Information management in the USDA Forest Service is leading toward the development of corporate databases. Basic resource information is maintained in a single database and is made available to all resource specialists for interpretation. A corporate database has been established for southeast Alaska which includes information on vegetation, topography, soils, and streams. A geographic information system (GIS) is used to extract information from the corporate database for specific applications. Habitat capability models have been developed for 13 wildlife species for use in evaluating the effects of management activities. The data management methodologies we applied to implement the habitat capability model for Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) are presented as an example of use of the corporate database and the GIS.
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