A memo to that effect is being drafted for signature by the Director. Much of the rest of the workshop was spent defining problems with NVCS that needed to be dealt with prior to implementation, products that are needed to make implementation practical within FWS, and the steps and time frame to reach that goal. The following notes are broken down by those topics, rather than chronological order of discussion. This standard only mandates how to do the vegetation mapping, not that the mapping must be done. Classification and mapping will be done on an as needed basis, with the dollars coming from the project that requires the mapped data.
Offices can stop there or classify through the floristic levels as needed for their application.
Virtually all the examples we looked at could be reclassified or crosswalked into the standard as it exists. The standard was developed for natural systems, but many Service lands are or have been highly manipulated. There have been problems using the NVCS in this type of area. Discussion The Park Service has encountered the same problem. There is the flexibility built in to the system to define new types of classifications as encountered.