Who Maintains the USNVC?
The USNVC is managed via a team of federal and non-federal partners. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), a government committee tasked with coordinating spatial data activities of federal agencies, formed a Vegetation Subcommittee in 1991 to coordinate, manage, and share the USNVC. The USDA Forest Service (USFS) is the lead agency and chairs the Subcommittee. Any federal agencies that develop, use, or share vegetation data, while using federal funds, play a role in the Subcommittee’s work.
The primary tasks of the Subcommittee in implementing the USNVC are to:
- Disseminate and archive the classification content
- Document the vegetation plot data that form the basis for the recognized types
- Propose revisions to vegetation types or adopt new types
- Conduct peer review for new and revised types
- Report the results of the peer-review process
The Vegetation Subcommittee includes the following federal organizations:
Forest Service (USFS) – Chair
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
National Agriculture Statistical Service (NASS)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Department of the Interior (USDI)
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
National Park Service (NPS)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
In addition to federal agencies, the Subcommittee works with the non-profit NatureServe, which provides expertise in data management, as well as the Vegetation Classification Panel of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).
Current representation in roles implementing the USNVC :
Carol Spurrier (USDA FS) (Co-chair)
Phone: (202) 538-9998
Email:carol.spurrier@usda.gov
Linda Anne Spencer (USDA FS) (Co-Chair)
Rangelands Vegetation Ecologist
Phone (907) 723-2112
Email: linda.spencer@usda.gov
Alexis Conley
Science Program Associate
Ecological Society of America
email: alexis@esa.org
John Dennis (NPS)
National Park Service
Phone: (202) 513-7174
email: john_dennis@nps.gov
Don Faber-Langendoen (NatureServe)
NatureServe
Proceedings Editor in Chief
Phone: (315) 673-0921
email: don_faber-langendoen@natureserve.org
Kristin Snow (NatureServe)
Ecology Database Analyst
Phone: (703) 908-1815|
Email: kristin_snow@natureserve.org
Harbin Li (USDA FS)
Rangeland Management
Phone: (202) 205-1474
email: hli@fs.fed.us
Alexa McKerrow (USGS)(Implementation Manager USNVC)
U.S. Geological Survey
Phone: (571) 218-5474
email: amckerrow@usgs.gov
Robert K. Peet (UNC) Retired
University of North Carolina
Department of Biology
Phone: (919) 962-6942
email: peet@unc.edu
Esteban Muldavin (Chair, ESA Vegetation Panel)
University of New Mexico
Natural Heritage New Mexico
Department of Biology
Phone: (505) 277-3822
email: muldavin@unm.edu
Zoe Davidson (BLM)
Acting Assessment Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) Coordinator
Bureau of Land Management
Phone: (505) 954-2045
email: zdavidson@blm.gov
Erik Suffridge (NRCS)
NRI Grazing Lands National Leader
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
Phone: (515) 294-9543
email: esuff@iastate.edu
Tom Philippi (NPS)
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
National Park Service
Phone: (619) 523-4294
email: tom_philippi@nps.gov