USDA Forest Service research and development - caring for the land and serving people

Abstract

Total forested area in North America is 677.5 million ha (32.7% of land area), which is 17.1% of the global forests. Total area of the U.S forests is 303 million ha, which is the 4th largest in the World behind the Russian Federation, Brazil and Canada. In 1876, the United States Congress created the office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the United States. In 1881, the office was expanded into the Division of Forestry. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as “forest reserves” managed by the Department of the Interior. In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the Bureau of Forestry. The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of forest reserves from the General Land Office of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, henceforth known as the US Forest Service (http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/history/). Presently the agency is part of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA Forest Service (USDA FS) manages public lands, provides assistance in management of the privately-owned forested lands, and does research. Major divisions of the agency include the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and the Research and Development (R&D) branches. The R&D branch provides research support for forests and range management and helps in knowledge and technology transfer to the National Forest System and the State and Private Forestry. The United States currently has a system of 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and 79 research and experimental forests, as well as other special areas, covering more than 193 million acres of public land (Adams et al. 2008). The USDA FS has evolved into a 30,000 employee agency that manages the national forests for a number of multiple uses, including recreation, timber, wilderness, minerals, water, grazing, fish, and wildlife (http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/history/). As of fiscal year 2010, the USDA FS has a total budget authority of $5.15 billion, of which 42% is spent fighting fires (http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/budget/). The mission of the USDA FS is: to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Its motto is: caring for the land and serving people. As a lead Federal Agency in natural resource conservation, the USDA FS provides leadership in the protection, management, and use of the Nation’s forest, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems.