Forest Inventory and Analysis Strategic Plan

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program has been reporting on the status, condition, and trends of the Nation’s forests for more than 80 years. As a central research component of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, FIA provides information that assists resource managers, policymakers, investors, and the general public in making informed decisions. The 1998 Farm Bill directed the Forest Service to reevaluate its approach to statewide forest inventories under the FIA program, transitioning from periodic surveys to annual sampling of all States and posting the information on the Internet.  In 1998, working with partners, FIA developed a new strategic plan to carry out the new congressional mandate of the 1998 Farm Bill. The plan presented here meets the requirements of the 2014 Farm Bill to formulate a new strategic plan for FIA and deliver it to Congress.  The plan provides an overview of the FIA program and how it addresses the needs of the diverse communities that the program serves.