20250317 12212600 1.0 TRUE 150000000 5000 FGDC 20260217 000000 ArcGIS Metadata 1.0 USFS Chief Information Office, Enterprise Data Warehouse Please send an e-mail to the address below. Washington DC 20250 US SM.FS.data@usda.gov dataset USA Aerial Fire Retardant Avoidance Areas: Aquatic 2026-06-09T17:06:53 USDA Forest Service 2026-06-09T17:06:53 Note that this data is current as of March 1, 2026 for Region 3 and April 1, 2026 for all other Regions. It is updated annually. This data depicts aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas for use in digital, hardcopy, and online mapping to support the 2011 Record of Decision for the Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land EIS, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision. This data should be used in conjunction with terrestrial aerial fire retardance avoidance area data. An aerial fire retardant avoidance area is defined as an area in which application of aerial fire retardant is prohibited to avoid, limit, or mitigate potential impacts to specified resources. For additional information please see the Interagency Wildland Fire Chemicals Policy and Guidance: https:/www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/chemicals <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>This data depicts aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas delivered as part of the 2011 Nationwide Aerial Application of Fire Retardant on National Forest System Land Environmental Impact Statement, the 2023 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and the 2024 Record of Decision.This data shows areas where the aerial application of fire retardant should be avoided in order to prevent the potential of impacts to aquatic features across National Forest lands. The data is based on the high resolution National Hydrographic Dataset (NHD) produced by USGS. Each National Forest has the opportunity annually to modify the default NHD water representation (300ft buffer around all perennial and intermittent water features) to more accurately represent aquatic aerial fire retardant avoidance areas.This data is to be used in planning and implementation phases of U.S. Forest Service fire activities to help prevent intrusions of aerial fire retardant in these aquatic areas throughout National Forest lands. Provided here is a regionally merged dataset. This data has been merged, dissolved, and erased of attributes contained in each original component dataset. For this purpose, specific attributes are not necessary, as any spatial areas depicted simply show areas where aerial fire retardant use is to be avoided as stated in U.S. Forest Service guidelines.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV> USFS Chief Information Office, Enterprise Data Warehouse Please send an e-mail to the address below. Washington DC 20250 US SM.FS.data@usda.gov USFS;FS;Forest Service;Aerial Fire Retardant Avoidance Areas;AFRAA;Hydrography;Hydro;Aquatic;Fire and Aviation ISO 19115 Topic Categories environment <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>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 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.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV> The U.S. Forest Service makes no warranty, express or implied, nor assumes any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or utility of these geospatial data or for the improper or incorrect use of those data. The data are dynamic and may change over time. The user is responsible for verifying the limitations of the geospatial data and for using the data accordingly. This dataset is an aggregation of waterways in the region where aerial fire retardant is prohibited to avoid, limit, or mitigate potential impacts to specified resources. Unless a forest system unit designates waterways differently as part of the annual formal request for aquatic avoidance area data, perennial and intermittent waterways, as identified in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Hydrography Datasets (NHD), NHD Flowline, NHD Area, and NHD Waterbody, are buffered by 300 feet to create these aerial retardant avoidance areas. Publication Date 2026-03-31 1 -150.007928115 -65.70675638 18.24414852 61.51899025 Regional data as of update date 0 Regional data as of update date Completeness and accuracy of this dataset reflects that of the current USGS National Hydrography Dataset at the time this feature class was created. The accuracy of this data reflects that of the USGS National Hydrography Dataset as the time this feature class was created..> Unless a forest system unit designates waterways differently as part of the annual formal request for aquatic avoidance area data, perennial and intermittent waterways, as identified in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Hydrography Datasets (NHD), NHD Flowline, NHD Area, and NHD Waterbody, are buffered by 300 feet to create these aerial retardant avoidance areas. The Feature Codes (FCode) are used to identify waterways that are likely to represent open water, which must be avoided when applying aerial fire retardant on National Forest System Lands. The following FCodes are used: -- NHD Flowline: 33600, 33601, 33603, 46000, 46003, 46006, 46800 -- NHD Area: 31200, 33600, 33601, 33603, 36200, 45500, 46000, 46003, 46006 -- NHD Waterbody: 37800, 39001, 39005, 39006, 39000, 39004, 39009, 39010, 39011, 39012, 43614, 43600, 43601, 43603, 43604, 43605, 43606, 43607, 43608, 43609, 43610, 43611, 43612, 43613, 43615, 43617, 43618, 43619, 43621, 43623, 43624, 43625, 43626, 46600, 46602, 44601, 49300 These features are then aggregated into one dataset. The FCodes are then used to classify the features into two categories – either perennial or intermittent/ephemeral. (Forests may identify ephemeral waterways, 46007, for avoidance.) -- Intermittent/ephemeral: 39001, 39005, 39006, 43614, 46003, 46601, 46007 -- Perennial: All remaining FCodes Provided here is a regionally merged dataset. The data has been merged, dissolved, and erased of attributes contained in original component datasets. For this purpose, features have been identified only as either perennial or intermittent/ephemeral waterway features. Data has been clipped to Forest Service land using Basic Ownership data in the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW). Region and National Forest information has also been added using the Forest Service Administrative Forest boundary data in the EDW. 2026-03-31 http://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/edw/datasets.php 381507 Feature class: A collection of geographic features with the same geometry type (such as point, line, or polygon), the same attributes, and the same spatial reference. ESRI GIS Dictionary S_USA.Fire_AerialFireRetardantAvoidanceAreas_Aquatic Feature Class 381507 OBJECTID Internal feature number. Esri Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. OBJECTID OID 4 10 0 WATERWAY_TYPE Type of waterway, either perennial or intermittent/ephemeral US Forest Service Type of waterway WATERWAY_TYPE String 25 0 0 REGION US Forest Service Region number US Forest Service Unit number REGION String 2 0 0 FORESTNUMBER US Forest Service Forest number US Forest Service Unit number FORESTNUMBER String 2 0 0 FORESTNAME US Forest Service Forest name US Forest Service Forest Name FORESTNAME String 150 0 0 DATE_UPDATED Date of the data update. US Forest Service Update date DATE_UPDATED String 20 0 0 SHAPE.AREA Esri field of boundary area in coordinate system units Esri Esri field of boundary length in coordinate system units SHAPE.AREA Double 0 0 0 SHAPE.LEN Esri field of boundary length in coordinate system units Esri Esri field of boundary length in coordinate system units SHAPE.LEN Double 0 0 0 EPSG 6.12(3.0.1) FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998