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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 and resources that can be used to find and access them. USFS publications are available in the HSU Library in the US Documents Collection depository collection in print or microfiche format. In addition most currrent USFS documents are available in fulltext format on the Internet and many older documents have been retrospectively digitized by the USFS and are also available in the Intenet.

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 193 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 experimental forests and ranges, 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:

In addition to forest research 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 (print copy available in SD 387 D6 L58 1996).

Publication Series by Broad Subject


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

RESEARCH

Beginning in 1963, all research series issued by research stations were consolidated into four report series.

  • 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.
  • Resource Bulletin (Docs A 13.80) Economic information on forest resources and products

Each research publication is assigned a letter code for the issuing research station (currently--FPL, IITF, NRS, PNW, PSW, RMRS, SRS, WO; noncurrent--CS, INT, ITF, LS, NC, NE, NOR, RM, SE, SO, SW) and a sequential number, e.g, A 13.78: PSW 5. Guide to Abbreviations in USDA/FS Publications lists research station and series abbreviations. Station research series prior to 1963 are listed in Publications Series by Research Station.

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 REFORESTATION 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.)

Publication Series by Research Station


Listed below are historical publication series issued by USFS research stations through 1962 as well as a few current series still published by research stations. In 1962 most of the research series listed below were consolidated into the four USFS research series listed under the Research category above.

*combined with continuing research stations

Research Station Publication Bibliographies and Databases

Treesearch and FS Info Databases


Other Bibliographies and Databases


In addition to the Treesearch and FS INFO databases the following sources can be used to find USFS publications by subject, author, or research station. Some include links to online fulltext.

LITERATURE DATABASES

HISTORICAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES

  • 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.
  • 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.