Established by the Oregon Legislature in 1941, the program is supported by state and federal appropriations and by research grants from public and private sources. Activities are organized within five program areas which draw upon faculty expertise in the College of Forestry's Departments of Forest Engineering, Forest Products, Forest Resources, and Forest Science and, to a lesser extent, from other departments in the University, including the Departments of Botany and Plant Pathology, Crop and Soil Science, Entomology, and Fisheries and Wildlife.
Interdisciplinary teamwork is characteristic of many of the research projects.
The Forest Research Laboratory program is designed to provide information concerning the management and use of Oregon's forest resources and the operation of the state's wood-using industries.