Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Its task is promoting the best use of forestland. It manages about 190 million acres (77 million hectares) of national forests and other lands.
Forest Service rangers try to protect these forests against insects, disease, and overcutting. The rangers preserve wildlife and supervise grazing. They see that no more timber is cut in any one year than a single year’s growth can replace. They keep a cover of plants on sloping land to guard against rapid soil erosion and floods. The rangers also supervise camping and picnic areas, and keep up a system of lookout stations, telephone lines, two-way radio communication, and roads and trails. They often help to rescue people who are lost or injured.
The agency cooperates with state and local governments and private landowners. For example, it advises and assists them in protecting and planting forests.
The agency carries on research programs at a network of regional experimental stations and at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. It conducts research on tropical forests at an institute in Puerto Rico. It also conducts research projects at sites throughout the United States. Founded as the Bureau of Forestry, the agency became the Forest Service in 1905.
