| Following
is a list of freeware that provides information and tools to support responsible land use. To
learn more about a particular item, click on the item name. To
download a software product or visit an interactive web site,
click on "download" or "view," respectively.
But first, please read our disclaimer and
permissions page if you haven't already done so.
BLM Land and Mineral Records LR2000
By US Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Get a report on land and mineral records on US Federal land. Includes information on unpatented mining claims, cadastral survey data, and leases, permits, contracts, grants, agreements, mineral patents, etc., issued by the BLM.
download
DecAID
By US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. An advisory tool to help managers evaluate effects of forest conditions and existing or proposed management activities on organisms that use snags and down wood. DecAID also can help managers decide on snag and down wood sizes and levels needed to help meet wildlife management objectives of forests in Washington and Oregon.
visit
EarthWatch
By United Nations. Provides information for decision-making on environment and development as the basis for achieving sustainable development.
visit
EconDoc Exchange
By US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Follows the AAEA Cost and Return Equations and provides nationally consistent base data for crop, livestock, and conservation practice budgeting.
visit
Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS)
By US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system is an application framework for knowledge-based decision support of ecological assessments at any geographic scale. The system integrates a geographic information system (GIS) that provides decision support for a substantial portion of the adaptive management process of ecosystem management.
download
Environmental Planning for Small Communities (TRILOGY)
By US Environmental Protection Agency and Purdue University. An introduction to a wide range of environmental issues and decisions that affect small to medium-sized communities. It offers communities the chance to judge their own needs and preferences, and to make informed decisions on their own. Major sections cover: environmental laws and regulations, self-assessment planning and comparative risk analysis, financial tools and financial self-analysis, case studies, and contact and information directory. Each section includes interactive tools, such as a notebook tool to fill in and save survey forms and keep notes. The program combines and integrates numerous publications from Federal agencies and States like Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, and Utah.
download
EnVision
By US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. A rendering system for stand- and landscape-scale images. Basic components of an EnVision project include a digital terrain model to define the ground surface, color and texture maps to define ground surface characteristics, and groups of objects or "actors". Scene definitions include background imagery used to add clouds and distant landscape features, model components (e.g. terrain model(s) and polygon overlays), viewpoint and camera characteristics, and foreground imagery used to provide high detail in the image foreground.
download
Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC)
By FRCC Interagency Working Group. A tool for determining the degree of departure from reference condition vegetation, fuels and disturbance regimes. Assessing FRCC can help guide management objectives and set priorities for treatments.
download
Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS)
By US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. A family of forest growth simulation models.
download
Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS)
By US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Characterizes and classifies fuelbeds to capture the structural complexity and geographical diversity of fuel components across landscapes and provide the ability to assess elements of human (e.g. logging slash) and natural (e.g. insect and disease) change. Also available as PDF file.
download
Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems (GEMIS)
By Institute for Applied Ecology e.V.. A life-cycle analysis (LCA) model, LCA database, and cost-emission analysis system. GEMIS evaluates environmental impacts of energy, material and transport systems, i.e. air emissions, greenhouse gases, solid/liquid wastes, and land use. Also GEMIS can determine the economic costs of scenario options.
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Landscape Management System (LMS)
By University of Washington, Yale University, and USDA Forest Service. Assists in landscape level analysis and planning of forest ecosystems by automating the tasks of stand projection, graphical and tabular summarization, stand visualization, and landscape visualization. LMS is comprised of many separate programs that make projections, produce graphical or tabular displays, store inventory information, and connect these diverse programs into a cohesive system.
download
Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA)
By Purdue Research Foundation. An analysis tool that provides estimates of changes in runoff, recharge and nonpoint source pollution resulting from past or proposed land use changes. It gives long-term average annual runoff for a land use configuration, based on actual long-term climate data for that area. By using many years of climate data in the analysis, L-THIA focuses on the average impact, rather than an extreme year or storm.
visit
Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)
By US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. A river basin scale model developed to quantify the impact of land management practices in large, complex watersheds
download
TELSA
By ESSA Technologies. The Tool for Exploratory Landscape Scenario Analyses (TELSA) is a spatially explicit, GIS-based landscape-level model for simulating terrestrial ecosystem dynamics. It helps resource managers and planners assess the consequences of alternative management scenarios at the scale of landscape units. TELSA is freely available for research and educational purposes. Registration required.
download
VDDT
By ESSA Technologies. The Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool (VDDT) provides a modeling framework for examining the role of various disturbance agents and management actions in vegetation change. It allows users to create and test descriptions of vegetation dynamics, simulating them at the landscape level. Registration required.
download
Wellhead Protection
By US Environmental Protection Agency and Purdue University. Explains protection of public water supplies as presented in the US Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986. General concepts reviewed include building a planning team, delineating a wellhead protection area, conducting a contaminant source inventory, managing potential contaminant sources, and planning for the future. It is intended for local/Tribal officials, water supply managers and interested groups or citizens whose community relies on ground water for its public water supply. Many of the concepts presented in this software may also be useful for protecting private wells.
download
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