This project will do the following.

• Create outreach and training materials to facilitate adoption of the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) standard by Federal agency staff, academic researchers, and private entities engaged in the collection of vegetation data in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. These hard copy and web-based materials will include interpretation and implementation guides and keys, including crosswalks between various agency classifications and the NVC. Federal agencies included in program development and implementation are the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Outreach to academic researchers and private entities will focus on those personnel who collect vegetation data for these agencies.
• Encourage broad adoption of a consistent national vegetation classification that allows compilation of national and regional summaries.
• Develop templates and data submission protocols that will facilitate incorporation of that vegetation data into the statewide Land Cover GIS data layer in Montana.

Interim Report

Project Introduction PowerPoint Presentation

Contact:

Linda Vance, Ph.D, Ecologist/Senior Projects Manager
406-444-3380
livance [at] mt.gov