Issue 12
The Value of Taking Inventory
Since the 1930s, the Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has been surveying public and private lands to track forest extent, health, vitality, and contributions to the national and global timber supply. The program is designed to provide data, analysis, and comprehensible information to foresters, wildlife biologists, universities, nongovernmental organizations, Federal and State agencies, forest industry, and private landowners.
SRS FIA collects data on public and private forest land in the 13 Southern States and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Success depends on collaboration with State and private forestry agencies, the forest industry and consultants, and universities. Because wood-using industries play an important role in shaping the economic future of the Southern States, it is essential that the status and trends in forest resources be assessed and information shared in a timely manner.
For more information: srsfia2.fs.fed.us/