Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, TWIG integrates data from the USFS and DOI systems of record. We also have a partnership with NASF and have actively worked with them to incorporate state data into TWIG. If a user or organization has data that they would like to relate to data included in TWIG they can temporarily upload information to the viewer using the “Add Layers” tool. Data added using the “Add Layers” tool is not stored, saved, or made available to anyone outside of the immediate user. At this time, we are not integrating data from other organizations. In the future we may consider adjusting our policies and systems to integrate data contributions from other organizations directly into TWIG. If you have fuel treatment data you’d like to contribute to a permanent repository, consider the NFT Initiative and/or the LANDFIRE Public Events Geodatabase.

ReSHAPE is committed to data accessibility across jurisdictional boundaries to help foster collaboration and answer questions across scales. By providing access to data from multiple federal agencies (USDA Forest Service and DOI), as well as partnering with NASF to incorporate state data, ReSHAPE helps enable a wide range of groups—such as land managers, NGOs, researchers, and local communities—to work together more effectively across boundaries.

• Social science research: The CONNECT program (the social science research program nested within ReSHAPE) is central to understand and improve the adoption of data and tools like TWIG. CONNECT is actively evaluating the use and effectiveness of decision support tools, like TWIG, by users across boundaries.
• Broad engagement: ReSHAPE is working with organizations like NASF and with agency advisors and partners to incorporate data beyond the federal systems of record into TWIG, expanding its reach and collaborative potential. The platform is designed to grow in the future and accommodate additional data from various other groups such as NGOs.

SWERI has kept extensive records of the issues encountered while cross-walking the federal systems of record. This information is shared with our agency partners and will be compiled into a report that will be shared back with data managers to help inform future improvements to the data.

TWIG is being iteratively developed, with ongoing changes and updates to enhance its functionality, user experience, and data integration. Feedback, collected by the CONNECT team, from users—including land managers, researchers, and collaborators—is central to the tools evolution, ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of its varied user base. The goal is to create a robust platform that is flexible and adaptable to future needs, making it a valuable resource for a wide range of users.

Users wishing to cite TWIG data can cite our Data Descriptor journal article! Access the article here.

The ReSHAPE program and TWIG are unique in several ways:

• Research program areas: SWERI is applying a multidisciplinary approach to answer the question of fuel treatment effectiveness brought forward during the scoping phase of the ReSHAPE program. By integrating the efforts of our ecological, social science, data science, and economic research program areas, SWERI has expanded our capacity to understand fuel treatment effectiveness and is using our research to iteratively advance TWIG so that it meets end user needs.
• TWIG is cross-walking federal data: TWIG integrates and displays data from both federal systems of record, including the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (DOI) (all bureaus). Though the Fuel Treatment Effectiveness Monitoring (FTEM) application and the Grant Accomplishments Reporting Portal (GARP) offer similar fuels treatment data compilations, TWIG data is more extensive. Like FTEM and GARP, TWIG includes data from the DOI Interior Fuels and Post-Fire Reporting System (IFPRS, which replaced the National Fire Plan Operations and Reporting System or NFPORS in 2025), and the Forest Service’s Forest Activity Tracking System (FACTS) Hazardous Fuels database. In addition, TWIG also includes over a million records from the larger FACTS Common Attributes database. These additional records represent management activities that may not have been intended as fuel treatments but likely impacted forest structure and/or wildfire outcomes. TWIG uses a carefully developed ruleset to identify and select the records in the FACTS Common Attributes database that meet this criterion. If desired, users can exclude these additional Common Attributes records from maps, reports, and downloads. The online TWIG viewer also displays the federal fuel treatment data alongside wildfire and burn severity data, and all data are downloadable by anyone.
• TWIG is incorporating state data: The SWERI ReSHAPE program has partnered with the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) to compile and display fuel treatment data from state agencies and other non-federal sources. NASF is working with all 50 states and 9 territories to compile and align their fuel treatment data. Data is ingested through the Grant Accomplishment Reporting Portal (known as GARP or GARPHub) and compiled into the National Fuels Treatment (NFT) Explorer. SWERI has incorporated the non-federal data from NFT into TWIG as a view-only dataset at the moment, recognizing and adhering to privacy concerns. The NFT Explorer also includes some federal data; this data is already included in TWIG directly from the federal source databases.
• Accessibility: Unlike many tools that require users to be agency staff or possess specialized accounts, TWIG is designed to be accessible to everyone. This makes it a cross-boundary tool that promotes collaboration across a broad spectrum of users, from federal agencies to NGOs, local stakeholders, and beyond.
• TWIG has a user-centric interface: The TWIG online viewer is designed with user experience in mind, offering a more intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface than many existing systems. It is open source and scalable, allowing users to freely access, explore, and download data.

ReSHAPE is designed to fill the gaps: In the initial scoping phase of the project, SWERI assessed the landscape of data tools and developed TWIG to serve as a complementary tool rather than a replacement to the systems of record or any other tools, offering a user-friendly interface and the ability to cross-reference multiple data sources in one place.

The ecological scope of TWIG includes data from both forested and non-forested lands. TWIG draws this from available data on the FACTS and IFPRS databases.

The biophysical effects research program of ReSHAPE is primarily evaluating effects of fuel treatments on forested landscapes. Other partners, like the USGS, are evaluating fuel treatment effects on non-forested landscapes.

The online TWIG viewer is built with all users in mind, from federal agency employees to external researchers and new users. Unlike many other tools, which can be complex or difficult to navigate, the TWIG viewer features an open-source design with an intuitive interface that allows users to easily search, analyze, and download data. This focus on usability helps ensure that all users, regardless of their technical expertise, can make the most of the tool.

But if you are a user and find challenges with using TWIG, we encourage you to reach out and let us know your feedback, so that we can ensure the interface meets your needs. Users may provide feedback using the feedback survey button located directly on the TWIG interface or by emailing the relevant ReSHAPE staff member directly.

TWIG data are documented extensively in a published data paper, on the ReSHAPE website, and in the data tools GitHub repository. The journal article provides important background information and a broad overview of how TWIG data is obtained and collated. The ReSHAPE website contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date metadata for individual attributes. Finally, the GitHub repository contains well-documented code sufficient to recreate TWIG from scratch, providing complete transparency into how the underlying federal data sources are queried and cross-walked.

TWIG is being developed in close collaboration with a range of partners, including:

• Advisors: A formal advisory group composed of representatives from the USDA Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, USDA Forest Service Research and Development, the DOI Fire Planning and Fuels Management, and the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service help to guide the ReSHAPE program and provide feedback from agency perspectives.
• Researchers: Our research partners like those with the US Geological Survey (USGS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and researchers at universities across the U.S. are working with the ReSHAPE team on complementary research efforts to improve wildfire management and ecological restoration practices across landscapes. Many others have made themselves available to offer insights into the development of the existing databases and opportunities for improvement.
• Economists: We’re engaging and partnering with the Conservation Economics Institute (CEI) to research the return on investment (ROI) of restoration efforts, which will provide valuable insights for decision-makers.
• Partners like the National Association of State Foresters (NASF): The partnership with NASF has worked to integrate additional data (state level) into TWIG and expand capabilities to crosswalk disparate data.

The Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) are tasked with creating and delivering the ReSHAPE program. As independent university-based institutes, SWERI brings together critical thinkers dedicated to objective evaluation and data-driven decision-making. As a result, SWERI was asked to develop a national fuel treatment map, recognizing the institutes’ unique ability to integrate social and ecological science into a comprehensive and practical tool for informing fuel treatment strategies across landscapes.

SWERI leadership in geospatial data management began, in response to stakeholder needs, the development of the New Mexico Vegetation Treatment Geodatabase in 2015. This database, created by the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (NMFWRI) in collaboration with state, federal, tribal, and nonprofit partners, expanded over time and became publicly accessible as a web map in 2017. Further enhancements, including an upload tool in 2018, enabled users to contribute project data, reinforcing its role as a critical resource. The continued success of this statewide database and mapping system demonstrated the value of a centralized, accessible treatment database.

SWERI was tasked with compiling and displaying federal fuel treatment data. Some state, private and Tribal projects are included in the federal systems of record and therefore have been incorporated into TWIG. Also, recognizing the importance of non-federal data sources, SWERI has established a relationship with the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) to incorporate non-federal fuel treatment data into TWIG. This state-agency sourced data is compiled in the NFT Explorer and is available in TWIG as a view-only dataset at this time. Due to the importance of data sovereignty and privacy, SWERI will not be incorporating Tribal or private data unless the Tribe or private landowner approaches us to have their data added, at which time that decision will be thoroughly considered.

The initial database has been built around treatments completed in forested ecosystems, though treatment records from non-forested areas are included if they are part of the FACTS Hazardous Fuel Treatment database or the IFPRS database. SWERI is working to understand what is considered a treatment for non-forested ecosystems (i.e. mowing, native plant restoration, noxious weed removal, rangeland management). Stay tuned!

Many forest management activities do not have a primary goal of wildfire risk reduction or may not be funded with resources specifically allocated for this purpose, yet may nevertheless affect forest structure and wildfire outcomes. Because of this, TWIG has pulled from the FACTS Common Attributes dataset using a ruleset we have developed which takes into account the treatment activity, method, and equipment used. This significantly expands the number management activities included in TWIG. If desired, users may exclude these additional records from maps, reports, and downloads.

SWERI did not create any new primary data for the Treatment and Wildfire Interagency Geodatabase (TWIG). The database includes data gathered from existing federal systems of record: FACTS, NFPORS, and IFPRS. Data from state agencies and other non-federal sources are obtained through partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and is currently available in TWIG as a view-only dataset.

Information on the crosswalk between NFPORS, IFPRS, and FACTS, including a table of the cross walked attributes, can be found here. We are actively working to improve our documentation of data cross-walking, particularly for NASF-sourced state-level data.

TWIG compiles and provides public access to existing data but does not manipulate or edit this data. Errors and duplicates in the source databases are preserved in TWIG. To help users identify potentially erroneous or duplicate records, TWIG has implemented an error flagging system. See the TWIG Data Resources page for more information on the types of error flags and how each flag is applied.