Research has been a part of the Forest Service’s mission since the agency’s creation in 1905, and several Forest Service research facilities date back to the early 1900s. FS R&D’s research and development activities take place within seven research stations (see fig. 1). Five of the seven are focused regionally, with each covering a multistate region; these are the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Rocky Mountain, Northern, and Southern research stations. In contrast, the remaining two stations—the Forest Products Laboratory and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry—are not regionally focused but, rather, concentrate on specific research topics. The stations are decentralized, with the director of each station reporting directly to the Chief of the Forest Service. According to FS R&D officials, the geographic alignment of these stations helps foster understanding of, and focus research attention on, issues of local or regional significance. For example, large urban concentrations in the area covered by the Northern Research Station make urban forestry and social science a research priority. Within each of the five geographically based research stations, multiple laboratories carry out specific research activities. In addition, FS R&D maintains 81 experimental forests and ranges across the nation, which serve as sites for most of the agency’s long-term research. These sites—which range in size from about 115 acres to over 55,000 acres—represent most of the nation’s major forest ecosystems. With some sites dating back to the early 1900s, they have allowed FS R&D to compile long-term data about how forests respond to changes in land use, climate, and various natural and human-caused disturbances. FS R&D’s work is carried out by research scientists, technicians, and other professionals, using techniques from a diverse set of disciplines. The mission of FS R&D is multifaceted. In developing and delivering knowledge and innovative technology, the agency is responsible both for long-term, basic research to increase scientific knowledge and for applied research and science delivery as a means of disseminating that knowledge to potential end users. In addition, FS R&D’s mission includes the nation’s forests and rangelands, both public and private. While much of FS R&D’s role is to support the Forest Service in managing national forests, its research and science delivery activities are also to include issues related to forests and ranges on other federal lands, as well as nonfederal lands managed by states or private landowners. In addition to funds appropriated to the Forest Service by Congress, FS R&D uses funds provided by external sources to conduct research and development and often collaborates with external entities in carrying out its work. FS R&D is authorized to do so by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978—the primary legislation authorizing FS R&D’s activities—which states that, in implementing the act, FS R&D may cooperate with federal, state, and other governmental agencies; with public or private agencies, institutions, universities, and organizations; and with businesses and individuals in the United States and in other countries. The act allows the Secretary of Agriculture to receive money and other contributions from cooperators under such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. In addition to FS R&D, a number of other agencies focus on natural resource issues and may therefore also conduct research on forest issues. These agencies include, among others, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Other agencies may also conduct forest-related research although their main focus is not on natural resource issues. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration maintains an Earth science program intended to, among other aims, improve the prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards including wildland fire. The scope of FS R&D’s work spans a range of research activities related to forests and rangelands, from collecting basic data on forest species to studying societal values in relation to land use. Agency officials and other stakeholders we spoke with attested to FS R&D’s accomplishments over time, which run the gamut from basic data about the condition of the nation’s forests to research and tools useful in managing wildland fire and invasive species, and also noted areas that could benefit from additional research. FS R&D’s research addresses national and regional priorities, as well as areas of international concern. FS R&D disseminates the results of its research in many ways, including publication in peer-reviewed journals and other technical and general publications, creation of computer-based modeling tools, and workshops and other outreach activities. Through its funding allocation process, as well as central reviews of the stations’ research agendas, FS R&D headquarters seeks to ensure that research activities are consistent with the agency’s overall goals. FS R&D’s national and regional research aims have evolved over time to mirror shifts in the mission of the Forest Service as a whole. In the years after World War II, for example, the amount of timber harvested from national forests increased dramatically, and much of FS R&D’s work focused on supporting management of the nation’s forests for wood production and on the use of forest products. More recently, the Forest Service has emphasized maintaining and restoring land health, and, according to agency officials, FS R&D’s emphasis has likewise shifted toward the functioning of whole ecosystems, including air and water quality, biological diversity, and climate change. This widening of research focus, according to FS R&D officials, encourages scientists and managers to work together across land ownership boundaries and support a landscape-scale approach to land management, which includes an increased emphasis on urban forestry. FS R&D also conducts research in emerging areas such as climate change and nanotechnology. FS R&D’s strategic plan provides goals to help the agency set priorities for its various research efforts and identify future program direction; this plan is linked to broader strategic plans both at the Forest Service and department level, as well as to plans developed by the research stations. According to agency planning documents, FS R&D has organized its research into the following seven “strategic program areas”: Invasive Species provides scientific information, methods, and technology to reduce, minimize, or eliminate the introduction, establishment, spread, and impact of invasive species and to restore ecosystems affected by these species. Inventory and Monitoring provides resource data, analysis, and tools for identifying current status and trends of forests; management options and impacts, including modeling of forest conditions under various management scenarios; and threats from fire, insects, disease, and other natural processes. Outdoor Recreation develops knowledge and tools to support informed recreation and wilderness management decisions that improve outdoor recreation opportunities for current and future generations while sustaining healthy ecosystems. Resource Management and Use provides a scientific and technological base to sustainably manage and use forest resources and forest fiber-based products. Water, Air and Soils informs the sustainable management of these resources through information on how to provide clean air and drinking water, protect lives and property from wildfire and smoke, and improve the ability to adapt to climate variability and change. Wildland Fire provides knowledge and tools to help reduce the negative impacts, and enhance the beneficial effects, of wildland fire on society and the environment. Wildlife and Fish informs policy initiatives affecting wildlife and fish habitat on private and public lands and the recovery of threatened or endangered species. According to the agency, categorizing its research activities into these program areas has helped FS R&D report its accomplishments; plan research investments; organize areas of research for external peer review; improve agency accountability; and offer researchers more opportunity for interaction along broader, interdisciplinary topics. According to agency officials, there are also five “emerging research areas” which cut across the seven strategic program areas and help the agency set research priorities. These emerging areas are (1) biomass and bioenergy, (2) climate change, (3) urban natural resources stewardship, (4) watershed management and restoration, and (5) nanotechnology. In addition to these emerging areas, the agency considers two long-standing programs to be “foundations” underpinning much of its research activities: the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, a periodic census of the nation’s forest lands, and the network of 81 experimental forests and ranges the agency maintains. FS R&D uses the strategic program areas to categorize its research nationwide, with each of the seven research stations also having a specific set of research programs based on regional priorities. For example, the Rocky Mountain Research Station has organized its work largely to reflect ecosystems and environments, with research areas covering forest and woodland ecosystems; grassland, shrubland, and desert ecosystems; wildlife and terrestrial ecosystems; and air, water, and aquatic environments. Station officials told us that organizing its research in this way reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the station’s research. In contrast, the Southern Research Station has several research areas devoted to issues of regional interest in the South, including southern pine ecology; insects, diseases, and invasive plants of southern forests; and restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. Appendix II lists the research programs and locations of all seven research stations. According to FS R&D officials, research itself is generally carried out at individual laboratories maintained by the research stations, with the laboratories often focusing on specific research topics in a variety of settings. For example, among the Pacific Southwest Research Station’s laboratories are the Forest Fire Laboratory in southern California, which focuses on fire science, air quality, and recreation, and the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in Hawaii, which focuses on preserving and restoring ecosystems throughout the Pacific islands. Likewise the Rocky Mountain Research Station conducts its research into grassland, shrubland, and desert ecosystems in laboratories located in diverse areas including Moscow, Idaho; Reno, Nevada; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.