Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA)
Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA)
This long-term monitoring program maintains a comprehensive inventory of forest and rangeland conditions.
Valuable data on forests to inform management, policy and research
The FIA annual inventory delivers objective, scientifically robust data on the extent, condition, volume, growth, depletion and health of forest resources, while tracking changes over time. This information provides researchers, policymakers, consultants, private industry, landowners and natural resource professionals with a clearer understanding of current forest conditions and emerging trends across Colorado and the nation.
Data from the FIA program is the primary source of information used to assess the condition and trends of America’s forests.
Benefits of the annual inventory system
- Provides comprehensive data on forest cover, tree species composition, wood volume, tree health and related attributes
- Establishes a reliable baseline for measuring changes in forest conditions over time
- Supports long-term analysis by enabling consistent data collection, allowing correlations with other time-series datasets such as temperature and precipitation
The U.S. Forest Service partners with state agencies
To reduce the administrative and logistical demands of conducting such a comprehensive, wide-ranging survey, the U.S. Forest Service partners with state agencies and private contractors to implement the FIA program.
Since the late 1990s, the USFS has collaborated with the Colorado State Forest Service to carry out and continuously update a comprehensive inventory of forest and rangeland conditions.
CSFS leads the FIA program in Colorado and across most of Wyoming
To reduce the administrative and logistical demands of conducting such a comprehensive, wide-ranging survey, the USDA Forest Service partners with state agencies and private contractors to implement the FIA program. Since the late 1990s, the USFS has collaborated with the Colorado State Forest Service to carry out and continuously update a comprehensive inventory of forest and rangeland conditions.
Colorado and Wyoming are the first states in the Rocky Mountain Region where leadership of the FIA program has been assumed by a state agency. In this region, the program is funded by the USFS and implemented in the field by CSFS personnel.
Sample plots are randomly selected across all land ownership types to assess current forest health conditions, including in rural and urban areas of the state.
Private landowners help foresters monitor nationwide forest health
Each spring, private forest landowners receive letters from the CSFS requesting access to their property to collect essential data on forest health conditions in Colorado and Wyoming.
Landowners fill out an Access Permission Form to grant access. All sampling is conducted from the ground, with data for each plot typically collected in a single day. Landowner information is kept confidential and is not included in the FIA database.
Join the FIA program!
Do you enjoy spending time outdoors? Do you want to make a difference for the natural world? The CSFS routinely hires FIA crew leaders and crew members in the winter and spring.