1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries.
1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger.
Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: <http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html>. These data are based on interpretation of available information and should not be construed as legally binding.
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites were used as the primary source of information for this project. Forest type groups maps of the contiguous U.S. and Hawaii were produced by SO-FIA. The forest type groups map of Alaska was produced by the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Anchorage Forestry Sciences Lab (Alaska FIA unit), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center, Alaska Field Office, Anchorage.
During the mapping project, all Forest Service FIA research units assisted with reference data and provided technical comments and reviews. The U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD, assisted in satellite data acquisition and provided important ancillary data layers.
The U.S. forest type groups map will be published by the U.S. Forest Service with the 1993 RPA Forest Resource report.