Data Access Policy
Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFRs)
- encourage re-use of the data collected on their sites
- recognize the importance of properly crediting the scientists who collected these data for the contribution their data make to other projects
- recognize the importance of understanding how data collected on EFRs are being used
- scientists use this information for performance reviews
- Forest Service Research & Development use this information to allocate resources (e.g., to web-based access to data, re-packaging of Data Publications for particular audiences, etc.) and for its performance review with Congress
Therefore, most research data from EFR sites are covered by a data use agreement. If you are familiar with the Long Term Ecological Research network, you will notice that this agreement has been modeled on their agreement.
Please note that neither the scientist responsible for collecting the data nor Forest Service Research & Development attempts to judge whether those data are appropriate for the use you intend, and cannot be liable for any unintended consequences resulting from use of EFR data provided on this web site. (Additional information on liability can be found in the metadata.)
Related information
Metadata are generally organized according to the Federal Geographic Data Committee's Biological Data Profile. Occasionally a different standard will be used, such as Ecological Metadata Language.
Data Products can generally be downloaded as comma-delimited text files or as tab-delimited files.