The Resources Planning Act Assessment is a congressionally mandated, recurring assessment of renewable resources across all U.S. forests and rangelands, established to ensure America’s competitiveness in natural resource industries.

The 2020 Assessment provides a summary of current U.S. forest and rangeland condition and trends on all ownerships; identifies economic, social, and biophysical drivers of change; and projects the effects of those drivers on resource availability and condition 50 years into the future. This assessment explores a range of possible futures for U.S. renewable natural resources with a set of future scenarios. Its authors also use alternative future scenarios to analyze the effects of human and environmental influences on forests and rangelands, including population growth, domestic and global economic growth, land use change, and climate change.

Download the 2020 Resource Planning Act Assessment

NEW! A paper summarizing recent trends and future projections of U.S. forests using results from the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment. Findings show that, while total forest area is expected to change only modestly, where forests are located and how they function will shift substantially. Population growth and land development are the primary drivers of forest loss, especially in the South, while climate change is increasingly affecting wildfires, drought, and water availability. These combined pressures are expected to fragment habitats, reduce interior forest cover, and alter the ecosystem services forests provide, with important implications for management and policy.

NEW! The 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment Interactive Data Explorer provides dynamic, easy-to-use maps and dashboards that visualize key data regarding the trends and projections of the nation’s forests and rangelands. This tool allows users to explore spatial and temporal patterns of resources, assess potential challenges, and make informed decisions about the future of forests and rangelands. By offering interactive visualizations, this platform supports better planning and policy development without requiring raw data downloads.