Paper Title
Determining Visual Sensitivity of a Forest with Spatial Data
In press at Environmental Management

Authors
Wing, M. and R. Johnson.

Abstract
Managers of multiple-use forests can face difficult challenges in planning for resource utilization. This paper uses spatial data representing transportation networks, elevation, stand height, and recreation use to construct and compare models of recreation use patterns and visual sensitivity in a forest. We find that the models provide different types of information and that differences are more pronounced at larger map scales. In addition, the usefulness of the models as planning tools is dependent on the objectives of the forest manager. Results also show that using different spatial units in calculating visual sensitivity may benefit forest planners. Forest managers who are involved in scheduling harvest operations and want to address the aesthetic preferences of forest visitors may benefit most from the visual sensitivity model. Managers who wish to reroute forest visitors affected by operations may benefit from the use pattern model. A combination of the two models, however, has the highest potential for providing planning assistance in multiple-use forests.

Keywords: Forestry, Spatial, GIS, Visibility, Management, Planning, Harvest Operations.