Forest Monitoring and Remote Sensing

There is a widespread perception that existing efforts and capabilities for monitoring the management of America's forest resources are failing to meet increasingly complex and large-scale forest management needs. Although new technologies are available, how well have they been exploited by decisionmakers? The report finds that the United States lacks a national and timely forest database; that non-vegetation monitoring remains limited; that the nation's forest management structure impedes efforts to produce more comprehensive and uniform information; and that satellite imagery has not been widely used. Despite these shortcomings, U.S. monitoring practices are equivalent to--or more advanced than--those of other countries with significant forest resources. The authors recommend that U.S. policymakers (1) set clear national forest management priorities; (2) implement mandatory forest monitoring standards across all Forest Service divisions; (3) augment federal funding dedicated to in situ forest monitoring on a national scale; (4) explore nationwide utilization of Thematic Mapper imagery to speed up the forest inventory stratification process; and (5) develop a strategic vision for remote sensing in forestry.