Spatial Data Services

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) produces and maintains a set of public databases that can be downloaded and used by anyone. These databases are a valuable resource for many different natural resources questions, such as forest resource assessment, wildfire and wildlife habitat modeling, fire and pests threat assessment, forest economics, and forest change detection. In order to protect the privacy of landowners and the integrity of the FIA sample, the exact coordinates of plot locations are kept confidential as required by Federal law. Therefore, actual FIA plot locations are shared rarely and only under a specific, limited set of circumstances. Actual locations may be shared when the proposed project will directly advance the FIA Program's mission and when the request is made in conjunction with an FIA collaborator whose role is clearly defined and substantive. 

Existing Data Sets and Tools

Many data requests that SDS receives can be satisfied using publicly available FIA data or tools. Please review existing datasets and tools, in the Data and Tools section of our site, before making a request. 

Legal basis for confidentiality of coordinates 

Exact plot locations and landowner information are protected by Federal law under the Food Security Act of 1985, Public Law 99-198 Stat. 1657, December 23, 1985, Confidentiality of Information, 7 U.S.C. 2276 (note clause d(10), as amended through Public Law 106-113, Nov. 29, 1999. Further history and implementation information is available in FIA Privacy Policy and Implementation below. 

The Spatial Data Services (SDS) team was created by FIA to link researchers with FIA data. We work to provide customers with the information they need in a way that does not compromise the security of the plot locations. We also provide advice and guidance on the proper use of FIA data in a spatial context. The SDS team provides several services, such as:

• Helping clients acquire and use the public FIA database, which includes the perturbed plot coordinates
• Performing spatial summaries of FIA variables for a particular area of interest
• Performing spatial overlays between plots and geospatial data provided by our customers provided that the geospatial data are of coarse resolution and precision so as not to compromise plot locations 

When to Request Coordinates

Actual FIA plot locations are very rarely shared and only under a specific, limited set of circumstances. Actual locations may be shared when the proposed project will directly advance the FIA Program's mission and when the request is made in conjunction with an FIA collaborator whose role is clearly defined and substantive. Additional information and requirements are outlined below.

Working with actual FIA locations requires a legally binding agreement called a Material Transfer Agreement. Entering into an agreement requires a project proposal with a detailed study plan, a site-specific data security plan, FIA Program Manager approval, Research Station Director approval, non-disclosure agreements for non-federal employees who will work with the data, and a collaborating/sponsoring FIA scientist. The final agreement is processed through the relevant Research Station Grants & Agreements group that has their own timeline for processing agreements. The approval process for an agreement will take several months and may not be approved. The terms of such agreements generally include provisions to prohibit transfer of the data to unauthorized third parties, to permit FIA to review any products, publications, or presentations for confidentiality protection, and acknowledgement of the use of FIA data. Researchers should also be aware that publishing results in journals or other formats that require that the FIA data used in the research be stored in a public data repository for repeatability and transparency will not be able to comply with that request or requirement.

One of the evaluation criteria is that the results or methods of the proposed project benefits the FIA program. What we generally consider ''benefits'' are new methods or approaches that can be applied universally within the FIA program. The reasoning for this is that we are bound by law to protect the privacy and integrity of the actual plot locations (under penalty of fine and/or jail). When we consider entering into a data sharing agreement, we perform a cost-benefit evaluation weighing the risks of ''leakage'' against what we can potentially gain from the proposed project. If the proposal is an analysis that we can do, or have done, on our own, then the proposal is considered a risk. It all comes down to minimizing the risk, even if that means some extra work on our part. We always prefer to be partners in the research, as opposed to data suppliers, and typically find workable alternatives. 

There are several other ways to do spatial overlays or modeling with actual locations without a formal agreement which require assessment by a member of the spatial data services group on a case-by-case basis. We review the request to determine whether the desired extraction or derived data could possibly reveal the location of the plots. If the request seems reasonable and meets FIA confidentiality requirements, we will perform the analysis and provide the derived data product without locations. If the desired output does not meet security requirements, we can pursue aggregation or alternate methodology that meets both security protocol and the research needs. 

How to Request Actual Coordinates

If you are interested in submitting a request, please complete a study plan proposal form and submit to the Spatial Data Services Coordinator for the FIA region that services your study area as listed within the form. The plan should include research question or objective(s), the study area, and the specific sample of plot locations you are interested in, any pertinent background information, detailed methodology, the datasets and source(s), techniques and software that will be used, desired results or output, principal investigators and collaborators, any agencies, universities, companies, institutes or organizations involved in the research, and contact information for them. It is recommended that you run your proposed analyses with the publicly available locations to test your methods and verify whether your investigation requires the exact locations.