VEB-econ allows users to locate facilities or future building sites within Google Earth. Users then utilize to-scale dimensional drawing tools to delineate property boundaries, roads, animal buildings and other structures, so as to parameterized idealized tree-row locations. Users specify number of desired tree rows, preferred tree-row protection zones, etc. Layered into the mapping tool is the NRCS SSURGO soil database linking tree species recommendations to soil-based tree suitability recommendations.
VEB-econ estimates total annualized costs for tree establishment, long-term management, any opportunity costs and factors in the potential benefit of utilizing available NRCS EQIP cost-share programming for VEBs.