National Woodland Owner Survey: A survey of the Forest Inventory and Analysis program

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the Forest Service conducts the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) to quantify:

• Who owns the forests of the United States,
• Why the forests are owned,
• How the forests are used, and
• What the intended future uses of the forests are.

The NWOS serves as the social complement to the biophysical forest inventories and economic mill surveys FIA conducts to provide a thorough view of the nation’s forests.