To attain the stature it deserves, the Forest Inventory & Analysis Program of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must receive greater recognition, prominence and funding within the Department of Agriculture, commensurate with the services it provides. Funding the FIA program should be allocated among Forest Research, State & Private and National Forest System budgets. The FIA program of the U.S. Forest Service provides essential and critical information on the status and trends of the nation's public and private forest lands. It forms the basis for understanding and evaluating the scientific, social and regulatory conditions of the nation's forest resource. FIA data are accessed and utilized by public, private and non-governmental organizations to describe a multitude of economic and ecological characteristics of the nation's forest resources. Other federal, state and private programs rely upon the FIA program for important policy decision-making.

An annual inventory system is amajor key to effectively supporting the timely collection and analysis of forest inventory data. Forest resource conditions are constantly changing. The transition to an annual inventory, monitoring and analysis system across all regions and ownerships will capture these changing conditions and record trends in all measures of forest sustainability. An annual forest inventory system requires close coordination among USFS, states, and the user community, including joint funding, partnerships with FIA clients and users, and the development of new and expanded remote sensing technologies and modeling capabilities.

The U.S. Forest Service must fulfill its statutory mandate under the 1974 RPA to maintain, on a continuing basis, a comprehensive and appropriately detailed inventory of all National Forest System land and resources. The 1978 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to ``obtain, analyze, develop, demonstrate and disseminate scientific information about protecting, managing and utilizing forest and rangeland renewable resources in rural, suburban and urban areas." To obtain a comprehensive picture and assessment of the nation's forest resources, consistent data collection must be carried out on public and private lands. Inventory plots must be placed on all national forests, coordinated through the FIA program, to provide an accurate and up-to-date assessment of forest resource conditions on the nation's public forest lands. The data from both public and private lands are critical for determining the reliability and integrity of the Resources Planning Act programs, assessments and supply/demand projections.

The FIA program should continue to collect the core set of timber data on the plots. To complement this effort, a core set of ecological data should be developed across all regions and ownerships that provide a baseline set of conditions for national reporting. To initiate and expedite this effort, the BRP II has suggested a core set of ecological variables for consideration and discussion among FIA stakeholders. To efficiently proceed in this direction, the USFS should provide an analysis of ecological data already collected on FIA and Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) plots. This analysis should evaluate their usefulness for determining criteria and indicators of forest sustainability and develop a rationale for the collection of additional data. This core data collection function can be enhanced through the Panel's recommendation that the Forest Health Monitoring Program be merged and integrated with the FIA program. While this effort will provide significant efficiencies, it is important to note that this program should not be the sole collector of criteria and indicators.

To elevate the priority of the program, to develop an annual inventory system, to concentrate on core ecological and economic data and to fulfill a mandate of reporting on all forest lands, the FIA BRP II recommends the development and implementation of a strategic plan, in coordination with state foresters, federal land management agencies, forest industry, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. Included within the strategic plan should be a description of the financial resources needed to carry out the mission, personnel needed, organization, reporting structure, technology vision for using remote sensing and satellite imagery, research priorities, procedures, schedules and plans for working with state foresters, federal land management agencies and other federal agencies to implement a comprehensive forest resource data collection, modeling and analysis effort. To evaluate progress, a set of performance-based measures should be developed with timetables and periodic assessments to determine achievement.

- Structure (control, authority, accountability)

- Funding

- Merging FIA & FHM

- Data Management & Analysis

- State Reports

- Core Program and Schedule

- Coordination/Cooperation

- Remote Sensing Technologies

- Relationship to Sustainable Forestry Criteria & Indicators - Monitoring Progress

It was the strong consensus among the major data users that the current FIA organizational structure has not accomplished the results sought by BRP I. It is the emphatic opinion of these clients that to "Elevate the Priority of the Program" requires increased central policy and budget authority over FIA units and commensurate accountability. The USFS Chief must develop the appropriate organizational hierarchy to achieve this goal. The development of a centralized system, in cooperation with Research Station Directors, would keep the inventory current, assure the use of consistent methods across all regions, and move toward implementation of an annual forest inventory system.

Significant and substantial economic investments have been made to improve the health, productivity and management of our nation's forest resources. Despite these outlays by the public and private sectors, there has not been a commensurate level of funding given to the USFS to undertake the Forest Inventory & Analysis program. Currently, the FIA program receives less than one-half of one percent of the USFS budget. Given the magnitude of interest in understanding the nation's forest resource base from an economic, ecological and sustainable basis, it is critical that the program receive increased appropriations to carry out its mission.

FIA-Washington Office should merge FIA and the National Forest Health Monitoring Program (FHM). This will improve coordination and avoid further need to justify funding of two independent programs. After FIA implements an annual system. FHM and FIA will use highly compatible field procedures. Special data collection needs for FHM can be continued on a subsample of the FIA plot system. Merging FIA and FHM will provide a more comprehensive picture of forest conditions. A subsampling approach would also be an effective method for responding to international reporting requirements to provide criteria and indicators related to sustainable forestry. A detailed cost accounting of this merger should be conducted to determine efficiency gains and the potential for additional funding sources.

In general, FIA data should be analyzed more thoroughly by the Forest Service to provide interpretation in addition to reporting. The USFS should also seek partnerships with universities to provide additional analytical expertise, including data interpretation and projections. FIA should make projections into the future of noncommodity conditions and timber supply as well as providing interpretation of past trends seen in the data. FIA should focus on data-base management, analysis and data quality control. Under an annual system, it will be more effective to allow cooperators to collect the data following FIA guidelines. The future of FIA lies in leveraging USFS capabilities to analyze data in a timely manner while building a network of cooperators and contractors to collect the data. The USFS should work with states in developing a plan for the timely analysis and reporting of the annual inventory data. This process will encourage other states and regions to enter into agreements and produce current reports.

State level reporting should continue under an annual system although hardcopy reporting need not be done annually. Since the FIA grid is on private forest lands and is in the process of being reinstalled on National Forest System lands, all state reports should include all lands within the state. The current practice of reporting only on private lands in some states must be discontinued. Data analysis capability should be made available on the Internet, thereby alleviating the need for annual reporting.

A successful FIA program is contingent upon the USFS ability to provide a base program for all states. A base program must be guaranteed for all states with a core set of variables collected in a statistically sound manner. The FIA BRP II recommends that states conduct annualized inventory updates with a cycle completed in five years where the forest resource is being actively and intensively managed. For states or regions with less intensive pressures and other logistical factors which preclude completion within a five-year time horizon, a plan should be designed to determine an appropriate schedule. This planning schedule should not exceed the timelines of the USFS Resources Planning Act Assessment Program updates.

An FIA program that collects state level data on an annualized schedule is a major challenge. One of the most important ingredients in its success is the supportive role of state level expertise and resources. The USDA Forest Service FIA program has operated with a strong partnership with State Forestry Agencies. Currently 20 percent of the FIA program is supported by non-Forest Service research partners (either financially or in-kind). But the challenges in fulfilling the steps in this report requires new energy and efforts in this partnership.

In states where annualized data collection has been initiated, an expanded state role has been critical. The most common model has been where states provide staff and funding to conduct actual field measurements. The Forest Service's role has been to provide technical support, training, quality control oversight and other elements. The members of the BRP II understand such a model is not realistic for all states. A nationwide migration to annual data collection requires more federal resources for the FIA program.

However, partnerships and cooperation between states and FIA can include many elements. There is the opportunity to build stronger partnerships with universities, non-governmental organizations, and the forest industry. It is the State Forester's and USFS FIA responsibility to seek out all interested stake-holders in FIA data, coordinate their interests and seek out all possible state, federal and private resources to assist the program. The list below includes examples of state level efforts in partnership with FIA managers:

- Direct state financial contributions:

- Coordinate communication with all state level stakeholders;

- Collect field data;

- Support FIA crews with plot prelocation, field logistics, housing facilities, landowner

contacts;

- Identify priority analytical efforts and published reports;

- Participate in designing the sample plan, including increases in the number of plots;

- Participate in designing plot level variables, including expanding beyond the core variables;

- Coordinate and assist in all analytic efforts and reports.

A vision for the development and application of new technologies should be prepared. New technology should be incorporated into FIA when it can improve the process. In particular, aerial-photo interpretation should be replaced by satellite image processing wherever this will lead to improved efficiency. Emerging Internet technology should be used to provide users with full access to FIA data and analysis programs in a highly interactive manner. FIA should create an extensive website where users can find software, tables, FIA-produced forest type maps, and white papers on relevant topics.

FIA should encourage non-FIA scientists inside and outside the Forest Service to assist with these efforts and to direct their research toward analyses involving FIA data.

FIA can support a wide new clientele as it provides needed information for sustainable forestry criteria and indicators Report of the United States on the Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (USDA Forest Service First Approximation Report for Sustainable Forest Management, June 1997). However, it must be clearly communicated that FIA is limited in providing certain types of resource information, and cannot he expected to fill additional gaps or respond to individual needs without impairment of its primary mission.

The FIA program should actively participate with and encourage development of advisory groups that possess scientific and technical expertise that would be useful to FIA in providing feedback. A technical advisory committee should he created to oversee FIA statistical techniques and methodologies. At the national level, an advisory board should be formed to review progress in implementing the recommendations contained in this report.

1. Plot design and installation procedures;

2. Field procedures and a national manual detailing methods;

3. Analytical procedures: those procedures/algorithms used in summarizing and analyzing FIA data;

4. Database system- those systems used to store, summarize, and report FIA data;

5. Documentation of all of the above.

Implement an ongoing FIA user review process- know your customers. One ongoing user review process is the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) research subcommittee on FIA. This is a national-level panel consisting of industry and academic specialists in inventory and biometrics, which works with FIA units on the continuous improvement of FIA data and analyses. Further efforts toward this goal are called for.

Promote FIA and its products. While some specific recommendations in this section were followed by some FIA units (such as printing a brief description of FIA on the inside cover of some publications). substantial additional effort is needed for FIA to achieve wider recognition and support. The message that needs to be delivered is that FIA is the only comprehensive source of information on the extent and composition of the nation's forested ecosystems. As such, it has great value, not only for timber volume assessments, but also for ecological, and environmental studies spanning the range of forest resources and values.

Thoroughly document FIA procedures. Mixed results were noted: some field manuals and database publications do an excellent job at documenting field data collection protocols, database variables and proper analytical procedures. However, much of the processing and analysis done by FIA remains undocumented. For example, equations and algorithms for site index computation and volume calculation are crucial for thorough scientific understanding of the data, and are largely undocumented, or documented in such a scattered series of sources that compilation and thorough understanding is difficult at best.

Communicate scientifically valid uses of FIA information. Where possible, it seems that FIA has attempted to publish caveats and warnings to users of FIA data concerning potential errors such as using inadequate sample sizes for inference.

Maintain focus on FIA's fundamental long-term mission. There is a critical need for FIA to clearly define and closely follow its fundamental mission which can be stated as meeting the nation's needs for high quality information on the extent and condition of forests and forest resources in the United States. It remains unclear how the recently established Inventory & Monitoring Institute (IMI) fits into this mission. Without a clearly understood and articulated mission against which to judge success and failure, FIA will continue to be bogged down in protracted debates like recent ones about plot configurations and plot measurements. In the near-term, FIA should define a set of core variables that are essential to ecological or economic assessments and give much greater attention to the idea that 'timeliness' is an important aspect of information quality. FIA should also pursue opportunities to increase information quality by using modern remote sensing techniques to improve the spatial resolution of FIA estimates of forest area by cover type.

Better analysis is necessary for improving customer service. More analysis of FIA data would be useful in improving and increasing customer service. While some FIA customers have the capability and inclination to analyze raw data themselves, other customers rely on outside sources to summarize and analyze the data for them.