U.S. Forest Service
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The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is a federal agency tasked with overseeing national forests and grasslands. These areas comprised 193 million acres in 44 states and Puerto Rico as of 2014. The Forest Service also serves as a forestry research organization and is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.[1]
In fiscal year 2022, the agency employed the equivalent of 31,147 full-time employees. The fiscal year 2022 budget for the agency totaled $15.4 billion.[2]
History
In 1876, Congress formed a special office within the Department of Agriculture to assess all U.S. forests. In 1881, the office became the Division of Forestry, a predecessor to the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized the president to designate federal land as forest reserves, which came to be called national forests. Initially, the Department of the Interior assumed responsibility for forest reserves. In 1905, authority over these reserves was transferred to the newly created Forest Service, which was formed under the Department of Agriculture.[3]
Structure
Administrative State |
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Mission
The Forest Service's mission statement is as follows:[2]
" | Our mission at the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.[4] | ” |
—U.S. Forest Service |
Function
The Forest Service is charged with the following general responsibilities:[5]
- Protection and management of the lands and resources that comprise the National Forest System
- Research in areas such as "forestry, rangeland and watershed management; fish and wildlife conservation; social sciences; and forest resource utilization"
- Assistance to private landowners, state and local government agencies, businesses and other organizations in the protection and management of non-federal forest, range and watershed lands
- Advisory to public and private entities to "improve conditions in wildland/urban interfaces and rural areas"
- Wildfire prevention and management
- Policy development "for the protection and sound management of forest resources throughout the world."
Staff
The chief of the U.S. Forest Service is a career federal employee appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Randy Moore is the chief of the U.S. Forest Service, as of February 2024. For a listing of current staff, see this website.
Regional offices
The table below lists the regional offices of the Forest Service as of February 2024.[6]
Regional offices of the Forest Service | |||
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Office | Address | Phone number | Website |
Alaska Region (R10) | PO Box 21628 709 W. 9th Street Juneau, AK 99802-1628 |
(907) 586-8806 | Link |
Eastern Region (R9) | 626 East Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53202 |
(414) 297-3600 | Link |
Intermountain Region (R4) | Federal Building 324 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 |
(801) 625-5605 | Link |
Northern Region (R1) | 26 Fort Missoula Road Missoula, MT 59804 |
(406) 329-3511 | Link |
Pacific Northwest Region (R6) | 1220 SW 3rd Ave. Portland, OR 97204 |
(503) 808-2468 | Link |
Pacific Southwest Region (R5) | 1323 Club Drive Vallejo, CA 94592 |
(707) 562-8737 | Link |
Rocky Mountain Region (R2) | 1617 Cole Boulevard, Building 17 Lakewood, CO 80401 |
(303) 275-5350 | Link |
Southern Region (R8) | 1720 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, GA 30309 |
(404) 347-4400 | Link |
Southwestern Region (R3) | 333 Broadway SE Albuquerque, NM 87102 |
(505) 842-3292 | Link |
Source: U.S. Forest Service, "Regional Offices," accessed February 27, 2024 |
Budget and finance
The table below summarizes Forest Service appropriations and its equivalent of full-time employees for fiscal years 2021-224 (estimated).[2]
Forest Service appropriations and FTEs, FY 2021-2024 ($ in thousands) | ||
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Fiscal year | Appropriations | FTEs |
FY 2021 | $8,565,672 | 29,254 |
FY 2022 | $15,424,466 | 31,147 |
FY 2023 | $9,761,711 | 30,671 |
FY 2024 (estimated) | $10,364,884 | 37,441 |
Sources: U.S. Forest Service, "Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Justification," accessed February 27, 2024 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms U.S. Forest Service. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Forest Service, "How We Operate," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 U.S. Forest Service, "Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Justification," accessed February 27, 2024
- ↑ U.S. Forest Service, "Our History," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Forest Service, "What We Do," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Forest Service, "Regional Offices," accessed February 27, 2024
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