844 
provide continuing technical assistance for remote sensing 
users within the Forest Service. 
help fill the great need for current and accurate information 
about forest resources. 
help eliminate the current shortage of skills in remote sensing 
and image interpretation. 
be the focal point for interface between resource groups and 
the technology. 
provide an accessible point-of-contact for technical assistance, 
references, training, and other materials, 
have trained personnel act as a catalyst by introducing 
knowledge and technology to their home units. 
Trained Forest Service personnel will also act as a technical skill pool to develop and 
evaluate different hardware/software systems to solve their resource information 
problems. Users will determine if resource requirements of accuracy, cost, and timeliness 
can be met. Users will also establish limits of what kinds of information can be derived 
from remotely sensed data. 
DATA SOURCES 
To manage any resource, the resource manager needs the best information possible at a 
reasonable price. Therefore, the goal is larger than the data itself (Helfert, 1989). All 
forms of imagery (35mm, 70mm, 9"x9", 9"xl8", optical bar photos, airborne multi-spectral 
scanners, Landsat MSS & TM, Spot color and panchromatic, AVHRR, thermal, radar) 
will be used either solely or in combination with other images. The systems or systems 
which works best for deriving information at a reasonable cost using manual and/or 
automated interpretation methods into a digital form will be adopted. 
SUMMARY 
The Integrating Remote Sensing initiative is a program to unite remote sensing and 
geographic information systems in order to obtain more accurate and up-to-date forest 
resource information. The 1RS is a combined effort from many Forest Service groups. 
The Nationwide Forestry Applications Program is acting as the administrator to the 
program. National Forests and Research Stations will supply the projects and students to 
learn how to ’drive’ the system or systems which derives the spatial information they are 
searching for.