Locations have been changed to protect resources.

When I worked as a forester, I gathered information via digital data files loaded onto a Trimble GeoExplorer 7x. Silviculture type was one of nearly 30 different datasets gathered during field reconnaissance. Slope, aspect, and habitat type species indicators were some factors weighed when determining silviculture type, which was then recorded as point data. Observations were gathered as point data approximately every 250 feet (76.2 meters).

GIS processing was conducted on ArcGIS Pro. During the post-reconnaissance processing, silviculture type lines were drawn based on observation point proximity, elevation, and aspect. Once these lines were finished, the project area boundary polygon was converted to a line (Polygon to Line tool), then copy + paste special into the silviculture type lines. Next, the lines were converted to polygons then cleaned up using the feature to polygon and multi-part to single part tools. Polygons were then sorted by size and slivers (polygons smaller than 0.5 acres or 0.168 hectares) were merged with an adjacent polygon.

A blank Silviculture Types Template feature class was copied in, with all fields and coded value domains preserved. Copy +paste special was used to get the blank polygons into the template, then the attributes were added manually based on point data visible on the map.

Aerial imagery aided in the determination of agriculture land and water body boundaries (Digitising). These areas, along with non-commercial species stands, were left blank.