Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program

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What is FIA | National Band System | Research Questions & Data Requests | Regional Offices & Contacts | Follow Us | Website Questions

 
Photos by US Forest Service: RMRS 1912; Sjana Schanning -NRS FIA; Ben Nurre -NRS FIA; Sjana Schanning -NRS FIA

What is FIA?

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the USDA Forest Service has been in continuous operation since 1930 with a mission to:
"make and keep current a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the present and prospective conditions of and requirements for the renewable resources of the forest and rangelands of the US."

The FIA Program collects, analyzes, and reports information on the status and trends of America's forests: how much forest exists, where it exists, who owns it, and how it is changing, as well as how the trees and other forest vegetation are growing and how much has died or has been removed in recent years. This information can be used in many ways, such as in evaluating wildlife habitat conditions, assessing the sustainability of ecosystem management practices, and supporting planning and decisionmaking activities undertaken by public and private enterprises.

The Forest Service has significantly enhanced the FIA program by changing from a periodic survey to an annual survey, by increasing our capacity to analyze and publish data, and by expanding the scope of our data collection to include an additional suite of attributes on a subsample of our plots such as soils, understory vegetation, tree crown conditions, down woody material, and invasive species. The FIA program has also expanded to include the sampling of urban trees on all land use types in select cities.

FIA is managed by the Research and Development organization within the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with State and Private Forestry and National Forest Systems. FIA traces its origin back to the McSweeney - McNary Forest Research Act of 1928 (P.L. 70-466). This law initiated the first inventories starting in 1930.

To learn more about what types of data that FIA collects and the processes we use, please review the FIA Data Collection Fact Sheets found in the FIA Library.

National Band System

The objective of the FIA Band System is to develop a nationally consistent, efficient, and complete FIA CORE program. The Bands work together to administer a Change Management process, which is a systematic approach to dealing with all proposed additions, deletions, or modifications to any component of the National FIA Program. There are four Bands that comprise the FIA Band System:

Analysis Band: Focuses on developing statistically defensible approaches to summarizing core FIA data, including identification of new variables (either field measured or computed) needed by FIA customers. More information on the Analysis Band can be found in the Analysis Band Charter or by contacting the Analysis Band Lead, Jane Terzibashian.

Information Management Band: Focuses on maintaining data management systems for core FIA data, including systems for data editing and validation, internal and external databases, and web applications for allowing outside users to access and analyze FIA data. More information on the Information Management Band can be found in the Information Management Band Charter or by contacting the Information Management Band Lead, Craig Downey.

Techniques Research Band: Focuses on improving the efficiency, timeliness, and quality of the FIA program by addressing appropriate problem areas as outlined in the FIA strategic plan or identified by the Program Managers and National FIA leadership. More information on the Techniques Research Band can be found in the Techniques Research Band Charter or by contacting the Techniques Research Band Lead, James Westfall.

Data Acquisition Band: Focuses on developing, testing, and documenting standard approaches to collecting core FIA data collected in the field. This includes developing documentation, training programs, and quality assurance approaches, as well as identifying problems for analysts or indicator advisors to address. More information on the Data Acquisition Band can be found in the Data Acquisition Band Charter or by contacting the Data Acquisition Band Lead, Angie Rowe.

Research Questions & Data Requests

Data & Tools: FIA has a number of tools available for users to download and/or analyze our data and create custom reports.

Spatial Data Services: In the event that FIA's self-help tools do not provide what the user needs, a data request can be made to FIA staff for additional information.

Customer Service: For general questions and information regarding FIA, FIA's research areas, and FIA data and reporting, please contact the customer support staff for the region of interest.

Regional Offices & Contacts

FIA is organizationally located within the Research and Development Deputy Area of the U.S. Forest Service. FIA has three levels of internal management: an executive level involving senior executives from the Forest Service and State Forestry Agencies, who provide broad policy guidance; a management level consisting of field program managers from the Forest Service and States responsible for implementing the program on a day-to-day basis; and a technical level consisting of groups of technical specialists drawn from the Forest Service and States, who develop, document, and review program procedures.

Across the country, program work is coordinated out of four regional units. Each region maintains their own internal set of regional customers and partners who collaborate in program implementation.

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Questions about our website

Mary Miller - FIA Webmaster
SM.FS.fia@usda.gov