Communication Towers

Overview

This data layer merges communication sites from the NPS, BLM and USFS, and eight HIFLD Open Data layers. The dataset includes points from the conterminous US, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Data Input

Data comes from the following sources and layers:

HIFLD

Source: https://hifldgeoplatform.hub.arcgis.com/search?groupIds=65847c150c8449649bd33a74a0e1050b

• Antenna Structure Registration

• Broadband Radio Service

• Cellular Towers

• Land Mobile - Commercial

• Land Mobile – Private

• Land Mobile - Broadcast

• Microwave Service

• Paging Transmission

BLM

Source: BLM National Operations Center

• Communications Building

NPS

Source: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=9acab3e9a58f4667853b77ab75a265bd

• CommSite

USFS

Source (Internal Only): https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcn/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RadioCommunications_01/MapServer

• Radio Repeater Site

• Radio Base Site

• Radio Secondary Base Site

• Radio Aviation Site

• Radio Link Site

Data Processing

Attributes were stripped from this data layer. Only fields indicating the tower type, the Tower ID#, the necessary FID, and the shape field were included. Data points that were outside of the WFDSS Geographic Area Boundary not included in dataset. The Tower ID field was created from a combination of the UniqSysID and LocNum for the HILFD data, CN for USFS data, FMSS_ID for the NPS data, and FAMS ID for the BLM data. The final dataset was re-projected using the "GCS" coordinate system, and the datum "North American Datum 83".

Data Information

Sources	HIFLD, BLM, NPA, USFS
Extent	National (Clipped to the US Census Tiger Boundaries)
Projection/Datum	GCS, NAD 83

GIS Team Contacts for Communication Towers

The Communication Towers data comes to IFTDSS from the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) Data Team. Their contact information is displayed below.

The WFDSS application is "data rich". It requires data which is spatially oriented and graphically displays information to support wildland fire and other natural resource decisions. Due to the type and number of interagency spatial data sets required in April 2009 an interagency GIS Team was formed to provide data support for WFDSS. This Team is responsible for acquiring, consolidating, and validating their agency spatial and tabular data. In addition this team developed and maintained communications among local, regional, and national agency personnel to improve the collection process and provide explicit guidance on data needs. The members of the WFDSS GIS Team are:

Name	Agency	Position	Phone	Email
Amanda Rumsey	WFMRDA	Data Scientist	208-830-0160	amanda.rumsey@nps.gov
Jonah Vaughn	WFMRDA	GIS Specialist	406-531-4701	jonah.e.vaughn@usda.gov
Susan McClendon	WFMRDA	GIS Specialist	208-258-4244	susan.mcclendon@nps.gov
Jennifer L. Jenkins	BLM-AFS	GIS Specialist	907-356-5587	jljenkins@blm.gov
Julie Osterkamp	BLM - NIFC	Natural Resource Specialist	801-520-8702	josterkamp@blm.gov
Joseph Kafka	BIA - NIFC	Fire Management Specialist	208-387-5572	joseph_kafka@bia.gov
Skip Edel	NPS-NIFC	Fire-GIS Program Lead	303-969-2947	skip_edel@nps.gov
Cole Belongie	USFS-NIFC	Data Coordinator	208-488-5246	cole.belongie@usda.gov
Andrew Bailey	USFWS-NIFC	National Fire Planner	208-387-5345	andrew_bailey@fws.gov

Terms of Use: Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Interagency Fire Center, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, shall be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (i.e. GIF or JPG format files) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Interagency Fire Center, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any data described and/or contained herein. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on other systems for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data.

Last Updated 6-3-2024