Data Sources
Everything this tool uses. All public data.
Data used to build this
| Dataset | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USFS FACTS — Hazardous Fuel Treatments The main dataset. ~28,000 CO treatment polygons. |
USFS EDW REST API | live |
| Colorado state + county boundaries | Census TIGER 2024 | loaded |
| National Forest boundaries | USFS EDW | loaded |
| Wilderness areas | USFS EDW | loaded |
| Roads (primary/secondary) | Census TIGER 2024 | loaded |
| Front Range 7-county burn-ban zone | Derived from TIGER counties + CDPHE rules | loaded |
| Ozone nonattainment area | EPA Green Book | loaded |
| Contractor locations (seed list) | Hand-curated from CSFS forest management | 12 entries |
How scoring works
Eligibility filters
- Activity must be thinning or mechanical removal (not pile burning)
- Completed in last 2 years or planned in next 12 months
- At least 50 acres treated
- Not inside designated wilderness
Scoring components
Weights are defaults — adjust them in the tool to match what matters most.
| Component | Default weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Deployability | 35% | Road access + project density within 20 miles + haul distance |
| Biomass | 30% | Green tons = treated acres × tons/acre × 0.6 recovery factor |
| Urgency | 20% | Wildfire hazard by forest type (ponderosa and lodgepole score highest) |
| Timing | 15% | Recency — full credit if completed in last 6 months or planned in next 6 |
Treated acres vs polygon acres
FACTS records two numbers: NBR_UNITS_ACCOMPLISHED (real treated acres) and
GIS_ACRES (the NEPA planning polygon, often 10× larger).
This tool uses the treated number. The ratio is shown on every project card.
Browse the raw data
The full USFS FACTS activity database (all forest types, all states) is available at:
data.fs.usda.gov — FACTS Activity datasets