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Bureau of Land Management
Visual Resources

Visual Resources Glossary

Select a letter from the list below to view glossary terms and acronyms/abbreviations. The agency abbreviation following the definition indicates the definition source.


A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
Management activity
A surface-disturbing or enhancement activity undertaken on the landscape for the purpose of harvesting, traversing, transporting, protecting, changing, replenishing, or otherwise using resources or improving landscape conditions. (BLM, USFS)
Middle ground
The zone that extends from 0.25–0.5 mile to 3–5 miles away from the viewer. (FHWA)
Middle ground
The visible area of a landscape in which viewers may feel more like they are looking “at the landscape” rather than being in it. (NPS)
Middle ground
The zone between the foreground and the background in a landscape. The area located from 1.5 mile to 4 miles from the observer. (USFS)
Mitigation
The avoidance, minimization, rectification, reduction or elimination of impacts over time, or compensation for impacts. (NPS, BLM)
Mitigation measure
An action that avoids, minimizes, rectifies, reduces or eliminates an impact over time, or compensates for an impact. (BLM, NPS)
Monitoring
Periodic observation of construction, operation, and decommissioning activities to ensure proper mitigation measures or other resource protection protocols are being followed. Long-term monitoring observes the progress or quality of mitigation measures over a period of time. (NPS, BLM)