Managing forests in the BLM has become easier over the years with the many geospatial technologies and tools available to the Bureau’s Foresters. Due to the versatility and scale of remote sensing, it is a valuable tool for all stages of forest management. The forester's task begins with promoting the growth of healthy forests. Geospatial technologies provide useful tools for assessment of environmental conditions, either in an existing forest or prior to planting a new one.

GIS is a decision-making tool based on geographically referenced information. GIS uses different levels of geographical information, such as elevation, hydrology, or location of roads and infrastructure, to create a multi-layered representation of a site.  Some geospatial methods that are used in combination with GIS are aerial videography and Thematic Mapper sensing. These data provide information on forest age, tree species distribution, and even estimated timber volume.  The BLM’s FORVIS (Forest Vegetation Inventory System) application has an ArcGIS interface.   ST-134 has provided training on the FORVIS GIS Extension.

Once the distribution of species is known, it can be incorporated into detailed and extensive maps, which are used to plan logging and regeneration. By using geospatial technologies, foresters can make optimally informed decisions. They can be aware of the species distribution in a forest, the projected yields from logging, which areas contain habitats that cannot be disturbed, and how much land is needed for growth of settlements. After sections of forest are cut down, GIS and aerial photography techniques can be used to assess the speed and success of re-growth.

GIS has been utilized for such analyses as timber harvesting, habitat protection and planning the location of scenic roads. As part of its forest health monitoring efforts, BLM could use GIS to help quantify and track the spatial patterns of forest disturbance from insect infestations and extreme weather events.