Using Resources Planning Act Assessment Data
The Resources Planning Act Assessment presents the current state and future outlook of our nation's renewable forest and rangeland resources. The 1974 legislation envisioned these Assessments as the scientific foundation for evaluating the sufficiency and success of existing forest and rangeland management policies and agency programs and for developing agency-wide strategic plans and budget proposals.
Results from the Assessment inform policies, management decisions, and other scientific efforts. They form the basis of statistics for official international reporting, and support partner activities, and provide sound science for addressing high priority issues in land management planning and risk-based strategic decision-making. Assessment results also facilitate partnerships and collaborative relationships centered on conservation, recreation, and restoration.
Below are resources to help you identify, understand, and locate useful and relevant data for use in different applications.
2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment Interactive Data Explorer
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.
Resources Planning Act - Land Management Planning Data Catalog
The Forest Service develops land management plans for all national forests and grasslands under the guidance of the Forest Service Planning Rule as required by the National Forest Management Act. The 2012 Planning Rule outlines 15 topics that must be assessed by each national forest during planning and explicitly points to the RPA Assessment as a source of relevant information. The Resources Planning Act Assessment team partnered with planning staff to simplify use of and access to Assessment data by creating a user-friendly catalog that links Assessment data with specific Planning Rule directives, making it easier for forest planners to locate and use resource trend and projection information.
Data Quick Reference Guides
These guides list out of all the 2020 Resources Planning Act Assessment data, including both current and recent past and future projection data. Select the guide for a resource area of interest to obtain a list of available data products, as well as basic information about each dataset including units, spatial/temporal scale and resolution, and examples of use. Locations of data downloads are provided where available, and contact information is provided where data is not yet currently accessible to the public.
- Land Resources
- Forest Resources
- Forest Product Markets
- Rangeland Resources
- Water Resources
- Biodiversity Resources
- Recreation Resources
- Disturbances
- Wildland Urban Interface
- Climate
- Socioeconomic Information
National Forest System analysis
To foster improved collaboration with the National Forest System, Chapter 13 of the Update to the 2010 Resources Planning Act Assessment provided regional analyses of the Assessment resource trends for the Northern and Southwestern Regions. In addition, Assessment trends and projections have been incorporated into the recently-developed Wayne National Forest and the National Forests and Grasslands of Texas forest plan assessments, a rangeland monitoring and modeling strategy on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, and a risk assessment for an Southern Region Restoration Rapid Assessment Tool planning effort.
Below are descriptions of and links to projects and other efforts that have drawn upon information from the Assessment.
Forest Resources Report
Forest Inventory and Analysis produces a report every five years that contains information on the status, condition, and trends in the nation’s forest resources. These reports are released in advance of every decadal Assessment and mid-cycle update, and include "an analysis of present and anticipated uses, demand for, and supply of the renewable resources, with consideration of the international resource situation, and an emphasis of pertinent supply, demand and price relationships trends."
Forest Inventory and Analysis
The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the Forest Service provides the information needed to assess America's forests. These reports on the status of and trends in forest area and location; on the species, size, and health of trees; on total tree growth, mortality, and removals by harvest; on wood production and utilization rates by various products; and on forest land ownership. This data supports trend and projection analyses for a variety of resource areas covered in the Assessment.
Southern Forest Futures Project
The Southern Forest Futures Project forecasts changes in southern forests under various scenarios in an effort to inform land management strategies, policy discussions, and program decisions with the clearest understanding of the potential long-term implications of changes to forests within the 13 southern states. The project uses the forecasting models developed for the Resources Planning Act Assessment and develops more specific implications for the South within the context of the scientific literature for a subset of Assessment scenarios. The project presents a range of plausible futures, or scenarios, of the South’s forests based on a variety of influences such as urbanization, bioenergy, climate change, land ownership changes, and invasive species. These forecasts provide a foundation for examining several broad “meta-issues” affecting southern forests, including fire, bioenergy, water supply, and wildlife.
Northern Forest Futures Project
The Northern Forest Futures Project, similar to the Southern Forests Futures Project effort that inspired this project, uses the Resources Planning Act Assessment modeling framework to forecast changes in 20 northern states under various scenarios. The goal of the project is to forecast how known and emerging natural resource and societal trends will alter the character of tomorrow’s forests, and how the resulting changes will alter the ability of forests to contribute to the wellbeing of people and communities. This information can be used by forest owners, managers, and other decisionmakers to guide the sustainable management of public and private forests in the northern U.S. The project draws on data from numerous sources to analyze 13 scenarios that consider future forest change in response to assumptions about land-use change, economic change, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, forest growth, forest harvest, and other factors.
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act Appraisal
The Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act Appraisal documents the current status and trends of soil, water, and related natural resources; the capability of these resources to meet current and projected demands; the effects of regulations, policies, and programs on these resources; and the costs and benefits of conservation measures applied under USDA conservation programs and alternative conservation approaches. The purpose of the Act is to ensure that USDA programs for the conservation of soil, water, and related resources are responsive to the nation's long-term needs. The Appraisal is developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and provides a useful counterpart to the Resources Planning Act Assessment.
Climate Change Resource Center
The Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center provides resources related to climate change, including educational documentation and FAQs; information about climate change adaptation, including examples and planning guidance; tools for land managers seeking to incorporate climate into their decision-making processes; and a library of climate change articles, data, weblinks, videos, and fact sheets. The center provides information and links to aspects of the Resources Planning Act Assessment, along with many other data sources.
Other
The Assessment has fed State Forest Action Plans, national efforts like the National Climate Assessment, and statistics for official international reporting.