Most Layers Are Off By Default

For performance reasons, the only layers that are visible by default are the unit boundary and unit label. Toggle additional layers on/off by checking the box adjacent to the layer you wish to view.

Viewing Land Ownership Boundaries

If applicable, you have the option to view US Forest Service, BLM, State and Bureau of Indian Affairs ownership boundaries. In several states we've also added a Private land layer if you'd prefer to view the map in that manner. A Forest Service Wilderness boundary layer will also be available if the unit contains wilderness areas.

Viewing Fire History

The fire history layer is turned OFF by default. When turned on, any significant burn perimeters since the year 2000 will become visible. The Fire History folder itself is organized by year and you can toggle individual years on/off if you so choose. Click inside a marked burn perimeter to see the name, year and overall size of past fires. Keep in mind that the burn perimeters can extend outside the unit boundries. The perimeters shown only include those burn areas inside the unit you are viewing.

Identifying the USGS Topo Quadrangle Names Inside the Unit

The Topogrophic Contours and Roads layers (not visible by default) are broken up by the USGS quadrangle name. To help identify the correct layer to turn on in an area of interest, you can click anywhere inside the unit and view an identifier.

Viewing USGS Topo Layers

Turn on the topographic contour layer once you've identified the USGS Topo Quadrangle you want to view.

USGS Topo Contour Layer - Zoomed Examples

Often the aerial imagery alone doesn't tell the whole story. Specific land features and elevation details are much more evident with the topo contour layer visible.

USGS Topo Road Layer - Zoomed Example

We pulled the roads layer off of the USGS topos seperately. In certain areas, viewing only the roads and not the topo contours makes them much easier to visualize. Note that the USGS topos usually show a lot of roads including historic and decommisioned. Just because a road is on the USGS topo does not mean it is open to public vehicle travel.

Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) - Available in Some National Forests

The US Forest Service publishes Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUMs) for some National Forests. These maps identify those roads, trails, and areas designated for motor vehicle use. There are a few National Forests that have published MVUMs but are missing from the USFS GIS data downloads. We are actively gathering these missing datasets and will update the MVUM coverage aggressively. Eventually all National Forests will have a published MVUM.

Adjusting Layer Transparency

Adjusting the transarency of a layer can be very handy. For example, the topo contours layer will hide the aerial imagery or land ownership boundary layers from view. By adjusting the transparency of the contours you can visualize the layers underneath. And because the topo contour overlay images can be fairly large, it is sometimes faster in Goolge Earth to adjust contour transparency than it is to constantly hide/show the contours.

Example: Viewing Topo Contours On Top Of the Aerial Imagery