U.S. Forest Service Publications

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

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:

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).

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

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 online fulltext.

This research guide lists current and historical publication series of the USFS and its research stations by broad subject area and by research station. A Guide to Abbreviations in USDA/FS Publications is available that lists research station and series abbreviations that are typically used in bibliographic citations.

Publication Series by Broad Subject

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

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

RESEARCH

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. 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: ECONOMICS ENGINEERING FIRE MANAGEMENT INSECTS AND DISEASE MAPS RANGE MANAGEMENT REFORESTATION SILVICS WATERSHED MANAGEMENT WILDLIFE (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.)

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 Online Fulltext Publications section below.

Indexes and Bibliographies to Print and Online Fulltext Publications

The following sources can be used to identify USFS publications by subject, author, or research station. Some include connections to the online fulltext.

ALL TIME PERIODS

RECENT

HISTORICAL

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

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Latest entry: February 2, 2006
Links last checked: February 2, 2006