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Integrating Remote Sensing in the Forest Service - An Overview 
Brian Huberty 
USDA Forest Service 
Nationwide Forestry Applications Program 
2222 West 2300 South 
Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 
U.S.A. 
(801) 524-4580 
abstract 
The USDA Forest Service needs to develop methods for creating the "vegetation layer" 
for use within geographic information systems. The objective of the Integrating Remote 
Sensing (1RS) initiative is to develop and evaluate procedures for the integration of all 
forms of remote sensing technologies into natural resource information systems. The 1RS 
will have the Nationwide Forestry Applications Program (NFAP) and the Geometronics 
Service Center (GSC) located in Salt Lake City, Utah act as the consultant between 
natural resource teams from National Forests and remote sensing technologies. Under 
the technical guidance of NFAP/GSC, resource teams will learn how to quickly and 
efficiently answer problems affecting the management of the nation’s forest resources. 
INTRODUCTION 
The mission of the Nationwide Forestry Applications Program (NFAP) is to provide 
training, technical assistance, and project support in remote sensing applications, image 
interpretation, image processing, and information management systems applied to 
inventory, planning, protection, and management of resources. As a part of the mission 
for NFAP, the Integrating Remote Sensing (1RS) initiative is to provide national 
direction for integrating remote sensing technology into resource data collection for 
geographic information systems (GIS). Applications would include land and resource