Publications

This first business report for the Forest Service Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment describes the process, costs, and products needed to conduct and support the decadal RPA Assessment, mainly covering the years that led to the publication of the 2020 RPA Assessment in 2023. This report reflects the RPA Assessment team’s commitment to accountability and transparency in delivering the best value, quality, and array of products in response to the authorizing legislation. The intent is to provide a foundation of evidence to highlight the complexity and importance of the RPA Assessment… Topic: Natural Resources and Conservation
Type: General
Number: FS-1259
Year: 2025

This information sheet shows how land management activities support local economies and contribute to the Nation's gross domestic product through timber and forest products, minerals and energy production, livestock grazing, recreation, and more.

This factsheet highlights recent Forest Service accomplishments to include wildfire risk reduction, healthy forests, and contributions to America's food supply. Thousands of Forest Service jobs support our mission of caring for the land and serving people.

This factsheet highlights what the Forest Service does and how the agency operates. It provides a broad, national-level look at how the agency carries out its mission to serve the interests of the American people.

This field guide is for agency staff, partners, volunteers, and all who help build or maintain trails. First published in 1996, this 2025 edition is the fourth revision of the notebook. It includes detailed descriptions of how to plan, build, maintain, improve, and decommission (or obliterate) all types of trails and trail structures. The new edition features updated construction techniques, diagrams, and sustainability concepts.

The third year of the agency's Wildfire Crisis Strategy saw work continue across the 21 landscapes and throughout the nation. This latest publication highlights the accomplishments and challenges as the Forest Service leads the effort to reduce the risks of severe wildfire impacting our country's communities, infrastructure, and natural resources. New and expanded programs, partnerships, and other relationships continue to drive progress forward.

This accomplishment report highlights the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program's impact of investing in lands managed by the Forest Service. The CFLRP accomplishments over the last 15 years are driven by place-based, multiyear funding, and include improvements across 6.7 million acres from fuels reduction, tree planting, trail maintenance, stream restoration, invasive plant treatments, and fish passage. This publication is adapted from a report submitted to Congress in June 2024.

This annual report of the Forest Health Monitoring Program describes research by Forest Service scientists and partners and presents forest health status and trends from a national or multistate regional perspective.

This biannual publication provides information about nurseries and nursery production, including seed sourcing, seedling care, and transplanting seedlings for reforestation and related activities. The fall 2024 issue includes a look at a black walnut tree farm in Vermont 30 years after planting, cold storage effects on big sagebrush, how color-coating seeds improves nursery productions, and using Ellepots instead of Styroblocks at Pacific Northwest Nurseries. Finally, it includes the annual nursery seedling production report.

The Forest Service has released this annual national fact sheet almost every year since 1987 as an informational and educational resource for private forest landowners and their tax advisors. This publication updates details from the 2023 version and includes now content on conservation easements.

Forest Service researchers and partners compile estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, based primarily on Nationwide Forest Inventory data collected and maintained by the Forest Inventory and Analysis program. This annual resource bulletin summarizes data presented in the “Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry” chapter of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s inventory report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This quick start guide provides instructions on how to use the Forest Service's Climate Risk Viewer, a tool developed to illustrate, estimate, and project forest trends for key resources such as carbon, water, and at-risk species. Included in the guide are examples to familiarize users with… Topic: Science and Technology
Type: Fact Sheet
Number: FS-1253
Year: 2024

This report about the agency’s Forest Health Protection program includes the organizational structure, an overview of the guiding legislation and policies, and highlights of the core program areas: surveying and monitoring, technical and financial assistance, treatments, methodology and technology development, and outreach and partnerships.

This annual report details impacts on forests from various insects and diseases. Compiled by Forest Health Protection staff, the report contains maps of damage (mortality and defoliation) and discusses recent trends in monitoring and management of forest pests. The 2023 edition includes spotlights on how the agency is responding to specific threats.

The recreation opportunity spectrum is the Forest Service’s system to define, allocate, manage, and monitor existing and desired recreation settings and opportunities. It provides distinct recreation opportunities for personal experiences and benefits, unique to each individual visitor.