SUMMARY: The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program of the U.S. Forest Service is a long‑term, national research and monitoring effort focusing on the health of forest ecosystems over time. The U.S. Forest Service cooperates with State forestry and agricultural agencies to conduct FHM activities. This is an interagency program that is designed to assist resource managers and policy makers in managing forest resources in the United States, allocating funds for research and development, and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental policies. FHM national reporting includes an annual national report that presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation Monitoring projects funded through the national FHM Program. I serve as the lead editor of this annual report and provide research chapters annually.

PROGRESS: The FHM annual national report is prepared in cooperation with various federal and university contributors. More than 550 copies of the report are sent to leaders throughout the Forest Service, both in the Washington Office and in all three branches of the agency (i.e., Research, State and Private Forestry, and the National Forest System), as well as to leaders in state forest health agencies across the country.

LINKS:

FHM Annual National Reports

• “Annual Forest Health Checkup“
• “Annual Report Keeps a Finger on the Pulse of U.S. Forest Health“