Geospatial Data

Land management within the US Forest Service and on the 1,000,000+ acre Ottawa National Forest (NF) is driven by a wide mix of resource and societal demands that prove a challenge in fulfilling the Forest Service’s mission of “Caring for the Land and Serving the People.” Programmatically, the 2006 Land and Resource Management Plan guide natural resource management activities on lands administered by the Ottawa National Forest.

The Forest Plan describes management direction and practices, resource protection methods and monitoring, desired resource conditions, and the availability and suitability of lands for resource management. Technology enables staff to address these land management issues and Forest Plan direction by using a science-based approach to facilitate effective decisions. Ottawa NF geospatial services, using enabling-technologies, incorporate key tools such as Environmental Systems Research Institute’s ArcGIS desktop suite and Trimble’s global positioning system (GPS) units to meet program and Forest needs.

Geospatial Datasets and Enterprise Data Warehouse

The Forest has a broad set of geospatial datasets that capture geographic features across the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan's landscape. Many of these datasets are available to the public through our download site.

FS spatial data can be selected and downloaded from the EDW using the online tool.

Data disclaimer – The USDA Forest Service makes no warranty, expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, completeness or utility of these geospatial data, or for the improper or incorrect use of these geospatial data. These geospatial data and related maps or graphics are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The data and maps may not be used to determine title, ownership, legal descriptions or boundaries, legal jurisdiction, or restrictions that may be in place on either public or private land. Natural hazards may or may not be depicted on the data and maps, and land users should exercise due caution. The data are dynamic and may change over time. The user is responsible to verify the limitations of the geospatial data and to use the data accordingly.

Selected GIS datasets that encompass the Ottawa National Forest are available for download by scrolling to the GIS datasets table below. A link to the FGDC compliant metadata is provided for each dataset. All zipped shapefiles, layer packages, and keyhole markup language files are in the following projection:

Universal Transverse Mercator
Zone: 16
Units: Meters
Datum: NAD 1983
Spheroid: GRS 1980