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U.S. Forest Service Publications

This research guide lists current and historical publication series of the USFS and its research stations by broad subject area and by research station. USFS publications are available in the HSU Library in the US Documents Collection and have been received on depository from the federal government. Available formats include print, microfiche and fulltext available on the web.

Introduction Publication Series by Broad Subject Publications by Research Station Indexes to Print and Fulltext Publications

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Introduction

Established in 1881 as the Division of Forestry to "study forest conditions and disseminate forest information," the U.S. Forest Service received its present name in 1905 and 39 million acres of forest "reserves" were placed under its jurisdiction. It presently manages 191 million acres of forest and rangelands. Organizationally, the USFS is composed of a Chief's office in Washington, D.C., 9 regional offices, 7 research stations with a total of 77 project locations, 155 national forests, and 20 national grasslands. See Meet the Forest Service (U.S. Forest Service) for additional background information.

From the very beginning the nature and importance of forest research was recognized with its first chief, Gifford Pinchot, stating that "the time seems to have come when direct original investigations should be undertaken with a view to furthering forestry practice." Publications originating from USFS research, one of four major programs within the service, are a major source in advancing the theory and practice of forestry on the nation's 1.6 billion acres of forests and rangelands. Basic and applied research within the USFS focuses on three major areas:

• understanding forest and range ecosystems
• understanding how people perceive and value natural resources
• determining practices most suitable for sustainable production and use of natural resources

USFS publications also reflect the other three programmatic areas in the service--national forest administration, state and private forestry, and international forestry.

For additional information on the role of USFS research see The Research Publishing Influence of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Spencer) IN Literature of Forestry and Agroforestry (McDonald and Lassoie) 1996 (SD 387 D6 L58 1996).

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Publication Series by Broad Subject

For subject access to these publications see Indexes and Bibliographies to Print and Fulltext Publications below.

ADMINISTRATION (annual reports, manuals, environmental reports, regulations)

• Draft Environmental Impact Statements (Docs A 13.92/2) and Final Environmental Impact Statements (Docs A 13.92) EISs on forest service policy and management of national forests. EISs prior to 1976 will be found in Docs A 13.2.
• Handbooks, Manuals, and Guides (Docs A 13.36/2) Includes the Forest Service Manual (FSM) which contains the policies and standards for the conduct of USFS programs and activities; and the Forest Service Handbooks (FSH) which are the main source for detailed instructions for carrying out the policies issued in the FSM. Together they make up the Forest Service Directive System which provides "direction" for the USFS. Directives are issued at national, regional, and forest levels. See the Guide to Forest Service Directives for further information on the directives system; a table listing the codification system used for the FSM and the FSH; and a listing of individual FSH titles. Forest Service Directives contains the online fulltext of the FSM and many of the FSH along with a keyword search option.
• Land Areas of the National Forest System. 1910- (Docs A 13.10) Annual statistical tables showing areas of individual national forests, wilderness areas, etc.
• Regulations, Rules and Instructions (Docs A 13.36)
• Report of the Forest Service. 1883- (Docs A 13.78) Annual summary of forest service activities and research projects, along with a statistical summary.
• Training Texts (Docs A 13.36/4)

RESEARCH

• Bulletin (Docs A 13.3) No. 1-127, 1887-1913. Early research series for USFS.
• Circular (Docs A 13.4) No. 1-216, 1886-1913. Early research series for USFS.
• Forestry Research West (bimonthly) 1922- (Docs A 13.95) Brief reports on recent developments in forestry research at the four western forest and range experiment stations.

Beginning in 1963, all research series issued by research stations were consolidated into three standard report series. Each research publication is assigned a letter code for the issuing research station (currently--FPL, NC, NE, PNW, PSW, RS, SRS, WO; noncurrent--CS, INT, ITF, LS, NOR, RM, SE, SO) and a sequential number, e.g, A 13.78:PSW 5. Many of publications in these series are now available in online fulltext format. See Publications by Research Station below for fulltext links and for earlier station-based research series. A Guide to Abbreviations in USDA/FS Publications lists common research station and series abbreviations.

• General Technical Report (Docs A 13.88) Proceedings of symposia, computer programs, annotated bibliographies, and literature reviews, rather than original research.
• Research Note (Docs A 13.79) Observational information and reports on new techniques or instruments.
• Research Paper (Docs A 13.78) Final results of formal studies on all aspects of forest management.

In addition to the above research series, publications authored by USFS personnel having a broader scope may also be published in one of the following general U.S. Department of Agriculture series:

• Agricultural Handbook (Docs A 1.76) Manuals, guidebooks, glossaries, specifications, and taxonomic catalogs.
• Agricultural Information Bulletin (Docs A 1.75) Popular or nontechnical publications designed to aid in the understanding of special topics.
• Miscellaneous Publication (Docs A 1.38)
• Technical Bulletin (Docs A 1.36) Complete reports on research projects.

ECONOMICS

• Forest Resource Report (irregular) 1950- (Docs A 13.50) Economic projections on forest and range resource production, inventory and use.
• Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in the Pacific Northwest Forest Industries (quarterly) 1963- (Docs A 13.66/13)
• Resource Bulletin (Docs A 13.80) Economic information on forest resources and products.
• U.S. Timber Production, Trade, Consumption, and Price Statistics (Docs A 13.113) Periodically published statistical compilation containing annual data from 1950 to date.

ENGINEERING

• Engineering Technical Information System (Docs A 13.84/2) Includes the Engineering Manual (EM) series.
• Equipment Development and Test Reports (Docs A 13.49/4) Report on development and testing of forest and range equipment.

FIRE MANAGEMENT

• Fire Management Today (formerly Fire Management Notes and Fire Control Notes) (quarterly) 1936- (Docs A 13.32) Articles devoted to technique of fire control and management. Available fulltext since 1996.
• Forest Fire News (semiannual) (Docs A 13.32/4) News on developments in fire management as well as reports on major fires.
• National Forest Fire Report (annual) (Docs 13.32/3) Report on wildfires in national forests.
• Wildfire Statistics (annual) (Docs A 13.32/2) Reports on wildfires on federal, state, and private lands including statistics on causes, size classes, acres burned.

INSECTS AND DISEASE

• Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in the United States (annual) 1954- (Docs A 13.52/2) Reports on status of forest insects and disease, including statistics. Regional annual reports are also published.
  • Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in the Pacific Northwest (annual) 1961- (Docs A 13.52/6)
  • Forest Insect and Disease Conditions Intermountain Region (annual) (Docs A 13.52/12)
• Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet No. 1-, 1952- (Docs A 13.52) Brief information on life cycles, detection, and control of forest insects and diseases.
• Forest Insect and Disease Management Evaluation Reports (Docs A 13.93)
• Forest Pest Management Methods Application Group Reports (Docs A 13.52/10-3)

MAPS

• Information Pamphlets Relating to National Forests (Docs A 13.13) Descriptive brochures and maps from national forests.
• Maps (Docs A 13.28) National forest wilderness area, and other miscellaneous maps.

RANGE MANAGEMENT

• Annual Grazing Statistical Report (annual) 1967- (Docs A 13.83) Contains national, regional, and state summaries.
• Range Improvement Notes (quarterly) vol.1-19, 1956-1974; (irregular) 1977-

REFORESTATION

• Forest Nursery Notes (semiannual) Includes news and new literature. Fulltext available from 1992 to the present.
• Forest Tree Nurseries in the United States (irregular) (Docs A 13.74) Directory of federal, state, and private nurseries.
• Tree Planter's Notes (quarterly) 1950- (Docs A 13.51) Articles on techniques of forestation and forest nursery practice. The online site includes a keyword searchable index to all articles.
• Tree Planting in the United States (annual) 1951- . Statistical report summarizing tree planting, timber stand improvement, and nursery production activities across all ownerships of forest land in the United States. Tree Planters Notes, 1951-1968, 1997 to date (print copy available in Docs A 13.51); Forest Planting, Seedling, and Silvical Treatments in the United States, 1969-1980 (Docs A 13.51/2); US Forest Planting Report, 1981-1989 (Docs A 13.109); Tree Planting in the United States, 1990 to 1994 (Docs A 13.110/14).

SILVICS

• American Woods (Docs A 13.31) Popular pamphlets describing appearance, distribution, growth, production, properties, and principal uses of forest trees.
• Silvical Leaflet No. 1-53, 1907-1913 (Docs A 13.12)
• Useful Trees of the U.S. No. 1-28, 1941-1943 (Docs A 13.46) Popular four-page leaflets on common forest trees.

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

• Watershed System Development Group Application Document (Docs A 13.87/3)
• Watershed System Development Group Technical Note (Docs A 13.87/4)
• Watershed System Development Group Technical Paper (Docs A 13.897/2)

WILDLIFE

• Species Range Maps (Docs A 13.107)
• Wildlife Unit Technical Series (Docs A 13.32/2-2)

(Note: In addition to the formal USFS series listed above, reports authored by USFS personnel may also appear as papers presented at conferences and symposia; or as papers published in scholarly journals and serials from universities, commercial publishers, and professional societies.)

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Publications by Research Station

Listed below are both current and historical publication series issued by research stations of the USFS. In 1962 most of the research series listed below were consolidated into the three general USFS research series listed under the Research category above. In addition to print and/or microfiche availability in the HSU Library research stations have made many of their current and historical publications available online over the Internet as noted below. For access to station publications by subject and author see the Indexes and Bibliographies to Print and Fulltext Publications section below.

• Central States Forest Experiment Station (merged with Lake States in 1965 to form North Central Forest Experiment Station) (Docs A 13.68)
  Technical Note No. 1-62, 1940-1943 (Docs A 13.68/6)
  Technical Paper No. 1-192, 1944-1962 (Docs A 13.68/7)
  Miscellaneous Release No. 1-35, ?-1962 (Docs A 13.68/8)
  Station Note No. 1-157, 1933-1962 (Docs A 13.68/10)
• Forest Products Laboratory (Docs A 13.27)
  Publications (includes online pubs)
  Research Report No. 1-2241, 1923-1962 (Docs A 13.27/14)
• Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station (Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station merged into it in 1953) (merged into Rocky Mountain Research Station in 1997) (Docs A 13.65)
  Former INT Publications (includes online pubs)
  Research Paper No. 1-71, 1943-1962 (Docs A 13.65/7)
  Research Note No. 1-104, 1951-1962 (Docs A 13.65/8)
  Miscellaneous Publication No. 1-26, 1954-1962 (Docs A 13.65/9)
  Forest Survey Release No. 1-5, 1958-1962 (Docs A 13.65/10)
  Range Improvement Notes (quarterly) Vol. 1-19, 1956-1974; (irregular) 1977- (Docs A 13.65/11)
• Lake States Forest Experiment Station (merged with Central States in 1965 to form North Central Forest Experiment Station) (Docs A 13.61)
  Station Paper No. 1-106, 1946-1962 (Docs A 13.61/8)
  Technical Note No. 1-626, 1928-1962 (Docs A 13.61/10)
• North Central Forest Experiment Station. There are no separate research series since this group was formed after the 1963 change when all publications were grouped together. (Docs A 13.82)
  NCRS Publications and Products (includes online pubs)
• Northeastern Research Station (formerly Northeastern Forest Experiment Station) (Docs A 13.42)
  Northeastern Research Station Publications (includes online pubs)
  Station Paper No. 1-171, 1945-1962 (Docs A 13.42/16)
  Forest Research Note No. 1-134, 1950-1962 (Docs A 13.42/20)
  Trees for Reclamation (Docs A 13.42/24)
  NE-INF No. 1-, 1977- (Docs A 13.42/24)
• Northern Forest Experiment Station (Alaska Forest Research Center to 1961; merged into Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station in 1966) (Docs A 13.73)
  Station Paper No. 1-13, 1953-1960 (Docs A 13.73/8)
  Technical Note No. 1-54, 1949-1962 (Docs A 13.73/9)
• Pacific Northwest Research Station (formerly Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station) (Docs A 13.66)
  Publications and Products (includes online pubs)
  Forest Research Note No. 1-221, 1928-1962 (Docs A 13.66/7)
  Forest Survey Report No. 1-146, 1934-1962 (Docs A 13.66/8)
  Research Paper No. 1-50, 1948-1962 (Docs A 13.66/10)
  Silvical Series No. 1-13, 1957-1958 (Docs A 13.66/11)
  Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in the Pacific Northwest Forest Industries (quarterly) 1963- (Docs A 13.66/13)
  Ecology Technical Paper 1992- (Docs A 13.66/18)
• Pacific Southwest Research Station (formerly Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station ("California" through 1958)) (Docs A 13.62)
  Publications and Products (includes online pubs)
  Technical Note No. 1-21, 1933-1942 (Docs A 13.62/6)
  Research Note No. 1-211, 1930-1962 (Docs A 13.62/7)
  Forest Survey Release No. 1-37, 1939-1962 (Docs A 13.62/8)
  Miscellaneous Paper No. 1-76, 1951-1962 (Docs A 13.62/9)
  Technical Paper No. 1-75, 1953-1962 (Docs A 13.62/10)
  • Redwood Sciences Laboratory
    Publications of the Redwood Sciences Laboratory
• Rocky Mountain Research Station (Southwestern Forest Experiment Station merged into the Rocky Mountain Forest & Range Experiment Station in 1953) (formed by the merger of the Rocky Mountain Forest & Range Experiment Station and Intermountain Forest & Range Experiment Station in 1997) (Docs A 13.69 and Docs A 13.151)
  RMRS Electronic Publications (online fulltext)
  Station Paper No. 1-73, 1949-1962 (Docs A 13.69/7)
  Research Note No. 1-84, 1947-1962 (Docs A 13.69/8)
  Forest Survey Release No. 1-4, 1957-1961 (Docs A 13.69/9)
  Resource Evaluation Newsletter No. 1-, 1980- (Docs A 13.69/14)
  Proceedings No. 1-, 1997- (docs A 13.151/5)
• Southern Research Station (formerly Southern Forest Experiment Station) (Institute of Tropical Forestry) (Docs A 13.64) merged into it in 1977) (Docs A 13.40)
  SRS Publications and Products (includes online pubs)
  Forest Survey Release No. 1-87, 1934-1962 (Docs A 13.40/5)
  Occasional Paper No. 1-194, 1921-1962 (Docs A 13.40/6)
  Southern Forestry Note No. 1-142, 1933-1962 (Docs A 13.40/7)
• Southeastern Forest Experiment Station (Docs A 13.63) (merged with the Southern Research Station)
  Forest Survey Release No. 1-59, 1939-1962 (Docs A 13.63/7)
  Station Paper No. 1-156, 1949-1962 (Docs A 13.63/9)
  Research Note No. 1-183, 1952-1962 (Docs A 13.63/11)

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Indexes and Bibliographies to Print and Fulltext Publications

The following sources can be used to identify USFS publications by subject, author, or research station. Some include links to the fulltext available on the web.

ALL TIME PERIODS

• Agricola (1970 to the present) (HSU Users Only) and Bibliography of Agriculture (abstr S 1 B52) (1942-1969) USFS publications are included among the agriculture literature covered by this index.
• Forest Science Database (HSU Users Only) Indexes forestry research throughout the world, including USFS publications, from 1939 the present..
• FS INFO Database (U.S. Forest Service) This is the catalog for the USDA Forest Service libraries and includes natural resources material of interest researchers in the USFS. The database includes over 200,000 references to journal papers, conference papers, technical reports and government documents from 1904 to the present. Includes 70,000 USFS publications, of which 7000 are linked to the fulltext on the Internet. Search by author, title, subject, publication series or research station.
• Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1976 to the present) and Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1900 to the present, with cumulative indexes for 1900-1971and 1971-1975) (Abstr Docs GP 3.8) Indexes federal documents, including USFS publications.
• Treesearch: USDA FS Research Publication (U.S. Forest Service) Includes over 16,000 online fulltext USFS research publications. Publications include research monographs published by the USFS as well as papers authored by USFS personnel that are published in outside journals, conference proceedings, and books. Search by title, author or keyword, research station or publication series.

RECENT

• HSU Library Catalog includes federal documents that have been added to the HSU Library since 1998. Some records link to online fulltext.
• Monthly Alert (US Forest Service) Current awareness publication issued every month that lists recent publications relevant to forest and natural resources.

HISTORICAL

• Bibliography of Forest Service Range, Wildlife, and Fish Habitat and Related Research Publications, 1977-1989 (Docs A 1.60/13:95) Lists under broad subject categories 3,000 Forest Service sponsored studies.
• Dictionary Catalogue of the Yale Forestry Library (abstr SD 1 Y3) Cumulative catalog of the oldest "continuous" forestry library in the United States covering forestry literature from the early 18th century through 1962, including USFS publications.
• Complete List of Forest Service Publications (US Forest Service Library) 1936 (Abstr Docs SD 391 C65 1936) Bibliography of USFS publications through 1935. Arranged by series with a combined author/subject index.
• Index to Publications of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Bradley) (Abstr Docs A 21.2:In 2/2) Subject and author listing of USDA and USFS documents appearing in several cumulations: 1901-1925, 1926-1930, 1931-1935, and 1936-1940.
• National Agricultural Library Catalog (abstr S 1 U63) Published in two cumulations: 1862-1965 and 1966-1970. This is an author-title-subject index to books, serials, and periodicals in the US National Agricultural Library. Included are many separate entries for individual USFS documents.
• Selected Bibliography of North America Forestry (Munns) 1940 (USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 364) (ref SD 121 M85) Classified bibliography of forestry literature, including USFS publications, through 1930.

RESEARCH STATION BIBLIOGRAPHIES. Some USFS research stations maintain bibliographies of publications produced within their units.

• *Central States Forest Experiment Station
  • Publications to January 1960 (Docs A 13.68/8:6) From 1927
• Forest Products Laboratory
  • Dividends from Wood Research: Recent Publications 1956- (Docs A 13.27/8) Semiannual
  • Lists of Publications on (specialized topics) (Docs A 13.27/7)
  • Lists of Publications
• *Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station
  • Recent Reports 1966-1996 (Docs A 13.65/14) Quarterly and annual
• North Central Research Station (including Lake States Forest Experiment Station)
  • Knowledge Store
  • List of Publications 1961- (Docs A 13.82/9) - Annotated and annual
• Northeastern Research Station
  • Publications of the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 1923-1949 (Docs A 13.42/16:33), 1950-1965 (Docs A 13.78/NE-62), 1966-1976 (print copy available in Docs A 13.88/NE-58), 1977- (Annually as individual numbers of their general technical report series Docs A 13.88:NE)
• Pacific Northwest Research Station
  • Annotated List of Publications 1965- (Docs A 13.66/15) - Bimonthly and annual
  • Publications of PNW 1928-1965 (Docs A 13.66/15:P96)
  • Recent Publications of PNW Research Stations 1998- Quarterly
• Pacific Southwest Research Station
  • Fifty Years of Forestry Research: An Annotated Bibliography of the PSW Forest and Range Experiment Station 1926-1975 (Docs A 13.88:PSW-23)
  • Pacific Southwest Research Station Publications - Lists all publications since 1933 by series.
  • Publications for [year] 1916- (Docs A 13.62/11) Quarterly and annual
  • Staff Publications, California Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1916-1949 (Docs A 13.62/11:1916-1949) Includes subject, author, and series indexes.
• Rocky Mountain Research Station
  • New Publications - 1969- ; Quarterly; includes links to fulltext (Docs 13.69/10 and A 13.151/2-2)
  • Publications of the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station 1974-1979 (Docs A 13.69/10-2)
• *Southeastern Forest and Range Experiment Station
  • Forest Research in the Southeast: Recent Publications 1956-1994 (Docs A 13.63/13) Quarterly with annual cumulations
• Southern Research Station
  • Compass Quarterly
  • Index to Publications of the Experiment Station 1921-1955, 1956-1961, 1962-1970 (Docs A 13.40/6:108)
  • Station Series Publications Lists all publications from the Southern Research Station, Southern Forest Experiment Station, and Southeastern Forest Experiment Station

  *combined with continuing research stations

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Last Updated: March 25, 2008

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