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Forest locations in Montgomery County, MD based on 2023 aerial photography. |
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Forest locations in Montgomery County, MD based on 2023 aerial photography. |
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Information Technology & Innovation (ITI), Montgomery County Planning Department, MNCPPC |
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5000 |
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<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN><SPAN>The 2008 forest layer was modified using 2015 air photos, generally at the 3000’ scale. Using WSSC’s grid, various editors modified the layer on a grid-by-grid basis. Each grid also received a second review to ensure unified standards. The forest edge generally follows the edge of the forest floor. Forest quality was not determined, so this layer includes existing forest areas with a forest floor that are a minimum 50-feet wide with at least 10,000 sqft, and forests that were either planted or began to regenerate in or before 2008.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN>The 2023 forest layer was modified by comparing the 2015 air photos to the 2023 air photos. Edits first began by observing developments constructed since 2015 to identify areas of forest loss. Then, edits were performed at the countywide level by using WSSC grids, generally at the 3000' scale. Areas for forest deletion were identified and then approved by multiple members of the M-NCPPC team. Once the areas were approved or modified, the geoprocessing "Erase" tool was performed to cut out old forest areas. </SPAN></P><P><SPAN><SPAN>a. Areas that were generally excluded from the forest layer include:- Structures with driveways and surrounding maintenance/uses.- Lawns and other uses that exclude the forest floor.- New corridors of disturbance such as for utility maintenance.- Ponds and large bodies of water.- Unmaintained areas with no visible trees growing within the vegetation.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P><SPAN>b. Areas that could be included within the forest:- Trails- Unpaved roads on private property with no shoulder maintenance.- Small structures with an intact surrounding forest floor. - Natural forest gaps if no more that 30-50-feet wide and surrounded by a 300-foot margin of forest.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>The 2023 forest layer were then further modified using 2023 aerials. The edits are stored in the STATUS field: Add, Delete and No Change refer to the difference between the first 2023 update (see above) and the latest edits. </SPAN></P><OL STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;"><LI><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>For more information, contact: Reagan Ogburn (reagan.ogburn@montgomeryplanning.org) Forest Conservation Planner with Reforest Montgomery, T: 301-495-4576 or </SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>GIS Manager Information Technology & Innovation (ITI) Montgomery County Planning Department, MNCPPC T: 301-650-5620</SPAN></SPAN></P></LI></OL><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN /></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>Detailed Methodology:</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>1. Review at 6000’ scale using latest aerials</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>2. Check existing forest for new structures or other openings.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>3. Check existing forest interior openings. Those that are less than 30-50’ wide with no structure or obvious maintenance/disturbance can be closed. Roads with maintained shoulders should not be closed. Obviously new roads should not remain closed.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>4. Openings around riparian areas do not break the forest canopy if they are surrounded by forest that equals at least a 300-foot width. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>5. Repair forest edges that are excessively wavy with too many vertices. When working with a forest polygon like this, either splice off the wavy edge or create a new polygon edge that encloses that edge. Too many vertices make the layer difficult to manipulate.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>6. Check if there appears to be new forested areas outside the previous forest layer.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>7. Use air photos from previous years to assess the number of years a forest has been present or developing. A forest must have been developing for at least 7 years in order to be included in the forest layer.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>8. Check Forest Conservation Easements layer start date to help assess the start of a new forest.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>9. When extending a significant amount of new forest to an existing forest, create a new polygon that overlaps the existing forest polygon. Select both, then merge. Choose the attributes of the original polygon. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>10. Ponds or large bodies of water do create a forest edge.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 0 0;"><SPAN>11. Pay particular attention to large forest areas with interior forest. </SPAN></P><P /><P><SPAN /></P></DIV></DIV></DIV> |
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<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN><SPAN>You can copy, modify, distribute, and perform analysis on the data, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission, but please provide attribution to the Montgomery County Planning Department. The Planning Department makes no warranties about the data, and disclaims liability for all uses of the data, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV> |
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| title:
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Forest_2025 |
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["Environment","Forests","Montgomery County Planning Department","Montgomery County","MNCPPC","Maryland"] |
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en-US |
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150000000 |
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