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March 19, 2024

New features include updated data inputs, new data sources, and a new figure that displays annual vegetation cover for planned treatment polygons.  

The U.S. Geological Survey partners with the Bureau of Land Management to create and maintain the Land Treatment Exploration Tool to facilitate adaptive management of land treatments. The Exploration Tool taps into the Land Treatment Digital Library, a catalog of information about all known treatments on public lands administered by the BLM in the western United States.

The U.S. Geological Survey launched an updated version (2.1) of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool to improve user experience and incorporate new, cutting-edge data sources.  

These sources include: 

 

on the left are categories and total acres, on the right are maps with polygons drawn over the top
Two examples of newly integrated data sources in the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. The top image displays Core Sagebrush Areas produced by the Sagebrush Conservation Design. The bottom image displays the Sagebrush Biome Threat-Based Ecostates (2019-2021) produced by the Institute of Natural Resources. 

In addition, a new feature in the Site History tab of the tool displays annual estimates of vegetation cover for the user-drawn or -uploaded polygon. This figure is generated from newly updated data produced by the USGS Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) program.  

example of a vegetation cover history figure
Annual estimates of vegetation cover for the user-drawn or -uploaded treatment polygon. Data are calculated using the USGS Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) program.  

Since its launch in 2020, the Exploration Tool has become an important co-produced product for resource managers planning restoration actions. The updates released in version 2.1 improve the utility of the Exploration Tool while maintaining an easy-to-use interface.

The Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox (CCAST), a multi-organizational partnership directed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation, published a case study on the Exploration Tool. Read the case study here to learn how this powerful tool was used to plan restoration projects after the 2022 Bray and Wildhorse Fires in Idaho. 

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