Experimental Forests and Ranges

Photo Credit

Hailey Hester, USDA Forest Service

Click here to view larger map.

The USDA Forest Service has an outstanding scientific resource in the 77 Experimental Forests and Ranges that exist across the United States and its territories. These valuable scientific resources incorporate a broad range of climate conditions, forest and range types, research emphases, and history. The Pacific Northwest Research Station of the Forest Service currently administers the eleven experimental forests and ranges in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. These sites are described here, providing information about history, climate, vegetation, soils, long-term data bases, research history and research products, as well as identifying collaborative opportunities, and providing contact information. 

Forest Service, university, and other scientists conduct basic and applied studies on research themes including forest, stream, and rangeland ecology; hydrology; wildlife; biological diversity; and effects of forest and range management. Long-term data on climate, vegetation change, streamflow, and other site factors document environmental change and support research programs. Some of this work occurs in the context of national and international science networks, such as the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Network and UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program. The Forest Service invites use of these data and the forests and rangelands. For a complete guide to the experimental forests throughout the country, see the publication cited below.