Natural Resources
The agency's top priority is to maintain and improve the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of current and future generations. We manage these important areas to balance the benefits and uses that contribute to local communities with sustaining the health of the ecosystems and resources over time.
Natural Resources benefit communities by:
- Creating jobs and revenue in industries that rely on natural resources management, including logging, forest restoration, recreation, tourism, and ranching.
- Improving forest health by reducing hazardous fuels, enhancing clean water, and restoring habitat for plants and animals
- Enhancing public safety by lowering wildfire risks and improving access.
- Boosting tourism and recreation by maintaining healthy, accessible National Forests.
Timber Program
Sustainable timber harvesting is a vital forest management tool that balances economic demand for wood products with ecological resilience. By carefully planning and executing timber sales, we support local jobs, provide essential raw materials, and help forests adapt to challenges with environmental stressors like severe weather, drought, and wildfires.
Stewardship contracting and agreements allow the Forest Service to work with contractors and agreement partners to accomplish a variety of on-the-ground projects.
Rangeland and Grazing
Rangeland management specialists work to manage ecosystems to provide habitat for a variety of plant and animal species, clean water, and sustainable grazing and browsing. Rangeland specialists assess and track rangeland conditions to sustain or restore health.
Successful grazing management on national forest lands is a collaborative effort which includes landowners, tribes, universities, other agencies, the public and more.