U.S. Forest Service T he Secretary of Agriculture is directed by law to make and keep current a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the present and prospective conditions of and requirements for the renewable resources of U.S. forests and rangelands. This inventory includes all forests and rangelands, regardless of ownership.
Inventories provide key forest resource information for planners and policy makers.
Increasingly, people turn to these inventories for information on biological diversity, forest health, and developmental decisions. Information is collected from over 130,000 permanent sample plots selected to assure statistical reliability. Vegetation on the plots is measured on average about every 10 years. Characteristics of Forest Land Over the years, the U.S. forest cover has changed because of the way people use and manage forest land. The rest is owned by nonfederal public agencies, forest industry, farmers, and other private individuals.