Chugach National Forest Cordova Ranger District Vegetation Mapping Vegetation Type

This application was created to support the Mapping Existing Vegetation on Cordova Ranger District Vegetation Story Map. Dominance type, tree canopy cover, tall shrub canopy cover, and tree size maps were developed for Cordova Ranger District. The Cordova Ranger District (including other federal, state, native, and private land inholdings) was mapped through a partnership between the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC) and the Chugach National Forest. The Chugach National Forest and their partners prepared the AOI classification system, identified the desired map units (map classes) and provided general project management. GTAC provided project support and expertise in vegetation mapping. A combination of reference data was used to inform the classification models that output the final maps. Federal and Private field personnel collected plot data on the ground. Classification models were used to characterize modeling units (mapping polygons) with the following vegetation attributes: 1) dominance type; 2) tree canopy cover; 3) tree size. The minimum map feature depicted on the map is 0.25 acres. All map products were designed according to the Forest Service mid-level vegetation mapping standards in order to be stored in the Forest GIS and National databases. This map product was generated primarily using data acquired prior to or in 2021. The field data used as reference information for this mapping project was primarily collected in the summer of 2021. Therefore, the final map can be considered indicative of the existing vegetation conditions found on the Cordova Ranger District in 2021.