Forestry and Agroforestry

The Forestry and Agroforestry activities and practices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are headquartered within the Ecological Sciences Division (ECS).

At the national level the program establishes policies, standards, and procedures for the management, development, conservation protection, and productivity of forests, as well as the planning, establishment, management and utilization of windbreaks and other agroforestry practices on private land.

NRCS and USDA Sponsored Publications

Agroforestry for Farms and Ranches
NRCS Technical Note describing tree and shrub practices in sustained agricultural systems.

Windbreaks
A series of publications designed to aid the private landowner in the use of windbreaks for conservation and improved agricultural production.

Additional Agroforestry Publications
The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) produces the quarterly newsletter Inside Agroforestry, and a series of technical reports called Agroforestry Notes that may be down loaded electronically. NAC also produces a series called Working Trees that provide information on how agroforestry practices can help wildlife, sequester carbon, treat waste, help communities, and improve livestock systems.

• Forestry and Agroforestry
  A reference for forestry and agroforestry information within NRCS, as well as links to other federal, state, and local programs and organizations.

Directories

Links

Final Drip Irrigation Studies

The final reports for the drip irrigation studies at the Highmore Research Station and at the Karl Mundt National Wildlife Refuge (Pickstown) have been produced.  The final reports are a summary of the 20-year studies to determine if a drip irrigation system could increase seedling survival and significantly shorten the length of time required to establish a functional windbreak in South Dakota.

Federal Government Forestry

• National Agroforestry Center (NAC)
  Partnership of the USDA Forest Service, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Works to accelerate the development and application of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable land-use systems.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  Primarily a regulatory agency responsible for enforcing the environmental laws of the United States. Contains a search engine particularly useful for retrieving data about regulations pertaining to forestry.
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission is to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. This site provides a search engine relating forestry to the USFWS mission.
• USDA Forest Service (USFS)
  Federal agency responsible for managing all national forests in the United States. As set forth in the law, the mission of the Forest Service is to achieve quality land management under the sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of the people.
• Forest Incentive Program (FIP)
  A cost share program to assist qualifying landowners with establishing and improving their forests.

State and Local Entities

• National Association of State Foresters
  This is a non-profit organization that represents the directors of the State Forestry agencies from all fifty states, eight U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The web site provides a directory of the State Foresters resource with the addresses, phone numbers, fax and e-mail for each. The State Foresters provide management assistance to private landowners and protection services for over two-thirds of the nation's forests.
• Forestry Media Center
  Forestry Education Materials from the Oregon State University College of Forestry.
• Natural Resources Research Information Pages (NRRIPS)
  Internet resource guide for natural resources students, researchers and practitioners. Maintained by the Department of Forestry at Virginia Tech University.

Organizations

• National Association of Conservation Districts
  Forestry Notes is a newsletter designed to keep Conservation Districts informed on items in forestry from around the country.
• Econet Forest Resources
  Contains numerous links to environmental and conservation groups.
• Forest Net
  Information and links related to the forest products industry.
• Trees for the Future
  A non-profit organization initiating and supporting agroforestry self-help projects in developing countries. These projects protect nearby forests by providing buffer zones. The forest ecology is not disturbed when local peoples can get firewood close to home.

Questions and comments are welcome and encouraged. Please address all correspondence to Gregory Yapp, Resource Conservationist, 605-352-1238.

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