Aerial detection surveys are one method of collecting and reporting data on insect, disease, and other types of disturbances to forested ecosystems. Forest Health Protection and the Aerial Survey Standards Working Group of the Forest Health Monitoring Program have been working for the past several years on the development and implementation of data collection and reporting standards for insect and disease aerial surveys that are conducted by Forest Service units and their cooperating partners in State and Federal agencies. The primary purpose of these standards is to permit the upward reporting and analysis of data collected by Forest Service field units and their State cooperators.The first iteration of these standards was implemented through a letter signed jointly by the Forest Health Protection Director and the Forest Health Monitoring Program Manager on May 20, 1998. The Aerial Survey Standards Working Group, composed of both Federal and State personnel, continue to add to and refine these standards. Recommendations for additions and changes to the standards are submitted each year to the Forest Health Monitoring Work Group for discussion and/or amendment, and then on to the Forest Health Protection Director and Forest Health Monitoring Program Manager for approval and implementation.

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The Aerial Survey Standards Working Group has facilitated the development of three documents to assist in the implementation of these standards. These documents are:

• Forest Health Monitoring Aerial Survey Standards (43 KB PDF)
  This document describes the minimum data that must be collected as part of the Forest Health Monitoring Program, provides definitions of data elements, and gives quality assurance/quality control requirements. This document will be revised annually as the standards continue to evolve.
• A Guide to Conducting Aerial Sketchmapping Surveys (7.34 MB PDF)
  While not a requirements or standards document, this guide is a source of useful information for anyone conducting or considering the start-up of an insect and disease aerial survey program.
• Aerial Survey Ground Check Guidelines 01/23/07 (121 KB PDF)
• Aerial Survey Geographic Information System Handbook (152 KB PDF)
  Sketchmaps to Digital Geographic Information. This handbook describes a recommended process for moving from hand-drawn aerial survey sketchmaps to a geographic digital database. The document includes the data format, coding schemes, appendices A-C and other data requirements for submitting data to the Forest Health Monitoring geographic information system database.

We have also made the following appendices to the Aerial Survey Geographic Information System Handbook available for downloading in a digital (.dbf) format and as a (.pdf) file.

• Appendix D Cooperating Agency Codes (8 KB DBF) Updated 10/2007
• Appendix D Cooperating Agency Codes (15 KB PDF) Updated 10/2007
• Appendix E Damage Causal Agent Codes (775 KB DBF) Updated 9/2012
• Appendix E Damage Causal Agent Codes (148 KB PDF) Updated 9/2012
• Appendix E Revision Notes (41 KB PDF) Updated 9/2012
• Appendix F Host tree Species Codes (28 KB DBF)
  
• Appendix F Host tree Species Codes (46 KB PDF)
• Appendix G Host Forest Type Codes (14 KB DBF)
• Appendix G Host Forest Type Codes (28 KB PDF)

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