One response to earlier concerns about insufficiently frequent forest surveys was much- more frequent publication of forest inventory results. For example, forest inventory information for each of the states falling within the area of responsibility of the USFS North Central Experiment Station is now published annually. Unfortunately, the information contained in these reports is far less extensive than that contained in the less frequently published reports. Sawlog volumes and growth rates, for instance, are nowhere to be found in the annual reports.

 

Now enter planning for forests centered on the issue of forest sustainability. Recently published forest sustainability criteria and indicators (see next section) is the beginning of a new era in forest monitoring that will require ongoing measurement of dozens of new parameters examining trends in flora and fauna, soil conditions, forest carbon, and so on. Careful planning will be needed to ensure that collection of such data is sufficiently accurate to effectively inform management decisions and public policy, while also maintaining and improving the accuracy of the kinds of data that is already collected.

 

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