ForSys is used to simulate and optimize management activities and examine outcomes. The model evolved from an earlier system, the landscape treatment designer. The ForSys model provides planners with a wide range of analytical capabilities including:

• Spatial optimization of projects and treatments
• Simulation of 5-10 year action plans
• Tradeoff analysis to understand the opportunity cost of specific priorities
• Replication of forest plan constraints and management intent
• Assessment of the effect of future wildfire uncertainty on forest

The ForSys model inputs GIS data on land conditions and assessments along with treatment thresholds and constraints that dictate where and what management activities are suitable for specific stands in a study area. Scenarios are simulated by weighting the relative importance of the different assessments for the allocation of treatments. Thousands of scenarios can be run in a single execution to examine alternative weighting schemes and quantify tradeoffs. Outputs include maps of priority project areas, and production graphs illustrating tradeoffs and outcomes from management activities.