National Report On Sustainable Forests

This site also contains other information about sustainable resource management.

This is a report on the state of the forests in the United States of America and the indicators of national progress toward the goal of sustainable forest management.

This National Report on Sustainable Forests (NRSF) presents a comprehensive assessment of sustainability conditions and trends in forests of the United States. It is produced in response to the United States’ political and institutional commitment to measure, monitor, and report on forest sustainability at national and subnational levels using the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (Robertson et al. 2011).

This is a report on the state of the forests in the United States of America and the indicators of national progress toward the goal of sustainable forest management.

Forests are major components of the earth's natural resources and they are increasingly critical to the welfare of the U.S. economy, environment, and population. Desires to improve forest management and productivity, preserve biodiversity, maintain ecologic integrity, and provide societal services, such as recreation and tourism, necessitate a strong forestry-research base. Given the clear importance of forestry research in sustaining forests for the future, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service asked the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Academies to undertake a study of the nation's capacity in forestry research. The Committee on National Capacity in Forestry Research was appointed to carry out the study, which was conducted to review the current expertise and status of forestry research and to examine the approaches of natural resources education and forestry-research organizations to meet future needs.

In the context of forest sustainability, this book presents the issues related to both global climate change and conservation of biodiversity. It highlights four methodologies and shows how they contribute in overcoming the ecological challenges facing our world. The practical experience presented can be applied to the implementation of successful sustainable forestry policies.