Washington State Forest Land Database

What is the Forest Land Database?

To better understand where family forests are located and who owns them, the Rural Technology Initiative at the University of Washington, the Family Forest Foundation, and the Washington Farm Forestry Association, with funding from the USDA Forest Service, are creating a statewide parcel-based forest land database.

Enabled by geographic information system (GIS) technologies, the Washington State Forest land Database will set the foundation for analysis of the family forest demographic through the development of an interactive database of forested lands.

Such a dataset will facilitate the assessment of family forest impacts on local and state economies, and provide information on potential challenges and opportunities that family forest owners face in marketing their forest products and environmental services.

Anticipated Benefits

• Spatial distribution and numbers of forest lands by ownership types
• Land use planning, zoning, and forest land relationships analysis
• Framework for quantification of environmental services
• Effectiveness monitoring for Endangered Species Act
• Watershed analysis
• Fire risk distribution

Anticipated Cooperators

• UW Libraries
• Washington State Association of Counties
• Representatives from all of Washington’s 39 counties

Background on Family Forests

It is estimated that there are 22,000 to 96,000 family forest landowners in Washington, who own anywhere between 1.6 to 4.2 million acres. These ownerships are thought to be disproportionately vulnerable to impacts that can result from “one-size-fits-all” regulatory approaches due to their small scale and location.

Previous work has suggested that many small forest land parcels are located in the urban-rural interface, which has implications for fish habitat, fire risk, and environmental services. Family forests face challenges in restricted markets and pressure to convert to non-forest land uses. When these lands are converted, the public values they provide, such as clean air and water, fish and wildlife habitat, flood control, carbon sequestration, and contributions to local cultures and economies, are lost forever.

Various programs exist to provide assistance to family forests and many policy decisions can, and will, affect family forests; however, basic demographic information and the distribution and contribution of family forests must be known before participation in these programs increases or the effects of policies can be analyzed. This database will provide a much needed source of information about, and for, family forests.

Data Ownership

The UW Libraries will be instrumental in negotiating and acquiring the county GIS data. These county GIS datasets could be made available to the University community through existing digital data distribution methods and the Washington State Geospatial Data Archive (WAGDA). While the counties would continue to own the data housed at the University, ideally each county would authorize the University to distribute the data to authorized entities.

The additional work necessary to produce a seamless statewide dataset would require a sustained funding source. One option is to provide the statewide dataset only to sponsors through a subscription or purchase mechanism. Individual county datasets would be made available at no cost, but access would be limited to the compiled, seamless dataset.

Estimated Timeframe

• Spring 2006: Develop collaborative relationships with Washington’s 39 counties, UW Libraries, and other cooperators.
• Summer 2006: Develop protocols for integrating county data into a seamless database.
• Fall 2006: Create an access portal and mechanisms for future updates.
• Winter 2006-Fall 2007: Inter-county data consolidation, data quality assessment, and analysis testing.
• Spring 2008: Completion of first phase of project; data available for dissemination.

Cooperators

About the Rural Technology Initiative

Our mission is to empower the existing infrastructure to use better technology in rural areas for managing forests for increased product and environmental values in support of local communities.

The Rural Technology Initiative (RTI) was established in January 2000 by a federal grant as a pilot project to accelerate the implementation of new technologies in rural forest resource-based communities. Increasing complexity from changing environmental regulations, and the recognition that new research findings are well ahead of implantation suggested the need for more rapid technology transfer. Additionally, efforts to mitigate the substantial widening gap between urban and rural incomes depend on more successful technology transfer. The UW and Washington State University Cooperative Extension developed RTI as a cooperative program with the support of a Rural Advisory Board. http://www.rurraltech.org

The Family Forest Foundation

The Family Forest Foundation is a project organization whose mission is to promote the conservation and sustainable management of family forests. http://www.familyforestfoundation.org

The Washington Farm Forestry Association

The Washington Farm Forestry Association is a membership organization whose mission is to protect the economic viability of the small forest landowner while providing forest resource benefits such as clean water, clean air, and fish and wildlife habitat. http://www.wafarmforestry.com

Project Management

Information about the project processes, metadata and documentation are currently being drafted. Check back soon.

Project Contact Information

Luke Rogers
206.543.7418
lwrogersu.washington.edu
The Rural Technology Initiative
University of Washington
College of Forest Resources
Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195-2100