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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
Reclamation
A management activity with the purpose of returning the landscape to productive use and/or an acceptable, naturally appearing visual condition, but not necessarily returning to preexisting conditions. (BLM)
The process of restoring the surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions. (NPS)
Record of Decision (ROD)
A document separate from, but associated with an environmental impact statement (EIS) that publicly and officially discloses the responsible agency’s decision on the EIS alternative to be implemented. (NPS)
Reflective
Capable of physically reflecting light or sound. (NPS)
Reflectivity
The fraction of radiant energy that is reflected from a surface. (NPS)
Regularity
Term used to describe texture. The degree of uniformity. (NPS)
Rehabilitation
A management alternative and/or practice that improves the resource condition of a landscape to a desired scenic quality that is to some degree of its former state. (BLM, USFS)
Renewable energy
Energy derived from resources that are regenerative or that cannot be depleted. Renewable energy resources include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and moving water. (NPS)
Resource Management Plan
A written plan that addresses the existing resources of an area and provides future objectives, goals, and management direction. (BLM, NPS)
Restoration
Management actions with the purpose of returning a landscape to its preexisting condition before change was imposed by anthropogenic causes or natural forces. (BLM)
Retention
A visual management objective which, in general, means that human activities that affect landscape character are not evident to the casual observer. (BLM)
Revegetation
The process of replanting on disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, or an artificial (human-made), accelerated process designed to replace vegetation that has been damaged, destroyed, or removed due to wildfire, mining, flood, development, or other causes. (NPS)
Rockform
A significant composition of mineral matter constituting the Earth's crust. One of the attributes or features that make up part of the Earth's surface, such as a mountain, cliff, peak, bluff, valley wall, or bedrock. (USFS)
Rural (landscape character type)
In the NPS Visual Resource Inventory, rural landscapes consist primarily of isolated non-farm houses, or small settlements with low populations, often located away from larger cities, suburbs, and towns. (NPS, USFS)