United States 

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

General Technical Report 

RMRS-GTR-180WWW

September 2006

Arc Habitat Suitability Index 

Computer Software

Thomas M. Juntti

Mark A. Rumble
Rocky Mountain Research Station

Natural Resources Research Center

2150 Centre Avenue, Building A

Fort Collins, CO 80526

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Juntti, Thomas M.; Rumble, Mark A. 2006. Arc Habitat Suitability Index computer software. Gen. 

Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-180WWW. Ft. Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Rocky Mountain Research Station. 31 p.

Abstract—This user manual describes the Arc Habitat Suitability Index (ArcHSI), which is a 

geographical information system (GIS) model that estimates the ability of an area to meet the food 

and cover requirements of an animal species. The components and parameters of the model occur 

in tables and can be easily edited or otherwise modified. ArcHSI runs on personal computers with the 

full installation of ArcGIS (Version 8.2+). ArcHSI is a tool intended to inform planners of the probable 

impacts on wildlife for the alternatives they develop, and it augments, rather than supplants, the 

expertise of resource specialists with site-specific knowledge. System requirements are platform 

specific, but a typical system requires 512 megabytes RAM and a 1 gHz CPU. A Unix ArcINFO 

version is also available. We have included a demonstration (see DEMONSTRATION) that provides 

a step-by-step tour of the software, including setting up the first run; interpreting, formatting, and 

analyzing output; and identifying and solving the most common problems experienced by new users.

The Authors

Thomas M. Juntti is a Biological Science Technician with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station, Rapid City, SD. As a self-employed and university biologist and Forest Service 

Biological Science Technician, he has been producing biological science computer systems since 

1983.

Mark A. Rumble is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station, Rapid City, SD. He has researched wildlife habitat relationships for 25 years and 

has conducted tests of HabCap, the predecessor to ArcHSI for more than 10 years.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Joshua Millspaugh, Parry Parrish, and Bonnie Allison for their thoughtful and 

helpful reviews; Kerry Burns, Patrice Lynch, and Todd Mills for beta-testing the software; John 

Varner for a key idea; and the Black Hills National Forest (ISA-203-01-004), the Rocky Mountain Elk 

Foundation (SD00268), and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (RMRS-98113-

CC) for financial support.
Contents

Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

Applicability ..........................................................................................................................2

The Model..............................................................................................................................3

Files and Data Requirements of ArcHSI.............................................................................5

Species File ...................................................................................................................5

Types File ......................................................................................................................6

Vegetation Type Classification Threshold Files .............................................................7

Habitat Distribution Files................................................................................................7

Formula Files .................................................................................................................8

Roads Files....................................................................................................................8

ArcINFO GIS Coverages ...............................................................................................9

Output....................................................................................................................................9

ArcHSI Output................................................................................................................9

GenTab Output ............................................................................................................11

Operation.............................................................................................................................12

ArcHSI Operation.........................................................................................................12

GenTab Operation .......................................................................................................16

Installation...........................................................................................................................17

PC Installation..............................................................................................................17

UNIX Server/Workstation Installation...........................................................................18

Demonstration ....................................................................................................................20

Viewing the Output.......................................................................................................21

Identifying and Correcting Problems ...............................................................................23

Editing the Input Vegetation Coverage ........................................................................26

Projects........................................................................................................................26

Print Layouts................................................................................................................26

Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................27

Computer Requirements....................................................................................................27

References ..........................................................................................................................28

Appendix 1. Glossary.........................................................................................................30

USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Arc Habitat Suitability Index 

Computer Software

Thomas M. Juntti and Mark A. Rumble

Introduction

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandates environmental 

analysis for land management projects that are likely to have a significant impact 

on wildlife and other values. Habitat modeling is a way of systematically integrating the predicted effects of multiple management alternatives on wildlife over 

numerous individual land units and over time. Modeling is a tool that provides a 

standardized, consistent approach to wildlife management across all levels of an 

organization. It can provide continuity through changes in personnel and variation in expertise among staff.

Arc Habitat Suitability Index (ArcHSI) is a geographical information system 

(GIS) model that estimates the ability of an area to meet an animal species’ 

requirements for food and cover. While this definition seems simple enough, 

the literature contains a number of terms that tend to confuse this concept. The 

following definitions were taken from British Columbia Wildlife Habitat Rating 

Standards (1999).

Capability is defined as the ability of the habitat, under the optimal natural 

(seral) conditions for a species to provide its life requisites, irrespective of the 

current condition of the habitat. It is an estimate of the highest potential value of 

a particular habitat for a species and is useful in providing predictive scenarios 

for various habitat management options. Capability assumes non-intensive 

management and does not apply where the inherent soil characteristics and 

productivity have been artificially enhanced, as commonly occurs with irrigation 

or fertilization. The capability classification of these areas are (sic) based on what 

the ecosystems would be like if they reverted from their present state back to a 

non-intensive management state.

Suitability is defined as the ability of the habitat in its current condition to 

provide the life requisites of a species. It is an estimate of how well current 

habitat conditions provide the specified life requisite(s) of the species being considered. The suitability of the land is frequently less than the capability because 

of unfavorable seral conditions. A suitability rating is given to each structural 

stage of each vegetation type in a project area. The structural stage(s) with the 

highest suitability rating describe the capability for any specific ecosystem. To 

assign suitability, a rating is the value assigned to a vegetation structural stage for 

its potential to support a particular species for a specified season and activity relative to the best vegetation structural stages in the ecosystem used by that species 

for the same season and activity. It is expressed as a proportion of the best habitat 

in the province and it reflects the expected use of a habitat by the species.

Lyon and Christianson (1992) provide a glossary of terms specific to elk 

habitat management. These authors define habitat capability as the capacity of a 

given area to meet the needs of elk, either seasonally or year-round, and note that 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

it is nearly equivalent to carrying capacity. They also define habitat effectiveness

as the percentage of available habitat that is usable by elk outside of the hunting 

season.

The application of habitat models in the Rocky Mountain Region of the USDA

Forest Service derives from the need to evaluate and document land management 

alternatives on wildlife in order to comply with the requirements of NEPA. The 

initial application was based on ecosystem matrices described by Towry (1983). 

These matrices rated the value of forage and cover as habitat by vegetation cover 

type and structural stage for numerous wildlife species in the Rocky Mountain 

Region. The ratings were derived from the scientific literature and expert opinion. 

Beginning in the 1990s, the vegetation type-structural stage matrices for several 

species were modified based on field research (Rumble and Anderson 1995; Mills 

and others 1996). The geometric mean between forage and cover values provided 

a combined capability rating (Hitchcock and Ager 1992). Habitat capability 

modeling in the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region became spatially 

explicit for deer and elk with the development of ArcHabcap, an unpublished 

model developed specifically for the Black Hills National Forest by Utah State 

University and based primarily on the model developed by Wisdom and others 

(1986). ArcHabcap treated deer and elk habitat in close proximity to roads as unavailable even though it might otherwise have been of high quality (Thomas and 

others 1988; Rumble and others 2001). Although this treatment of road effects 

does not strictly conform to Lyon and Christianson’s definition, it is probably 

why ArcHabcap output was labeled “habitat effectiveness.” Research on elk in 

the Black Hills led to combining ArcHabcap model components for elk using a 

weighted arithmetic average instead of the geometic mean (Benkobi and others 

2004).

ArcHabcap was designed to be applied to landscapes composed of vegetation 

types, each of which has a habitat capability; therefore, ArcHabcap does not 

model habitat capability despite its name. In order to conform to the established 

definitions (op sit), we feel that the program should be called Arc Habitat 

Suitability Index (ArcHSI). Numerically, our use of Habitat Suitability Index 

(HSI) is as originally defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1980a):

Study Area Habitat Conditions

HSI = ________________________

Optimum Habitat Conditions

If actual conditions are identical to optimum conditions, HSI equals one.

Applicability

ArcHSI is a tool intended to inform planners of the probable impacts on 

wildlife for the alternatives they develop. It is a tool that should augment, not 

supplant, the expertise of resource specialists with site-specific knowledge.

ArcHSI should be applied to areas large enough to encompass the home ranges 

of individuals of the species under consideration. For example, elk in the Black 

Hills require a minimum home range of approximately 2,500 acres (1,012 ha) 

(Benkobi and others 2005). Consequently, the minimum area for which the elk 

model should be applied is approximately 2,500 acres. Similarly, for any analysis 

to be meaningful, the area impacted by management must be large relative to 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 

the area of the entire project. Retaining prior analyses and modeling vegetation 

changes over time allows fairly easy assessment of cumulative effects.

ArcHSI has several advantages over tabular summaries of habitat coefficients 

appearing in early versions of habitat capability models. The GIS output, even 

for species for which model components are not spatially explicit, allows users to 

visually display habitats for species and to make spatial inferences. For example, 

an analysis area can have uniformly moderate quality habitat or a mix of high 

quality and low quality habitats but have the same area-weighted average HSI. 

Identical treatment applied to these landscapes could have very different effects 

on HSI. Therefore, we discourage using ArcHSI to influence land or resource 

management actions on the basis of model numeric output alone. We also discourage tabulating average HSI values and reporting them without considering 

the spatial distribution of habitats relative to the land area over which the model 

is being applied.

The Model

This section of the ArcHSI manual concentrates on Habitat Suitability Index 

(HSI) modeling concepts. The following section will treat, in detail, the file and 

data structures that comprise an ArcHSI model.

ArcHSI includes two basic components: habitat value for forage (FV), and 

habitat value for cover (CV). For elk and deer we add habitat distribution of feeding and cover (HDV), and road effects. The Arc macro language (AML) in which 

ArcHSI is written forms the engine that drives models for each species. However, 

the information that determines model output is contained in separate files. This 

approach allows the data manager to easily and quickly create, extend, or modify 

a model by editing text or spreadsheet files.

Primary input to a model is from the COVER_TYPE and HAB_STRUCT_

STAGE items of the Rocky Mountain Region Resource Inventory System 

(RMRIS Data Dictionary 1988). Data from these items are concatenated and 

matched (COVSS column) to a table of coefficients (table 1) to provide the FV

and CV components. The tables of coefficients for all species and seasons of use 

are contained in a single file. As in the Habcap and ArcHabcap systems, coefficients range from zero for the poorest, to one for the best habitats.

Table 1. Excerpt from the SPECIES.DBF table containing species, season, vegetation 

cover type, cover type-structural stage abbreviation (COVSS), and coefficients for feed 

(FV) and cover (CV). Coefficients describe relative habitat suitability and range from 0 

to 1.0. For simplicity, this table omits some columns present in SPECIES.DBF.

SP	 SEASON	 COVTYP	 COVSS	 FV	 CV

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA1	 0.00	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA2	 0.50	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA3A	 0.50	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA3B	 1.00	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA3C	 1.00	 0.50

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA4A	 1.00	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA4B	 1.00	 1.00

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA4C	 1.00	 0.50

Elk	 Summer	 Aspen	 TAA5	 1.00	 1.00
 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

For species models with an HDV component (currently deer and elk), each 

land unit or polygon in the vegetation coverage is classified as “Feed,” “Cover,” 

or “Both” if it meets a threshold value. The process from the elk model illustrates 

the logic:

if FV>=0.5&CV>=0.5

then Class = Both

else if CV>=0.5

then Class = Cover

else if FV>=0.5

then Class = Forage

The classification provides the basis for the determination of HDV. If the classification is Both, HDV equals one because the same area provides both forage 

and cover. HDV is assigned to other land units based on proximity of polygons of 

different class.

For elk, the area within a Feed polygon that is 100 m or less from the edge 

of an adjacent Cover or Both polygon is assigned an HDV of 1.0 (fig. 1). HDV 

equals 0.5 for areas >100 m and ≤200 m of such edges; 0.1 for >200 and ≤500 m, 

and 0.01 for >500 m. Distances are derived from research with collared animals. 

Edges of Cover polygons with other types are treated similarly.

FV, CV, and HDV are combined by formula to produce HSI. For elk and deer, 

both summer and winter, the formula is:

	 3FV + CV + HDV

HSI =	 ________________ .

5

This formula is an arithmetic mean weighted for FV (Benkobi and others 2004). 

Other species models, for lack of better information, use the geometric mean 

between forage and cover, HSI = FV *CV . Different formulae reflect differences in the way model components compensate for each other. Geometric means 

place greater emphasis on low values and if any component is zero, then HSI is 

zero. Consequently, increasing the value of one component cannot completely 

compensate for reducing another. This encapsulates the notion that each habitat 

dimension is essential. We recommend that, as data become available, the default 

formula be examined for validity.

Figure 1. A 100 m buffer inside of an edge 

between forage and cover polygons.

Effects of roads are modeled based on a road classification. Currently, ArcHSI 

recognizes three road classes: primary, secondary, and primitive based on traffic 

load. Each class has a buffer distance. A coefficient (same for all classes) is 
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 

applied to HSI in those parts of vegetation polygons overlapping this buffer. For 

elk, HSI values are reduced 50 percent for areas within 300 m of primary roads 

or 260 m of secondary roads (primitive roads are currently considered to have 

no effect). Although a road effect is applied after HSI has been calculated based 

on FV, CV, and HDV (if part of a particular species model); FV, CV, and HDV 

are adjusted post hoc so that model formulae always appear to be computed correctly.

The HSI for a single polygon multiplied by the area of the polygon yields 

Habitat Units (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980b). Habitat Units can be 

compared directly; thus, an area of 10 ha with an HSI of 1.0 provides habitat 

equal to an area of 20 ha and an HSI of 0.5. ArcHSI calculates an overall HSI by 

summing Habitat Units and dividing by the area of the project. It is appropriate 

to manage using project-wide Habitat Units or project-wide HSI for a species but 

not appropriate to aggregate HSI for several species.

Files and Data Requirements of ArcHSI

All of the files that comprise an ArcHSI model may be edited, and files may be 

added to define new models. We have simplified these processes by making files 

for models editable in text editors like Notepad and spreadsheets like Excel. The 

following describes the exact file naming conventions, file locations, and data 

structures composing ArcHSI models.

Species File

The wildlife species that ArcHSI models habitat for are contained in a file 

named SPECIES.DBF. This file contains tables of coefficients that rate the 

relative value for feed and cover, from zero to one, of the vegetation cover types 

and structural stages for a particular species and season (table 2). Table 2 details 

cover types and structural stages for ponderosa pine (Buttery and Gillam 1983).

Table 2. Matrix display of vegetation structural stages combinations for ponderosa pine 

cover type in the ArcHSI model.1

Number Description DBH2 (in) CC3 Height (ft) Age (yr)

1 Grass-forb 0 0 0 0

2 Shrub-seedling < 1 0 < 4 6-10

3a Sapling-pole 1-9 < 40% 10-50 6-50

3b Sapling-pole 1-9 40%-70% 10-50 6-50

3c Sapling-pole 1-9 > 70% 10-50 6-50

4a Mature 9-24 < 40% > 50 51-159

4b Mature 9-24 40%-70% > 50 51-159

4c Mature 9-24 > 70% > 50 51-159

5 Old-growth > 16 > 160

1

 Vegetation classification modified from Buttery and Gillam (1983) following criteria from RMRIS data 

dictionary (USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region) and Black Hills National Forest Phase 

II, Forest Plan Amendment. 2

 Diameter-at-breast height.

3 Percent overstory canopy cover.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Other recognized vegetation cover types in the Rocky Mountain Region of 

the USDA Forest Service include lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), white spruce 

(Picea glauca), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), pinyon (P. edulis)‐juniper 

(Juniperus spp.), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), cottonwood (Populus del‐

toides), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), high elevation riparian, mountain shrub, 

sagebrush (Artemesia spp.), mountain grassland and wet meadow. Other vegetation types, structural stages, and appropriate coefficients for FV and CV can be 

added to the SPECIES.DBF file. SPECIES.DBF can be edited conveniently in 

Excel (or another spreadsheet that can read DBF files) but must be imported to an 

INFO file of the same name using the Arc Workstation DBASEINFO command 

(from the Arc Workstation window, type: DBASEINFO SPECIES SPECIES).

SPECIES.DBF contains two columns that are used to name ArcHSI output: 

SP_ABBR and S_ABBR. These columns contain three-letter abbreviations for 

species and season, respectively. ArcHSI concatenates the first three letters of 

the input vegetation coverage to the species and season abbreviations to produce 

the output coverage name. Entire species and seasons, as well as cover types and 

structural stages, may be added to the SPECIES.DBF file.

Types File

Another way to add a vegetation type to ArcHSI is to cross-reference it to one 

already in SPECIES.DBF. TYPES.DBF provides the cross-reference. The primary value of this file is to allow users to use project-specific vegetation attributes in 

the input GIS coverage without editing SPECIES.DBF. The default table contains 

the vegetation cover types that occur in SPECIES.DBF cross-referenced to 

themselves (TYPES.DBF is a required file; without it, ArcHSI will not recognize 

any vegetation type). To add a new vegetation cover type, place its three-letter 

code for vegetation type in the CT column and the cover type to which it will be 

mapped in the CVTP column (table 3).

Table 3. Example of TYPES.DBF table in ArcHSI that crosswalks vegetation cover types 

(CT) on to cover types recognized by ArcHSI (CVTP). Kentucky blue grass (GPO) and 

little bluestem (GLB) are mapped to grasslands (GRA), and Englemann spruce (TES) 

is mapped to white spruce (TWS). 

Vegetation cover types in GIS input Vegetation cover types that are 

coverage (CT) to ArcHSI recognized by ArcHSI in the 

SPECIES.DBF table (CVTP)

GPO GRA

GLB GRA

TAA TAA

TPB TPB

TBO TBO

TCW TCW

TDF TDF

RIP RIP

TLP TLP

GRA GRA

SHR SHR

TPJ TPJ

TPP TPP

SSA SSA

GWE GWE

TWS TWS

TES TWS
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 

Editing may be done in Excel (or another spreadsheet that can read DBF files) 

and the edited file may be imported to an INFO file of the same name using the 

Arc Workstation DBASEINFO command (from the Arc Workstation window, 

type: DBASEINFO TYPES TYPES). Table items are CT and CVTP, both character type of width 3.

Vegetation cover types not included in SPECIES.DBF, or cross-referenced to 

it in TYPES.DBF files, will be treated as having zero habitat value and will be 

excluded from project-wide summaries. Mismatches in vegetation cover type 

between input coverages and these two DBF files are likely sources of error (0 

values) in ArcHSI analysis.

Vegetation Type Classification Threshold Files

Text files containing minimum values of forage and cover coefficients 

for classifying a land unit as FEED, COVER, or BOTH are contained in the 

subdirectory, THRESHOLDS. Files are named by species-season combinations 

and must conform to those found in the SP and SEASON columns of SPECIES.

DBF. A DEFAULT.TXT table is provided. The first line of each file contains the 

FV that must be attained for a land unit to be classified as forage. The second 

line contains the threshold for CV. Values must be numbers less than one, expressed to a precision of two decimal places. Text files can be edited in Notepad, 

Wordpad, and most word processors; however, files must be saved as .TXT 

type and not forms with internal formatting information (for example, .RTF and 

.DOC). ArcHSI searches the THRESHOLDS subdirectory for a file that matches 

the species and season selected by the user. If such a file is found, ArcHSI uses its 

classification thresholds; if not, ArcHSI uses those in the DEFAULT.TXT file.

Habitat Distribution Files

The geographic relation between forage and cover for various species and 

seasons are in text files found in the PROXIMITY subdirectory. File names 

correspond to species and seasons identical to those for classification thresholds. 

These files contain distance thresholds in meters and corresponding HDVs. Each 

line in the table contains four values (fig. 2). The first value is the distance into 

areas classified as forage from adjacent land units classified as cover (or both), 

the second value is the corresponding HDV, the third value is the distance into 

Figure 2. Diagram illustrating how information located in files in the PROXIMITY subdirectory is 

interpreted in setting habitat distribution values for forage and cover polygons. Note that distances are cumulative. The first two lines are for illustration only and are not actually found in 

any file in the PROXIMITY subdirectory.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

areas classified as cover from adjacent land units classified as feed (or both), and 

the fourth value is the corresponding HDV. Subsequent lines represent distances 

and HDV values for intervals beginning at the outside of the previous interval. 

Order is important, and values are additive! Areas classified as feed ≥100 m from 

the boundary of land units classified as cover are assigned HDV = 0.5; areas 

classified as cover ≥100 m from the boundary of land units classified feed are 

assigned HDV = 0.65. Areas classified as feed ≥300 m (values are additive) from 

land units classified as cover are assigned HDV = 0.1. Areas classified as cover 

≥200 m from land units classified as cover are assigned HDV = 0.25. There may 

be as many lines as are required. There is no default table, and ArcHSI does not 

include HDV in the calculations if a species-season.txt file match is not found.

Formula Files

The subdirectory, FORMULAS, contains species-season specific and default 

text files containing HSI formulae. File names are identical to those described for 

classification threshold files. The following is the elk formula: (3 * FV + CV + 

HDV) / 5. Formulae must contain spaces between operators, variables, parentheses, and constants or they will not be read correctly. The exponentiation operator 

is **. The ArcHSI engine searches for and uses a file matching the user selected 

species and season; otherwise, the geometric average, (FV * CV) ** 0.5, is used 

in the DEFAULT.TXT file.

Roads Files

Spatial modeling of road effects is controlled by files in the ROADS subdirectory. Files are named by species-season as for classification threshold files. There 

is no default table. The first line of the text file contains a coefficient that is applied to HSI to model road effects. As discussed above, model components (FV, 

CV, & HDV) are also adjusted so that formulae always appear to compute correctly. Subsequent lines contain the road class first and the distance over which 

road effects apply second. The following entries in a table represent a road effect 

of reducing the HSI by 50 percent at a 300 m from roads of type P (primary) 

and 260 m from roads of type S (secondary). There is no distance effect for PR 

(primitive) type roads.

0.50

A,0

P,300

PR,0

S,260

All files in the ROADS subdirectory must have A,0 as the second line. This is 

a device used to prevent roads in the input coverage that do not match an entry 

in the file from exerting a road effect. The roads classification file must be sorted 

alphabetically. User-defined values for the coefficient, classification types, and 

distances can be used, but the classifications codes must match those contained in 

the item, TYPES, in the GIS road coverage.

The ArcHSI road component may be used to model effects other than those 

of roads; for example, attractions to linear features such as streams and riparian 

zones.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 

ArcINFO GIS Coverages

The GIS vegetation coverage is the only user-supplied data set ArcHSI requires. It must be an ArcINFO polygon coverage with vegetation cover types and 

structural stages. Attributes of items for vegetation cover type and structural stage 

include a three-letter alphanumeric item named CT for cover type and a two-letter alphanumeric item named ST for structural stage. In interactive mode only, if 

the coverage does not contain these items, ArcHSI will prompt the user for item 

names to use in their place. Cover types and structural stages should correspond 

to those tabulated in the SPECIES and TYPES files. Note that cover type and 

structural stage are concatenated into a single field, COVSS, in SPECIES.DBF.

A road coverage is an optional ArcHSI user-supplied input. It must contain an 

arc feature type with a two-character item called TYPE. Instances of road type 

should correspond to those found in the ROADS subdirectory for the speciesseason under consideration. Those that do not correspond will not be modeled as 

having an effect.

Output

When ArcHSI is launched through its desktop shortcut, output is displayed 

automatically in ArcVIEW. The display includes default layouts, which include 

categorical displays of HSI. Manipulation of the output in ArcVIEW requires 

some knowledge of this GIS program.

ArcHSI Output

ArcHSI output (fig. 3) consists of an ArcINFO coverage, an INFO summary 

table, and when run in interactive mode, an open ArcVIEW project. The project 

displays the coverage and table in ArcVIEW automatically when ArcHSI is 

launched from its desktop shortcut. ArcVIEW displays the input vegetation 

coverage, the input roads coverage and the ArcHSI output coverage. Project 

summary data are displayed in a table beneath the map. Table items are the 

number of vegetation units and number of acres in the area analyzed, mean FV, 

mean CV, mean HDV, and mean HSI. All means are weighted by the areas of the 

individual vegetation units. The default project categorizes HSI values as poor 

(0 to 0.33 HSI), fair (>0.33 to 0.67 HSI), or good (>0.67 HSI). This is a preliminary classification, useful as a starting point, but users are encouraged to explore 

more useful groupings. A legend file, ELKHSI.AVL, specific to Black Hills elk 

has classification cutoffs at 0.30, 0.45, and 0.70 between poor, fair, good and 

excellent, respectively. We developed these cutoff points using cluster analyses 

of ArcHSI output and verified them with locations of elk from radio telemetry 

(Rumble and others, in press). Also included are legend files to display cover 

values (CV.AVL), feed values (FV.AVL), habitat distribution values (HDV.AVL), 

and vegetation cover type and structural stage (COVSS.AVL).
10 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

ArcHSI output files are named from SP_ABBR and S_ABBR fields in the 

SPECIES.DBF table. To name the ArcINFO output, three-letter abbreviations for 

species and seasons respectively are concatenated to the first three letters of the 

input ArcINFO vegetation coverage.

Figure 3. ArcHSI output for a typical project. The map displays HSI categories and roads. The 

table lists mean weighted FV, CV, HDV, and HSI for the entire area.

NOTE: ArcINFO does not allow coverages to be overwirtten, but we caution 

that ArcHSI will overwrite existing files with the same name. ArcHSI checks for 

a coverage with the same name as the one it will create and deletes it. The 

rationale for this is to keep the model and ArcINFO from crashing during a batch 

run. Therefore, if it is desirable to keep the output coverages used to assess land 

management alternatives on the same area, the input coverages must differ in the 

first three letters of the input coverage. The ArcVIEW project created by ArcHSI will 

be named ARCHSI.APR and will be located in the directory under which ArcHSI is 

installed. To prevent overwriting the ARCHSI.APR file, the user must use SAVE AS 

(FILE dropdown menu) to save to another name.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 11

GenTab Output

GenTab produces HSI information in tabular form only but simultaneously for 

all species defined in the SPECIES.DBF. Output is not spatially explicit and the 

two-component geometric mean formula is used to calculate HSI for all species. 

This program was included in the ArcHSI suite by specific request from some 

users to provide planners with a quick assessment method for many species.

Output from GenTab is in the form of INFO tables and an ArcVIEW project 

(fig. 4). ArcVIEW displays the tables automatically if GenTab is launched from 

its desktop shortcut. GenTab generates three tables: summarized area for cover 

type-structural stage combinations, HSI values by species by season and cover 

type-structural stage, and mean area-weighted HSI for each species.

The INFO tables are located in the same ArcINFO workspace (subdirectory) 

as the input coverage. Tables are named by appending TAB, TAB1, and TAB2 to 

the input coverage name. The ArcVIEW project name is GENTAB.APR and is 

located in the directory under which ArcHSI was installed. The ArcVIEW project 

must be changed using the SAVE AS command (FILE dropdown menu) or it will 

be overwritten the next time GenTab is run.

Figure 4. GenTab output for a typical project. Mean weighted HSI is listed for every species modeled. Additional tables summarize area by vegetation types and structural stages and HSI by 

species, season, and vegetation type-structural stage.
12 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Operation

ArcHSI Operation

ArcHSI can be run interactively or in batch mode. Interactive mode is the 

point-and-click style familiar to Windows users. Batch mode operates from the 

DOS or UNIX command line. Batch mode is not as user‐friendly as interactive 

mode, but it does allow multiple species, multiple input coverages, or both to be 

processed with a single command.

Interactive

Double-click the ArcHSI shortcut on your desktop or, if you are using the UNIX 

platform, pull up the Applications menu and click ArcHSI.

You will be prompted to select a vegetation coverage (fig. 5). The dialog 

box allows either typing a path in the text box at the top of the dialog box or 

navigating to the directory. Below the text box are two scrolling lists. The left 

list presents options for drilling down into the directory structure (using the UP

button to the right of the text box will cause the text displayed in the text box to 

move up one level in the directory structure). The right list contains ArcINFO 

polygon coverages in the current directory.

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Figure 5. ArcHSI interactive mode 

vegetation coverage dialog box. 

The text box displays path information. Subdirectories under the 

path are displayed in the list on 

the left and valid ArcINFO polygon coverages in the list on the 

right.

Highlight the desired coverage and click OK.

The HELP button displays context sensitive help. The MANUAL button will 

display the online manual in a pop-up box.

Clicking the CANCEL button will terminate the program. If the selected vegetation coverage does not contain items (variables) named CT and ST, the user 

will be prompted to select items that represent them.

A dialog box similar to the one for selecting the input coverage will prompt 

users for the workspace (subdirectory) for ArcHSI output (fig. 6). The output 

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coverage is named automatically by concatenating the first three letters of the 

input coverage and three-letter abbreviations for species and season.

After selecting the input source, select the species and season for which to run 

ArcHSI (figs. 7, 8).

If the model for the species selected includes road effects (a file named for the 

species exists in the ROADS subdirectory), the user will be prompted to select a 

road coverage from a dialog box (fig. 9).

The CANCEL button will stop modeling road effects although called for in the 

model. HSI will be based on FV, CV, and HDV. If a road coverage is selected, but 

does not include an item named TYPES, the user will be prompted for the item 

that contains the road classification.

Output from ArcHSI will automatically be displayed in ArcVIEW (see fig. 3). 

HSI values are categorized by default as poor (0.00 to 0.33), fair (0.34 to 0.66), 

and good (0.67 to 1.00).

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Figure 6. ArcHSI interactive mode 

workspace dialog box. The text 

box displays path information. 

Subdirectories under the path are 

displayed in the list on the left.

Figure 7. ArcHSI interactive mode species 

dialog box.

Figure 8. ArcHSI interactive mode season 

dialog box.
14 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Double-clicking the output coverage name on the legend will call up the legend 

editor and alternate legends may be loaded or created. The roads coverage, if 

used, is also displayed.

An outline of the polygons in the input coverage can be displayed by clicking 

the box adjacent to the input coverage name in the legend.

Two ArcVIEW layouts for printing the map on plotters and letter-size printers 

are also included. The area of the project (acres), mean FV, mean CV, mean HDV, 

and mean HSI are displayed in a table beneath the map. All means are weighted 

by area. Users may customize legends and layouts (see ArcVIEW HELP for assistance).

An ArcVIEW project, ARCHSI.APR, located in the ArcHSI directory stores 

the display information. This project is created every time ArcHSI runs and 

any existing projects will be overwritten unless renamed. A convenient way to 

rename files is through the SAVE AS command (FILE dropdown menu).

Batch processing multiple species-seasons and/or multiple input vegetation 

coverages

Batch processing allows users to run ArcHSI with input information in files 

rather than selected from dialog boxes. Three files contain the batch AMLs for 

ArcHSI: COVERS.AML for multiple input coverages on a single species-season, 

SPECIES.AML for multiple species-seasons on a single input coverage and 

COVS_SPP.AML for multiple input coverages and multiple species-seasons. 

These AMLs read data from text files and pass the data to ArcHSI through its 

command-line interface:

&run <path>archsi <Species> <Season> <veg coverage> <workspace> <roads coverage>

replacing text in angle brackets with actual parameters. For example,

&run c:\ArcHSI\archsi Elk Summer c:\wrksp\my_cover c:\wrksp\c:\wrksp\my_roads

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Figure 9. ArcHSI interactive mode 

roads coverage dialog box. The 

text box displays path information. 

Subdirectories under the path are 

displayed in the list on the left and 

valid ArcINFO arc coverages in 

the list on the right.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 15

This command instructs ArcHSI to (1) run the elk-summer model on an input 

coverage, my_cover (located in c:\wrksp); (2) place the output cover in c:\wrksp; 

and (3) use the cover, my_roads also located in c:\wrksp for road effects input. 

Parameters may be omitted from right to left. For example, the user that did 

not want road effects modeled would omit the last parameter. If the workspace 

parameter is omitted, the current workspace is assumed. If path information is 

incomplete, the current workspace is assumed. For example:

&run c:\ArcHSI\archsi Elk Summer my_cover. my_roads

is equivalent to the previous example if the workspace is c:\wrksp. This example 

uses Windows syntax. UNIX is slightly different:

<path>/archsi.ksh <Species> <Season> <veg coverage> <workspace> <roads coverage>

Output from batch-processed runs includes an ArcINFO coverage, summary 

INFO table, and an ArcVIEW project file for each run. These files are saved in 

the chosen workspace (subdirectory) using the same file naming protocol as for 

interactive runs. ArcVIEW does not start automatically.

Windows

To run ArcHSI for several species-seasons on the same input coverage, first 

create a text file with one species and season on each line. For example:

Elk, Summer

Elk, Winter

Members of species-seasons must be separated by commas and species/season 

names must be exactly as they occur in SPECIES.DBH. Species-seasons are case 

sensitive.

Save the text file.

Launch the Arc Workstation and type: workspace <my input workspace> replacing 

text in angle brackets with the actual path to the input. Press ENTER.

From Windows, type:

&run <path>\species <text file> <veg coverage> <workspace> <roads coverage>

The equivalent UNIX syntax is:

<path>species.ksh <text file> <veg coverage> <workspace> <roads coverage>

The key word, species, calls up SPECIES.AML. The AML reads the text file 

and runs the elk-summer and elk-winter models using the specified vegetation 

coverage and roads coverage and places the output in the specified workspace.

Running several input coverages for a single species-season is similar. The text 

file should contain one vegetation and one road coverage separated by commas 

per line. For example:

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myveg,myroad

my1veg,myroad

Save the text file.

From the Windows Arc Workstation, type:

&run <path>\covers <text file name> <Species> <Season> < workspace>

Or from the UNIX Arc Workstation, type:

<path>/covers.ksh <covers text file> <Species> <Season> < workspace>

The key word, covers, calls up COVERS.AML, which runs ArcHSI for the 

specified species-season using the coverages in the text file and places output in 

the specified workspace.

Finally, the AML, covs_spp, allows runs of multiple coverages and multiple 

species-seasons.

The Windows command syntax is:

&run <path>\covs_spp <list> <workspace>

The UNIX command syntax is:

&run <path>/covs_spp.ksh <list> <workspace>

The list text file must have the name of a second list for species-seasons on 

the first line as described above and a list of vegetation and roads coverages on 

subsequent lines. For example:

species.txt

demo_veg,demo_rd

2demo_veg,demo_rd

GenTab Operation

To generate tabular output for all species in modeled (GENTAB):

Double-click the GenTab shortcut on your desktop (PC) or pull up the Applications 

menu and click GenTab (UNIX).

Users will be prompted to select a vegetation coverage (fig. 5).

Output will be displayed in ArcVIEW (fig. 4) as a project, GENTAB.APR, 

located in the ArcHSI directory.

Before exiting ArcVIEW the project should be renamed by using the SAVE AS 

option.

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Installation

PC Installation

Download the installation file from http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/rapidcity/ArcHSI.

htm.

Click the link to ArcHSI-PC. The download dialog will appear.

Click open. The unzip dialog will appear.

Click browse and navigate to the convenient temporary location.

Click Unzip.

Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the temporary location where you unzipped 

the installation files.

Double-click the file, SETUP.BAT. (NOT SETUP.AML) The Arc Workstation 

window will open.

In the dialog box (fig. 10), navigate to the directory under which you will install 

ArcHSI.

Append \ArcHSI (or a name of your choice) to the directory path.

Click OK.

A box indicating installation is complete comes up. Click OK.

Open Windows Explorer.

Navigate to the ArcHSI installation directory.

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Figure 10. ArcHSI installation dialog box. Users may use the scrolling list 

to navigate to an area to install ArcHSI or type directly in the Workspace 

box (DIRECTORY NAMES CONTAINING SPACES ARE NOT ALLOWED). The UP button backtracks the directory structure. The online 

MANUAL and HELP buttons are NOT OPERABLE.
18 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Create shortcuts to ArcHSI by clicking the right mouse button on ARCHSI.BAT, 

dragging it to your desktop and selecting CREATE SHORTCUT HERE from 

the dialog box. Repeat this and the remaining steps for GENTAB.BAT. 

Right-click the shortcut icon.

Select properties from the pop-up menu.

Click the CHANGE ICON button. Click OK.

Click the Browse button.

Navigate to the ArcHSI installation directory.

Double-click ARCHSI.ICO (GENTAB.ICO if creating a shortcut for 

GenTab).

Click OK.

Note: If you have a workspace (subdirectory structure) that you use customarily, edit the TARGET line to reflect this. This is optional.

Click OK.

UNIX Server/Workstation Installation

This procedure is specific to USDA Forest Service Unix server network. 

Installation on a Unix server should probably be done by a system administrator. 

Other applications may require modification of the installation routine.

Open an Exceed XDMCP-Broadcast Window

Click START.

Click PROGRAMS.

Click HUMMINBIRD CONNECTIVITY.

Click EXCEED.

Click EXCEED (XDMCP-BROADCAST).

Choose the UNIX server to which you copied files from the installation Disk.

Logon.

Click the up arrow above the computer monitor icon.

Click AIX TERMINAL.

Navigate to the directory under which you wish to install ArcHSI.

Type ARC <return>.

Type CREATEWORKSPACE ArcHSI <return>.

Type WORKSPACE ArcHSI <return>.

Open File Explorer (the icon with the file folder and magnifying glass).

Double-click HUMMINGBIRD NEIGHBORHOOD.

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If a directory in the path to ArcHSI doesn’t appear, contact computer support 

to obtain assistance in making the path visible.

Navigate to the ArcHSI directory.

Insert the UNIX installation disk into the PC CD drive or follow the instructions 

for internet download given under PC installation.

In File Explorer, navigate to the CD drive.

Click on the right pane.

Press CTRL-A.

Drag the files to the ArcHSI folder.

Return to Exceed.

Make the data folders read only: Type &SYS chmod a+r formulas proximity roads 

thresholds <return>.

Make the korn shell scripts executable. Type. sys chmod a+x archsi.ksh gentab.

ksh.

Note: the korn shell scripts, ARCHSI.KSH and GENTAB.KSH may need to 

be modified to correct the path to your license server and version of ArcVIEW. 

Contact your ISM (IT) staff for this information.

Note: The preceding instructions install ArcHSI on the server. Each user 

should create actions as described below under his/her own profile.

User Defined Create Actions

Click the up arrow above the icon with the asterisk on the control panel.

Click APPLICATION MANAGER from the pull-up menu.

Double-click DESKTOP APPS from the pop-up window.

Double-click CREATE ACTION from the pop-up window.

Type ArcHSI in the dialog box line labeled “Action Name.”

Click FIND SET (if you would like an icon other than that displayed).

On the Command line of the dialog box, type the complete path to the ArcHSI 

(the installation directory followed by ARCHSI.KSH). For example: /FSFILES/

UNIT/ARCHSI/ARCHSI.KSH.

On the Help Text line of the dialog box, type: Launch ArcHSI.

Click the WINDOW TYPE button of the dialog box.

Choose TERMINAL (AUTO-CLOSE) from the pop-up menu.

Click FILE on the main menu of the dialog box.

Click SAVE from the drop-down menu.

Click OK in the confirmation box.

Type GenTab in the dialog box line labeled “Action Name.”

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Click the FIND SET (if you would like an icon other than that displayed).

On the Command line of the dialog box, type the complete path to the ArcHSI 

installation directory followed by GENTAB.KSH.

For example: /FSFILES/UNIT/ARCHSI/GENTAB.KSH.

On the Help Text line of the dialog box, type Launch GenTab.

Click the WINDOW TYPE button of the dialog box.

Choose TERMINAL (AUTO-CLOSE) from the pop-up menu.

Click FILE on the main menu of the dialog box.

Click SAVE from the drop-down menu.

Click OK in the confirmation box.

Close the CREATE ACTION Window.

Click the up arrow above the file drawer icon on the control panel.

Click HOME FOLDER on the pull-up menu.

Scroll to the ArcHSI icon.

Click the Up Arrow over the applications group on the command console.

Drag the ArcHSI icon to the empty Install Icon box on the popup menu.

Repeat the last three instructions using the GenTab icon.

Close the Home directory window.

Demonstration

ArcHSI should be usable by persons with a basic understanding of Microsoft 

Windows and computers. Some training in ArcINFO and ArcVIEW geographic 

information systems (GIS) is desirable. This demonstration of ArcHSI includes 

two ArcINFO coverages, DEMO_VEG and DEMO_RD, that contain data for 

running ArcHSI and are intended to be used as input for this demonstration. 

These data are derived from actual data but have been manipulated for educational purposes and are not intended for actual analysis.

Additional information on running ArcHSI is available in the Operation section of this manual.

After installing ArcHSI (see Installation):

Double-click the ArcHSI icon on your desktop.

A dialog box (fig. 5) will prompt you to specify a vegetation coverage.

Navigate to the ArcHSI installation directory using the left pane of the dialog 

box OR type the path into the text box at the top.

When you get to the directory where ArcHSI was installed, the right pane of 

the dialog box will contain DEMO_VEG.

Highlight this item by clicking on it once then click OK.

Although DEMO_VEG has cover type and structural stage information, the 

item names (field names or variables) are not recognized by ArcHSI, and you will 

be prompted to identify them.

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USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 21

Click on COVER_TYPE and HAB_STRUC respectively; then click OK.

The next prompt will be for the directory/subdirectory where you want the 

output to be stored (fig. 8). The default in ArcHSI is the workspace (ArcINFO 

terminology for directory) that contains the vegetation coverage. This is usually 

what you will want.

Click OK or navigate to where the output should be stored.

A dialog box will prompt for species:

Select ELK and click OK.

A second dialog box will prompt for the season to be modeled.

Select SUMMER and click OK.

A dialog box will prompt for a road coverage (fig. 9).

Choose DEMO_RD and click OK.

DEMO_RD contains an item called TYPE that contains the P (Primary), S 

(Secondary), PR (Primitive) road classification that ArcHSI expects. At present, 

ArcHSI will request a road coverage only for elk, mule deer and whitetail deer 

models. For these species, text files named for species and season are located in 

the ROADS subdirectory of the ArcHSI installation directory. These files contain 

the information used by ArcHSI to model road effects. If a road coverage is not 

provided ArcHSI will still run but will not account for effects of roads.

After selecting the road coverage and clicking OK, the model will run. You 

will see lines scrolling through the ArcHSI window as the Arc Macro Language 

(AML) code is executed. When finished, ArcHSI will automatically call up 

ArcVIEW and load the output in an ArcVIEW project.

Viewing the Output

ArcVIEW displays a map (fig. 3) that classifies habitat by Habitat Suitability 

Index (HSI) as No Habitat (HSI = 0), Poor (HSI <0.33), Fair (HSI >0.33 & 

<0.67), and Good (HSI >0.67).

An alternative classification that we believe is better can be loaded by:

Double-clicking the Good-Fair-Poor key in the legend area at the left of the map. 

This brings up the LEGEND EDITOR.

Click LOAD to display a list of alternative keys.

These keys can be explored later or new ones created, but for now:

Highlight ELKHSI.AVL and click OK.

Click OK in the next dialog to apply the key to the HSI item.

The HSI ranges corresponding to each category are listed to the right of the 

color bars. A value of one is the maximum HSI and indicates fully suitable 

habitat.

Click APPLY in the LEGEND EDITOR and close it (click on the X at the upper 

right of its window).

The map now has five habitat categories: Excellent (light green), Good (dark 

green), Fair (yellow), Poor (red), and No Habitat (black).

The road system appears as light blue lines visible on the map.

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22 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Locate the area in the right-central part of the map where the road system is 

surrounded by Fair HSI values (yellow) that transect a large area of Good HSI 

(dark green) from north-to-south.

Click the zoom-in tool (magnifying glass icon with the plus sign on the top 

toolbar). Zoom in that area by holding the left mouse button down and dragging 

a rectangle around the part of the map indicated above.

There are small regions of Excellent habitat on the edges of this area. In these 

areas, forage and cover are in close proximity. In the center is a large meadow, 

providing forage, surrounded by ponderosa pine and aspen forest, providing 

cover. ArcHSI analyzes cover-forage proximity by creating three buffer zones 

within areas classified as forage when bordered by areas classified as cover. The 

same is true for areas classified as cover when bordered by areas classified as 

forage. These buffer zones do not currently appear on the map.

To make proximity buffering visible, double-click the No Habitat·Poor·Fair· 

Good key to open the LEGEND EDITOR.

Double-click the red icon representing Poor HSI. This will display the FILL 

PALETTE window.

Click the PAINTBRUSH tool to display the COLOR PALETTE window.

Click the DROPDOWN arrow on the COLOR line and choose OUTLINE from 

the list.

Click BLACK in the palette.

Repeat this process with the other colors in the key.

Click the X at the upper right of the COLOR PALETTE window to close.

Click APPLY in the LEGEND EDITOR and close this window.

Now buffer outlines appear on the map in black. The elk-summer model uses 

two 100-m and one 300-m buffers to analyze habitat proximity. Within 100 m of 

a forage-cover boundary the proximity rating is 1.0. At distances between 100 m 

and 200 m the forage‐cover proximity rating drops to 0.5, between 200 m and 

500 m the forage‐cover proximity is 0.1, and beyond 500 m the forage‐cover 

rating is 0.01.

ArcHSI has two types of elements. One is the ArcINFO AML code that 

executes the HSI models. The other is the parameters for HSI model components, 

specific for species and season. The ArcINFO AML code should not be altered by 

end users. We have, however, commented the AML code extensively to make it 

possible for programmers to modify it. The parameters for various species-season 

models are contained in files that are easily modified by end users. Detailed information about these files is found in the Files and Data Requirements of ArcHSI 

section of this manual.

The files containing the forage‐cover proximity distances and coefficients are 

in the PROXIMITY subdirectory under the ArcHSI directory. Values for the elk 

summer model are in the file, ELKSUMMER.TXT, and can be viewed or edited 

with NOTEPAD. Other text files describing the elk-summer model are located 

within subdirectories: FORMULAS, THRESHOLDS, and ROADS—all with the 

name, ELKSUMMER.TXT.

ArcHSI output includes a summary table displayed below the map. The summary table includes project-wide means weighted by area for forage value (FV), 

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USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 23

cover value (CV), habitat distribution value (HDV), and habitat suitability index 

(HSI). HSI for the elk-summer model is computed from a formula, 

3FV + CV + HDV

HSI = _______________

5

located in a file named, ELKSUMMER.TXT inside the FORMULAS subdirectory. FV and CV are extracted from a lookup table using cover type and structural 

stage as keys, and range in value from zero to one. The table is contained within 

a file named SPECIES.DBF. HDV is calculated as described above for foragecover proximity using parameters contained in ELKSUMMER.TXT and located 

in the PROXIMITY subdirectory. The coefficient of three for FV indicates that 

this model parameter is weighted heavily relative to other parameters.

On the map, HSI quality declines near some roads. Road effects are modeled 

with a text file. ELKSUMMER.TXT from the ROADS subdirectory is duplicated 

below:

0.5

A,0

P,350

PR,0

S,260

The letters on the second through fifth lines are abbreviations for a road classification system: All others (A), Primary (P), Primitive (PR) and Secondary (S). 

The numbers following the abbreviations are the widths in meters of road effects 

buffers. The HSI of habitat within the specified distances is multiplied by the 

coefficient found on the first line, 0.5. To make HSI as calculated by the formula 

correct, FV, CV, and HDV are also multiplied by 0.5. If a user wanted to add 

a 50 m road buffer for primitive roads he/she would simply edit the PR line to 

PR,60.

Identifying and Correcting Problems

There are areas of the map colored black indicating No Habitat (HSI = 0). 

There are several ways for an area to be classified No Habitat:

Road or proximity buffering beyond the edge of the vegetation coverage

Missing habitat type or structural stage information in the vegetation coverage

Mismatch between habitat type or structural stage between vegetation coverage 

and SPECIES.DBF.

Areas that really have no habitat value. For example, bodies of water for elk.

For example, at the edge of the map there are black areas surrounding roads 

(light blue). These result from road buffering into areas not included in vegetation coverage. ArcHSI assigns a default HSI value of zero when it encounters 

missing information. Areas with HSI = 0 do not enter into the tabulated statistics 

discussed above, so users don’t have to worry about these areas artificially 

lowering HSI. There are also some black-colored areas within the boundary of 

the vegetation coverage. To learn about them, click the IDENTIFY tool (the i 

icon on the toolbar). Be sure that the active coverage (highlighted in the legend 

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24 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

area) is DEMO_VEG and place the crosshair over the large, black, dendritic 

shape toward the bottom of the map and click the left mouse button. The popup 

window lists cover type as WRE. WRE stands for Water-Reservoir. Water is not 

elk habitat, so its HSI should be zero.

Click on the black polygon at the upper center of the map.

The popup window shows its cover type as GLB (grass-little bluestem). This 

cover type should be elk habitat. The reason this area appears black (No Habitat) 

is discussed below. Cover types and structural stages recognized by ArcHSI are 

contained in the file, SPECIES.DBF (table 1).

To view this table, open the Excel spreadsheet program and choose OPEN from 

the FILE menu. Navigate to the ArcHSI directory.

Click the downward facing arrow at the right side of the “Files of type” line (fig. 

11). Scroll down until you see “dBase files” and click that item.

Two files appear in the upper pane: SPECIES and TYPES.

Select the SPECIES.DBF file and click OPEN.

Click EDIT from the toolbar and select SEARCH from the dropdown menu.

Type ELK as the search term, click OK, then click the ESC key to close the 

search dialog.

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Figure 11. Excel “Open” dialog box showing “Files of Type” PULLDOWN list with dBase (*.dbf) 

type selected.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 25

Scroll down the spreadsheet looking for GLB in the COVSS column.

It’s not there; consequently, ArcHSI doesn’t recognize this cover type and assigns a default HSI of zero. GLB could be added to the table and coefficients for 

forage (FV) and cover (CV) supplied. However, SPECIES.DBF may have been 

made READ-ONLY by your information technology staff.

There is another way to make ArcHSI recognize GLB.

Open the TYPES.DBF file in Excel (table 3).

This file maps cover types that are not included in the SPECIES.DBF to ones 

that are included.

Add a new line with GLB in the left column and GRA in the right column.

This causes GLB to be treated as if it was GRA, which is in SPECIES.DBF. 

In practice you would save this file; however, that would cause this part of the 

demonstration to fail for the next user, so don’t save.

ArcHSI uses INFO files, not dBase (*.dbf) files. For the modified TYPES.DBF 

to be recognized by ArcHSI, it needs to be converted to an INFO file. You will 

not find INFO files listed with WINDOWS EXPLORER. These files are maintained by the ArcINFO workstation that you will now use to convert TYPES.

DBF to its INFO equivalent.

Start the Arc Workstation (seek help from your GIS coordinator if you have not 

used this program).

Set the current workspace to the ArcHSI directory. For example, by typing 

WORKSPACE C:\ARCHSI. (assuming this is where you actually installed 

ArcHSI).

Remove the old TYPES file (the one produced during ArcHSI installation) by 

typing KILLINFO TYPES then press ENTER.

Now type DBASEINFO TYPES TYPES then press ENTER.

Had you saved the modified TYPES.DBF, ArcHSI would now assign FV and 

CV for GLB as it does for GRA.

Black areas can also result from errors in the vegetation coverage.

Click the PANNING tool (hand icon on the toolbar).

Pan by dragging the map to the left until the right edge of the coverage 

appears.

You should see a small black area at the right center of the map and within the 

boundaries of the vegetation coverage.

Use the IDENTIFY tool to display data for this area (if you get more than one 

entry, zoom in and try again).

In the results window, the cover type is TPP, ponderosa pine, but the structural 

stage is blank. ArcHSI concatenates cover type and structural stage to form 

COVSS (bottom of the table). There are no coefficients in the SPECIES table for 

COVSS = TPP. DEMO_VEG needs to be edited to supply the correct structural 

stage.

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26 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Editing the Input Vegetation Coverage

(recommended only for those who have GIS training)

Click the tool icon that looks like a box with a cross at the upper left corner 

(SELECT tool).

Click the black polygon to select it (its color should change indicating it has 

been selected).

Now click on DEMO_VEG in the legend area.

Click the toolbar icon that looks like a grid (DISPLAY TABLE).

A table displaying the input data should appear.

Click the toolbar icon with a vertical arrow to the left of a series of horizontal 

lines (PROMOTE SELECTED ITEMS) to place the data for the selected polygon 

at the top of the table.

Click TABLE from the main menu and select START EDITING from the 

submenu.

Click the toolbar icon with a small arrow to the right of what looks like a capital 

“I” (EDIT FIELD).

Click on the HAB_STRUCT item on the yellow highlighted line and type 3A.

Repeat this in the ST and SST columns.

Append 3A to TPP in the COVSS column.

Click TABLE on the main menu and STOP EDITING on the submenu.

Respond NO to the question about saving edits, otherwise this demonstration 

won’t work for the next person. You will, however, save your edits when you do 

this in actual practice.

Projects

When ArcHSI runs, a default ArcVIEW project named ARCHSI.APR is created in the ArcHSI directory. The project sets up the map and table we examined 

earlier. If you don’t save the project under a different name using the SAVE AS 

option under the FILE menu, the next time ArcHSI runs it will overwrite the 

previous project, which is not a total disaster because the rest of the output has 

been saved (see the Output section for details). However, the output from this 

demonstration should not be saved because it was produced with erroneous input. 

When running the model, the output ArcINFO coverage will be in the directory 

selected as the output workspace. This output will have a 9-character name 

composed of the first three characters of the input vegetation coverage, and an 

abbreviation for species and season contained in SPECIES.DBF. The output for 

this demonstration is DEMELKSUM.

Print Layouts

The ArcVIEW project map may be printed.

Click LAYOUTS in the ArcVIEW project window.

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USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 27

There are two pre-designed print layouts: one for a letter-size printer and one 

for a plotter.

Double-click one of the layouts to see how the output will print.

Layouts may be customized. The tool icon that looks like a globe has a pulldown with elements that may be added to the layout.

Troubleshooting

Before launching ArcHSI or GenTab, check the input coverage(s) for conformation to the specifications in the Data Requirements section. Occasionally the 

file system will lock up and not allow files to be opened or created. We don’t 

know how to solve this problem as it is intermittent and appears to be in the 

source code for ArcINFO. ArcHSI creates and destroys several large temporary 

files during operation. This seems to overwhelm the operating system at times. 

If ArcHSI will not run and the error message indicates a file error, re-boot the 

computer and try again.

On Windows computers, it is possible to encounter problems with file or 

directory names that include spaces or are longer than eight characters. ArcINFO 

recognizes names of only eight characters without spaces. Long directory names 

and those with spaces are converted by ArcHSI to eight character form by removing spaces, truncating the name to the first six characters, and appending “~1” to 

the end. For example, the directory MY DOCUMENTS is translated in ArcHSI 

as MYDOCU~1. Similarly, the directory, MY DOCUMENTS PERSONAL will 

be translated as MYDOCU~1. To prevent conflict, Windows appends ~2 to the 

first six letters of the second directory, creating MYDOCU~2. However, ArcHSI 

doesn’t know which directory was created first, so it can’t handle short names 

that trail with “~2”. On PC’s, it is imperative that names with identical letters for 

the first 6 characters be avoided. Windows file and directory names are not case 

sensitive.

UNIX operating systems also allow directory and file names to contain spaces. 

UNIX does not share the Windows scheme for truncating directory names. 

ArcINFO on a UNIX server recognizes only eight characters and no spaces of 

directory and file names. Consequently ArcHSI on UNIX operating systems must 

not use directory and file names of more than eight characters. UNIX file names 

are case sensitive.

Computer Requirements

ArcHSI will run under UNIX or Windows. ArcVIEW and ArcINFO 

Workstation are required software. System requirements are specific to the 

operating system and computer platform. ArcVIEW system requirements are 

available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcview/about/sys-reqs.html. 

Arc Workstation system requirements are available at http://support.esri.com/

index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.systemRequirements.matrix&pName=ArcI

NFO+Workstation&productID=14&pvName=9.0&versionID=38&PID=1

4&PVID=17. A typical installation would require 512 megabytes of RAM and a 

1 gigahertz CPU.

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28 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

References

Benkobi, L., M. A. Rumble, G. C. Brundige and J. J. Millspaugh. 2004. Refinement of the 

Arc-Habcap model to predict habitat effectiveness for elk. Research Paper RMRS-RP51. Ft. Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Forest and Range Experiment Station. 18 p.

Benkobi, L, M. A Rumble, C.H. Stubblefield, R. S. Gamo and J.J. Millspaugh. 2005. 

Seasonal migration by female elk in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. 

Prairie Naturalist. 37: 151-166.

British Colombia Wildlife Habitat Rating Standards. 1999. Ministry of Sustainable 

Resource Management Terrestrial Information Branch for the Resources Inventory 

Committee. Available: Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks Resources 

Inventory Branch, Integrated Land Management Bureau Home Page, http://ilmbwww.

gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/teecolo/index.htm.

Buttery, R. F., and B. C. Gillam. 1983. Ecosystem descriptions. Pages 43-71 in: R. L. 

Hoover, and D. L. Wills, eds. Managing forested lands for wildlife. Colorado Division 

of Wildlife in cooperation with USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, 

Denver, CO.

Hitchcock, M. and A. Ager. 1992. Microcomputer software for calculating an elk habitat 

effectiveness index on Blue Mountain winter ranges. Gen. Tech. Rep. GTR-PNW-301. 

Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest 

Research Station. 13 p.

Lyon, L. J. and A. G. Christiansen. 1992. A partial glossary of elk management terms. 

Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-288. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Intermountain Research Station. 6 p.

Mills, T. R., M. A. Rumble and L. D. Flake. 1996. Evaluation of a habitat capability 

model for the nongame birds in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Research Paper RMRP-323. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and 

Range Experiment Station. 30 p.

RMRIS Data Dictionary. 1988. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Region. Lakewood, CO. 329 p.

Rumble, M. A. and S. H. Anderson. 1995. Evaluating the habitat capability model for 

Merriam’s turkeys. Research Paper RM-RP-320. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rock Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 8 p.

Rumble, M. A., L. Benkobi, G. C. Brundige and J. J. Millspaugh. 2001. Winter elk 

dispersion patterns relative to the predictions of a spatially explicit habitat model. 

Pages 40-48 in: J. A. Mortenson, D. G. Whitaker, E. C. Meslow, D. H. Jackson, M. 

J. Hendrick and B. K. Johnson, eds. Proceedings of the 2001 Western States and 

Provinces Deer and Elk Workshop. Wilsonville, OR. Aug 1-3, 2001.

Rumble, M.A., Benkobi, L., and R. S. Gamo. In press. A different time and place test of a 

spatially explicit habitat model for elk in the Black Hills. Research Paper. Ft. Collins, 

CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station.

Thomas, J. W., D. A. Keckenby, M. Henjum, R. J. Pedersen, and L. D. Bryant. 1988. 

Habitat-effectiveness-index for elk on Blue Mountain Winter Ranges. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

PNW-GTR-218. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific 

Northwest Research Station. 28 p.

Towry, R. K., Jr. 1983. Wildlife habitat requirements. Pages 73-210 in: R. L. Hoover, and 

D. L. Wills, eds. Managing forested lands for wildlife. Colorado Division of Wildlife 

in cooperation with USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, CO.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980a. Habitat evaluation procedures (HEP). Division of 

Ecological Services. ESM-102. Washington, DC.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980b. Habitat as a basis for environmental assessment. 

Division of Ecological Services. ESM-101. Washington, DC.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 29

Wisdom, M. J., L. R. Bright, C. G. Carey, W. W. Hines, R. J. Peterson, D. A. Smithey, 

J. W. Thomas, and G.W. Witmer. 1986. A model to evaluate elk habitat in western 

Oregon. R6-F&WL-216. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 35 p.
30 USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006

Appendix 1. Glossary

ArcINFO Workstation Software that provides for creation, editing, updating, 

analysis and display of coverages. The ArcINFO workstation user interface 

is a command-line.

ArcVIEW Software that provides for editing, analysis and display of 

coverages. The ArcVIEW user interface is point-and-click.

Arithmetic Mean The sum of the observed values divided by the number of 

observations.

Attribute In ArcINFO, an information category equivalent to a field in a 

database.

Buffer In GIS, an area around a point, line or perimeter.

Carrying Capacity The maximum population density a habitat will support 

sustainably.

Compensation The ability of increases in one habitat dimension to offset 

decreases in another habitat dimension.

Cover Landscape elements that shelter wildlife from biotic or abiotic 

components of their environment.

Cover Value (CV) The ArcHSI component that rates the value of the habitat 

for cover.

Cover Polygon A habitat area in which the principal value to a species is for 

cover.

Coverage In ArcINFO, a geographical database consisting of elements 

referencing map-type elements and information regarding those elements.

Exceed Broadcast Software that allows a PC to emulate a Forest Service 

UNIX terminal.

Forage or Food That which provides nourishment to wildlife. Note that food 

and forage are used interchangeably here even though forage strictly applies 

only to the food of herbivores.

Forage Value (FV) The ArcHSI component that rates the value of the habitat 

for food.

Geographic Information System A collection of computer software and data 

that enables natural resource managers to associate information with place.

Geometric Mean The nth root of the product of the observed values where n is 

the number of observations.

Habitat Distribution Value (HDV) The ArcHSI component that rates how 

well forage and cover are distributed on the landscape.

Habitat Capability The ability of a habitat to provide a species life requisites 

under optimal conditions. This term is related to carrying capacity, but is 

not expressed as a population density.

Habitat Effectiveness The proportion of habitat actually available to a species. 

For elk this applies only outside the hunting season.

Habitat Suitability The ability of a habitat to provide a species life requisites 

under current conditions.
USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-180WWW. 2006 31

Habitat Suitability Index A numeric (0 to 1.0) estimation of overall habitat 

quality relative to the best possible habitat.

Info Table In ArcINFO, a file with items composing the attributes of a 

coverage. These tables can also stand alone without being combined with 

location data.

Item In ArcINFO, a specific type of attribute information equivalent. The items 

in a coverage compose its attributes.

Hummingbird Neighborhood Networking software that makes it possible 

for computers running the Windows operating system to share data with 

computers running the UNIX operating system.

Layout In ArcVIEW, a group of visual elements to be printed.

Seral Stage A member of the classification sequence of the temporal 

development of a plant community.

Server A computer that warehouses data and software.

Structural Stage A categorical representation of the overstory canopy cover of 

a timber stand.

UNIX A computer operating system usually found on high-end servers and 

workstations.

Vegetation Type A classification of a vegetative land form on the basis of its 

dominant species.

View In ArcVIEW, a window displaying the data layers belonging to a project.

Windows A computer operating system usually found on PC and laptop 

computers.

X Windows The graphical user interface available on computers running 

UNIX operating systems.
The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and 

does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any 

production or service
Federal Recycling Program Printed on Recycled Paper

RMRS

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION

The Rocky Mountain Research Station develops scientific 

information and technology to improve management, protection, and use of the forests and rangelands. Research is 

designed to meet the needs of the National Forest managers, 

Federal and State agencies, public and private organizations, 

academic institutions, industry, and individuals.

Studies accelerate solutions to problems involving ecosystems, range, forests, water, recreation, fire, resource inventory, 

land reclamation, community sustainability, forest engineering 

technology, multiple use economics, wildlife and fish habitat, 

and forest insects and diseases. Studies are conducted cooperatively, and applications may be found worldwide.

Research Locations

Flagstaff, Arizona Reno, Nevada

Fort Collins, Colorado* Albuquerque, New Mexico

Boise, Idaho Rapid City, South Dakota

Moscow, Idaho Logan, Utah

Bozeman, Montana Ogden, Utah

Missoula, Montana Provo, Utah

*Station Headquarters, Natural Resources Research Center, 

2150 Centre Avenue, Building A, Fort Collins, CO 80526.

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in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial 

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is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited 

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alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, 

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(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, 

write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 

(voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.