Resources

Where to Find Old Photos

Typically, each national forest receives copies of every photo acquisition over that national forest. However, there is no standard for archiving historical aerial photography. In too many cases, these old photographs are discarded by those who don’t see their continued value. Start your search locally and expand to the regional geospatial or remote sensing leader.

If photos are not available at the regional level, the USDA Aerial Photography Field Office in Salt Lake City archives over 50,000 rolls of film. Their holdings include nearly all USDA photo acquisitions since the mid-1950s. When searching for historical photography within the APFO website, be aware that they have separate listings for Forest Service photography and all other USDA agencies.

Older photography is held in the National Archives in College Park, MD.

Additional Reading

Chou, Y. 1997. Exploring spatial analysis in geographic information system. Santa Fe, NM: OnWard Press: 334-336.

Jensen, J. 1996. Introductory digital image processing—a remote sensing perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 316 p.

Lachowski, H.; Maus, P.; Golden, M. [and others]. 1996. Guidelines for the use of digital imagery for vegetation mapping. Rep. No. EM-7140-25. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Engineering Staff (Remote Sensing Applications Center). 125 p.

Newman, P. 2001. Off-highway vehicle (OHV) trail digitizing. [Online]. Available: http://www.or.blm.gov/gis/projects/ohv.asp. [Date accessed: March 25, 2004].

Paine, D.P.; Kaiser, J. 2003. Aerial photography and image interpretation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley . 632 p.

Timchak, L. 2003. Four threats to the health of the nation’s forest and grasslands [Online]. Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/news/2003/06/030624timchak [Date accessed: April 19, 2004].

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2002. Draft Environmental Impact Statement Duck Creek-Swains Access Management Project. Cedar City, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Dixie National Forest. 297 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 2004. USDA Forest Service Chief Charters National OHV Teams. Washington, DC: National OHV Policy & Implementation Teams, On the Right Trail! Newsletter, January 7, 2004:1 [Online]. Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/ohv_use.pdf [Date accessed: April 19, 2004].

Werstak, C.; Johnson, V.; Lachowski, H. [and others]. 2004. Mapping and monitoring non-system trail change with remote sensing and GIS. Rep. No. 0063-RPT3. Salt Lake City, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Remote Sensing Applications Center. 16 p.

Williamson, M.; Evans, D.; Lachowski, H. [and others]. 2002. Technology evaluation for mapping roads and trails in the Ocala National Forest, Florida. RSAC-41-RPT1. Salt Lake City, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Remote Sensing Applications Center. 12 p.