Incredible accuracy and speed are the
standard for the Alabama Forestry Commission Forest Inventory and Analysis
(FIA) team. Recently recorded FIA test scores are a testament to the hard work
and dedication that our state’s foresters demonstrate every day in their field
work.
Each year, FIA foresters from the Alabama
Forestry Commission (AFC) are periodically reviewed by the USDA Forest Service
in a Quality Assurance Quality Control (QAQC) check of forest plots where they
are graded on the accuracy of all collected data ranging from tree species
identification to the diameter of tree trunks. The review is specifically
conducted by the Southern Research Station within the Forest Service, and nearly
a quarter of all FIA plots are reviewed annually across Alabama.
A grade for an FIA forester is measured
on a 100-point scale where the forester must maintain a test average of 87 to
keep their FIA certification. Since May 2019, the FIA
foresters have achieved scores of 99.8, 99.8, 99.5, 99.5, and 99.4. Averaging
each foresters’ last two scores, 12 scores in all, yields 99 percent. This
sustained excellence is without precedent.
The culmination of this diligent work from
the AFC’s FIA program has allowed Alabama to be one of the leaders nationally
in recording forest inventory data. Credit of the work quality is given to FIA
foresters Shannon Anderson, Josh Angel, Bonnie Coleman, Gary Kolb, Grayson
Matthews, William Webb, and their assisting forestry specialists. Alabama is
expected to post its 2019 FIA data soon and will be the first state in the
nation to do so this year.