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
- Decommissioning
- All activities necessary to withdraw a facility or land use operation from service and dispose of its components after its useful life. (BLM, NPS)
- Density
- Term used to help define texture. Refers to the spacing of the surface variations on objects. (BLM, NPS)
- Design elements
- Key visual and spatial properties of the major elements of the view, usually expressed as forms, lines, colors, and textures. (NPS)
- Designated Areas
- In the NPS Visual Resource Inventory, Designated Areas is one of three components used to evaluate the Viewed Landscape Importance factor. It measures the extent to which the viewed landscape includes all or parts of specially designated areas, which are parcels of land appointed special status for recreation or their national and/or regionally significant scenic, historic, cultural or scientific features or landmarks. (NPS)
- Designated historic/cultural components
- Cultural or historic resources that have been formally recognized. These typically have a Resource Name and/or Identification Number that can provide additional information regarding the resource. (NPS)
- Designated scenic components
- Scenic resources that have been formally recognized. (NPS)
- Desired future condition
- The combination of desirable attributes to be attained in the future by management of a national forest. For scenery management, desired future condition is comprised of interrelated components, including desired travelways, desired use areas, desired landscape character and desired scenic condition. (USFS)
- Desired landscape character
- Appearance of the landscape to be retained or created over time, recognizing that a landscape is a dynamic and constantly changing community of plants and animals. Combination of landscape design attributes and opportunities, as well as biological opportunities and constraints. (USFS)
- Developer
- A person or company that builds or sells buildings or facilities on a piece of land. In the context of visual impact assessments, developer usually refers to the project proponent. (NPS)
- Digital Elevation Model
- A three-dimensional representation of the surface terrain of an area that does not take into account trees, buildings, or other screening structures. (BLM, NPS)
- Direct impact
- Impacts occurring at or near the place of origin and at the time of a proposed activity, and occurring as a direct result of the activity. An effect that results solely from the siting, construction, operation, or decommissioning of a proposed action without intermediate steps or processes. (BLM, FHWA, NPS)
- Distance Zones
- A subdivision of the landscape as viewed from an observer position. The subdivisions (zones) include foreground/middle-ground, background, and seldom seen (BLM and USFS only). (BLM, FHWA, BLM, NPS)
- Dominant human alterations
- In scenery management, dominant human alterations override the natural character of the landscape and are very noticeable. (USFS)