data that may not have been submitted by the cut-off date often arise. Don’t hold back. Submit data any time.

For more information visit http://www.landfire.gov/participate_refdata.php or contact Brenda Lundberg, LANDFIRE Reference Data Administrator, blundberg@usgs.gov, (406) 329-3405.

LANDFIRE also acquires data from websites and agency data base systems. For a list of these sources see the “Website Agency DB” spreadsheet at http://www.landfire.gov/participate_refdata_sub.php. For a list of past data contributions see the “Compiled Data” spreadsheet at http://www.landfire.gov/participate_refdata_sub.php.

LANDFIRE thanks those who have contributed data in the past and is again asking for your help to enhance and improve LANDFIRE products through your data or information contributions.