http://www.fs.fed.us/research/
Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D) funds research and employs over 60 people in
Washington through its Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW). Staffs are located in three locations:
Olympia, Seattle, and Wenatchee. PNW research informs the management of Washington’s large and diverse forest resource which ranges from west-side Douglas-fir forests to the east-side pine/fir forests and hardwood species in valleys and slopes. Long-term research in Washington is conducted on three experimental forests: Entiat, Olympic, and Wind River.
Washington Funding History
FY 2013
Enacted ($)
FY 2014
Enacted ($)
FY 2015
Budget ($)
Olympia Forestry Sciences Laboratory. Programs include
Ecological Process and Function; Land and Watershed
Management; Focused Science Delivery; and Threat
Characterization and Management.
Seattle (Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory). Programs include Goods, Services, and Values; Resource Monitoring and
Assessment; and Threat Characterization and Management.
Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Laboratory. Programs include
Ecological Process and Function; Land and Watershed
Management; and Threat Characterization and Management.
WASHINGTON TOTAL
$2,607,149 $2,753,046 $2,608,584
1,797,607
1,819,095
1,898,201 1,798,596
1,920,893 1,820,097
$6,223,851 $6,572,140 $6,227,277
Workshop participants map priority areas as part of the Human
Ecology Mapping Project. Photo by Renee Bodine.
Pacific Northwest Research Station Overview
Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, PNW’s mission is to generate and communicate scientific knowledge that helps solve problems and inform choices about challenging natural resource management issues. The station is organized into five science programs with personnel in the three Pacific Northwest states we serve. In collaboration with a suite of partners, we deliver interdisciplinary solutions to critical natural resource problems.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget is $38,173,000 of which $13,107,000 is for annualized Forest
Inventory and Analysis. In addition, $4,082,000 is provided for National Fire Plan research. PNW will also receive a competitive share of the national amount of $6,914,000 for the Joint Fire Science
Program.
FY 2015 Program Changes
The President’s Budget includes a station decrease of $2,114,000 from the FY 2014
Enacted. The proposed level will sustain many of the current programs.
FY 2013 Key Accomplishments:
 The interactive Human Ecology Mapping
Project revealed human connections to forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Mapping human connections to forests helps land managers anticipate recreation, subsistence, and economic needs. Using a Web-based tool and community workshops, the project displayed the diversity of recreation, cultural, historical, and economic connections held by a variety of agencies, tribes, and residents.
 The Green-Duwamish Watershed joined the national Urban Waters Federal Partnership network. Dedicated to connecting urban communities and their waterways, the partnership collaborates with existing community stewardship efforts, with goals of

creating local jobs, providing residents with new skills, and protecting human health.
 The timing of prescribed burns is critical to minimizing the potential of severe wildfires.
Researchers found that repeated burns in the fall or spring do not affect ponderosa pine growth in eastern Washington but do reduce fuel loads. Consequently, forest managers in the region can implement prescribed burns in these seasons to reduce the risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfires without negatively impacting ponderosa pine growth.
 Researchers examined changes in land use and housing density across Washington between
1976 and 2006. The state population increased by 2.5 million people, leading to the loss of 1.16 million acres of forest and farm land to residential and urban land uses.
Priority Research in Washington
Forest Service R&D priority research areas build on existing local and regional research to solve problems important to the American people.
Priority research activities in Washington include:
Forest Disturbance: Management of forest ecosystems to sustain desired benefits requires knowledge of how forests change over time in response to natural disturbances and management activities. A study of two recently harvested forest sites in western Washington and
Oregon showed that logging debris boosted seedling stem growth because it reduced competing vegetation and increased the availability of soil water and nutrients. Forest managers and the Washington Department of
Natural Resources use this research to plan for biomass energy harvesting, animal damage control, and wildfire hazard reduction.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA): The FIA program provides current conditions and recent trends on public and private forest land in the
United States. Forest inventory allows America to see how its forests are changing over time, which has direct bearing on the availability of forest resources for commodity production, carbon management and climate change, and a variety of ecosystem services including species habitats and water availability.
Watershed Management and Restoration: With a growing population competing for a finite supply of fresh water, sustaining healthy watersheds to protect the nation’s water supply is critical to the social and economic well-being of the United
States. Japanese knotweed is invasive and can spread aggressively along rivers, reducing native riparian plant diversity. Researchers found that herbicide applications successfully reduced the cover of the invasive knotweed, but resulted in increased occurrence of other exotic invaders.
Noxious weed control programs use this information to achieve restoration objectives.
Localized Needs Research in Washington
Focusing on critical regional and local research issues, PNW provides research results and tools and technologies including:
Wildlife Habitat: Elk are valued both as watchable wildlife and as a game species. Their populations are highly managed to effectively retain them on the landscape. PNW scientists developed models for elk nutrition and habitat use in western
Washington. These models will help managers evaluate the nutritional and habitat conditions of west-side landscapes and how elk use these landscapes. The models also project the effects of land management activities, like road closures and forest thinning, on elk. The FS Region 6
Regional Forester and Oregon BLM State Director recommended use of the models as “best available science” in project and land-use planning.
FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (FS R&D) is a world leader in innovative science for sustaining global forest resources for future generations. Research findings and products benefit forest and rangeland managers, and everyone who uses goods or services from forests. We operate five research stations that encompass all 50 states, the Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, Wisconsin, and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry located in Puerto Rico. Our researchers and support personnel are located at 67 field sites throughout the United States.
We also maintain 80 experimental forests and ranges across the Nation. Our unique ability to integrate science and decision making and to work across boundaries between public, private, and tribal lands through strong partnerships advances the Agency’s three core themes of restoration, communities, and fire.
The FS R&D program has two components: Priority Research Areas and Strategic Program Areas. The Priority Research Areas address urgent needs in seven areas: Forest Disturbance, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Watershed Management and Restoration, Bioenergy and
Biobased Products, Urban Natural Resources Stewardship, Nanotechnology, and Localized Needs Research (region-specific needs). The
Strategic Program Areas (SPAs) are the long-term programs from which Priority Research Areas are funded. The seven SPAs are: Wildland
Fire and Fuels; Invasive Species; Recreation; Resource Management and Use; Water, Air, and Soil; Wildlife and Fish; and Inventory and
Monitoring.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget includes $275,315,000 for Forest and Rangeland Research, $19,795,000 for the FS R&D National Fire Plan, and
$6,914,000 for the Joint Fire Science Program.