| Summary: | Increasing pressure to harvest in scenic vistas as a result of increased timber demand has
caused significant changes to many beautiful natural scenes. Visual Resource Management aims
to reduce the impact of harvests and improve their scenic design while trying to minimize the
effect on timber availability. This thesis focuses on two main outcomes. First, a program was
created that is capable of automating aspects of the design process in Visual Resource
Management. The program, or Model, uses a modified genetic algorithm in combination with a
geographical information system to create a final harvest plan that minimizes negative visual
impacts for any given timber extraction level. The Model was tested across an array of different
landscape terrain, including mountains, hills and valleys, to show its ability to deal with complex
situations. Second, the thesis was created to better understand the relationship between timber
availability and visible alteration. Results suggest a capacity for increased levels of aesthetic
design while also increasing timber availability when compared with previous studies. Thus, the
end product is a program that is capable of being adapted to real world situations by aiding in the
harvest design process and producing a plan that tries to maximize both timber availability and
the aesthetic properties of a landscape. This decision support tools allows planners to manipulate
"what if” scenarios to ascertain the effects of varying timber extraction levels and visible alteration
percentages. === Forestry, Faculty of === Graduate
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