Summary

The USDA Forest Service established the Planning Service Center and Planning Service Groups to support land management plan revision and amendment across the agency. The Pacific Planning Service Group and Planning Service Center require geospatial analysis, data management, and cartographic support to apply the 2012 Planning Rule across a number of complex resource areas such as vegetation, hydrology, fire and fuels,  geology, wildlife, aquatics, recreation, timber, range, and related natural resource themes.

Xentity supported this work by delivering geospatial services to organize, evaluate, analyze, document, and communicate data used in land management planning. The work combined natural resource knowledge, geospatial data management, automation, analysis, cartography, and the configuration of web based mapping products. All done to support Forest Service planning teams and interdisciplinary resource specialists.

Problem and Solution

Land management plan revision requires consistent, documented, and defensible geospatial information across resource topics and geographies. The Pacific Planning Service Group and Planning Service Center needed support compiling national, regional, and local datasets. This included evaluating raster and remote sensing products, validating data accuracy, developing repeatable workflows, and producing maps, summaries, and graphics for use by agency planners and resource specialists. Xentity’s support included the assessment and evaluation of geospatial datasets from Forest Service corporate sources. Also, from regional data repositories, local unit data, and remote sensing products. Our team helped validate data, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for improvement. This way, planning teams could use information with greater consistency and confidence.

Xentity solutions included the development of automation and geospatial workflows. We used tools such as Python, R, ArcGIS Pro, and related geospatial libraries. These workflows helped streamline repeated analysis tasks, improve consistency across planning products, and support resource-focused analyses for land management plan revisions. Our work equipped the agency with summaries, statistics, maps, and graphics derived from large and complex datasets. Data and information were communicated through cartographic and web-based solutions that supported internal-facing products. They also assisted planning staff with reviewing, presenting, and communicating information in formats aligned with Forest Service publication requirements.

Outcome and Benefit

Xentity’s support helped the Pacific Planning Service Group and Planning Service Center apply geospatial data more consistently across land management plan revision and amendment efforts. By organizing data, validating datasets, documenting workflows, and creating repeatable analytical processes, the work strengthened the technical approach for planning activities across multiple resource areas. Xentity also provided standardized web mapping products to help agency staff and interdisciplinary teams. These were used to explore resource conditions, compare datasets, review analysis outputs, and communicate planning information more clearly.