THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE AND FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES

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THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE AND FORESTRY IN THE
UNITED STATES International Visitor Program
Orientation
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• DID YOU KNOW?
• The Forest Service has more recreation visitor
  days than any other US Government agency.
• The Forest Service employs thousands of
  scientists as researchers, experts in fisheries
  and as wildlife biologists.
• 85 of the water west of the Mississippi flows
  from Forest Service lands.

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• Forested Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current and Emerging Issues
• International Programs

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• Forested Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current Emerging Issues
• International Programs

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• FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES
• The United States has the 4th largest forest
  estate of any nationexceeded by Russian
  Federation, Brazil and Canada
• The United States has 8 of the worlds forests.
• The United States has about 300 million hectares
  of forest (33 of the land area)

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FORESTED NON-FORESTED LAND IN THE UNITED STATES
Other types of lands? 67 or 612 million hectares
Forested land?33 or 300 million hectares
Total land base of the United States912 million
hectares.
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TOTAL FOREST OWNERSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES
Other Federal Agencies? 9 or 26 million hectares
Bureau of Land Management?4 or 14 million
hectares
Forest Service?20 or 60 million hectares
States, counties municipals?9 or 26 million
hectares
Private forest lands? 58 or 174 million hectares
Interior DepartmentOther Federal
AgenciesAgriculture Department
Total forested land in the United States300
million hectares.
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FOREST OWNERSHIP IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES
FOREST OWNERSHIP IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES
Private lands?31 or 45 million hectares
Federal and State lands? 17 or 26 million
hectares
Federal and State lands?69 or 100 million
hectares
Private lands? 83 or 129 million hectares
155 million hectares of forested land East of the
Mississippi River
145 million hectares of forested land West of the
Mississippi River
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LEVELS OF PROTECTION FOR LANDS IN THE US
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• Forest Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current Emerging Issues
• International Programs

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• HISTORY OF LAND USE DEVELOPMENT (1800-1900s)
• Forests converted to farmland as majority of US
  population was farmers.
• US farmers also cleared forests to provide wood
  for fencing to contain livestock. By 1850,
  enough fencing to circle the earth 120 times.
• Building of major US cities consumed large
  amounts of timber.

Forested Area (in million hectares)
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• HISTORY OF LAND USE DEVELOPMENT Deforestation
  and the Call for Action by 1900
• There was a recognition of land abuse and
  deforestation
• Forests were increasingly seen as a national
  asset in need of protection from
• Logging
• Massive wildfires
• Farm clearing and grazing
• Wildlife depletion
• Watershed erosion
• Conservation or pressure groups began to form
  including
• American Forestry Association
• Sierra Club
• Society of American Foresters
• National Audubon Society

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• Land in the United States
• Forest Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• Politics of Forestry
• Current Emerging Issues
• The Forest Service Today

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• 1905FOREST SERVICE ESTABLISHED
• The Forest Service was established to manage
  national forests for protection of watersheds
  and to produce timber.
• The mission has evolved and broadened to include
  recreation and grazing
• . The role of the Agency has shifted dramatically
  due to changing social, economic, political
  expectations as well as the evolution of forestry
  as a discipline.
• Managing national forests for benefits, multiple
  uses, sustained yield of renewable resources

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• MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES HAVE EVOLVED
• 1900s 2000
• Timber production ? Conservation
• Fire suppression ? Prescribed burning
• Road building ? Watershed protection

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• Land in the United States
• Forest Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current and Emerging Issues

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• WHAT IS THE FOREST SERVICE TODAY?
• A decentralized organization of about 35,000
  employees with responsibility to
• Directly manage 77 million hectares (191 million
  acres) of forest and rangeland in the US for wide
  range of social and environmental benefits
• Contribute to the management of an additional
  150 million hectares (360 million acres) of
  privately-owned land in the US.
• Coordinate, through International Programs, FS
  efforts to improve forest management and preserve
  biodiversity worldwide.

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Federal Land Management Agencies
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A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOREST SERVICE
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A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOREST SERVICE

• Provides scientific and technical knowledge
  through the work of
• Research Stationseight stations across the US,
  including
• Forest Products Laboratory
• International Institute for Tropical Forestry
  (Puerto Rico)

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A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOREST SERVICE

• There are 155 forests and 20 grasslands in the
  United States (77 million ha./191 million acres)
  across 9 NFS regions in the US. The Forest
  Service is responsible for
• Watershed management
• Recreation
• Timber management
• Wilderness and protected areas
• Habitat, forest, grassland management

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A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOREST SERVICE

• Cooperates with private landowners, tribal
  governments, other local government agencies,
  State and local organizations, on
• Assistance to small-scale, private landowners
• Indigenous-tribal natural resource conservation
  programs
• Urban forestry
• Conservation education
• Watershed management
• Fire management
• Forest insect and disease protection

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A LOOK AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOREST SERVICE

• On behalf of the Chief of the FS, coordinates
  international work by engaging Research, National
  Forest System and State Private Forestry in
  these activities
• Technical Cooperation
• Global Natural Resource Policy
• Disaster Response and Preparedness

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• Land in the United States
• Forest Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current and Emerging Issues
• International Programs

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• CURRENT AND EMERGING ISSUES The 4 Threats of
  the early 21st Century
• Wildfire Management and Ecosystem Restoration
• Historical fire suppression resulted in increased
  undergrowth and high density of trees. Areas
  close to human settlement pose a risk to human
  health, safety, and property.
• Invasive Species
• All ownerships are threatened by 4,500 invasive
  species spreading at an accelerated rate,
  threatening biodiversity and forest health.
• Habitat Fragmentation
• Accelerating urban expansion is fragmenting both
  forest acreage and ownership, with significant
  ecological and management implications.
• Unmanaged Recreation
• Increased recreation use results in undesireable
  resource impacts and exceed the ability of
  managers to address them.

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• CURRENT AND EMERGING ISSUES
• Logging Domestic and International
• Harvest on National Forests remains very
  controversial. Through the use of harvest
  treatments, Forest Service trying to combat
  forest pest risks and mitigate catastrophic
  fires.
• Logging on private lands is also controversial
  because in some cases over-harvesting is taking
  place. Private practices are regulated primarily
  by the States.
• Internationally, Forest Service works with
  partners to promote Reduced Impact Logging (RIL)
  and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM).
• Work with NGO partners, industry, other nations,
  and intergovernmental organizations to implement
  policies reducing illegal timber and trade (i.e..
  the Presidents Initiative Against Illegal
  Logging).

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• Land in the United States
• Forest Land in the United States
• History of Land Use Development
• History of the Forest Service
• The Forest Service Today
• Current and Emerging Issues
• International Programs