About

Mary Kelly

" Mary has been a member of the Conservation Data Lab since 2022, during which time she developed an interest in coding and GIS. A lifelong learner, Mary believes in the power of data to inform natural resource policy at all levels. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and French from Northern Michigan University (2024), and will begin her M.S. in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor in the fall of 2024, focusing on geospatial data sciences.


Randy Swaty

" Randy is conservation ecologist with 20+ years’ experience working at scales from microbes to landscapes. He uses the best available scientific information combined with strong communication skills to inform decision-makers, influence policy, plan sustainable land management, and increase collaboration. In addition to his full-time position as an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy’s LANDFIRE Team Randy founded and co-leads the Conservation Data Lab.


More information about LANDFIRE

What is LANDFIRE? LANDFIRE, Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools, is a shared program between the wildland fire management programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and The Nature Conservancy, that provides landscape-scale geo-spatial products, vegetation models and tools to support cross-boundary planning, management, and operations.

LANDFIRE Mission: LF’s mission is to provide agency leaders and managers with a common “all-lands” data set of vegetation and wildland fire/fuels information for strategic fire and resource management planning and analysis.

What does LANDFIRE provide? This multi-partner program produces consistent, comprehensive, geospatial data and databases that describe vegetation, wildland fuel, and fire regimes across the United States and insular areas. Use the LF Definitions Quality and Standards Report to learn how LF creates the data. Use the LANDFIRE Data Dictionary to help locate LF information.

Register for LANDFIRE Office Hours (Last Wed Month, 1 pm ET): https://tnc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvcOqopz4uHNbBBWNoFeLIHpdH8YFO7QLS

Register for the brief LANDFIRE Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cajG91

Check out LANDFIRE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LANDFIREvideo

See recent LANDFIRE Application Highlights: https://arcg.is/1jmKm90

Have a LANDFIRE Question? Get in touch: helpdesk@landfire.gov

Additional Resources

On the Methods page we mentioned several concepts. Below are some supporting resources:

  • Peer reviewed journal article about development of the Biophysical Settings models: Blankenship, K., Swaty, R., Hall, K.R., Hagen, S., Pohl, K., Shlisky Hunt, A., Patton, J., Frid, L. and Smith, J., 2021. Vegetation dynamics models: A comprehensive set for natural resource assessment and planning in the United States. Ecosphere, 12(4), p.e03484. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.3484
  • Peer reviewed journal article about vegetation departure (i.e., use of succession classes as an ecosystem health metric): Swaty, R., Blankenship, K., Hall, K.R., Smith, J., Dettenmaier, M. and Hagen, S., 2021. Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric. Land, 11(1), p.28. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/28
  • Peer reviewed journal article that uses LANDFIRE data to explore old-growth management in eastern Oregon: Ager, A.A., Vaillant, N.M. and Finney, M.A., 2010. A comparison of landscape fuel treatment strategies to mitigate wildland fire risk in the urban interface and preserve old forest structure. Forest Ecology and Management, 259(8), pp.1556-1570. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112710000514

Acknowledgements