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Indiana
Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D) delivers research to Indiana through the Northern
Research Station (NRS) and its field office in West Lafayette, which employs five people. The Forest Service’s
Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center on the Purdue University campus develops
technologies and forest and nursery management guidelines for improvement of central hardwood forest
productivity. Long-term research in Indiana is conducted on the Paoli Experimental Forest.
Indiana Funding History
West Lafayette-NRS-14 Hardwood Tree Improvement and
Regeneration Center (HTIRC)
INDIANA TOTAL
Enhanced opportunities for these northwest Indiana paddlers
resulted from the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Photo by
Nwipa.org, used with permission.
Northern Research Station Overview
Headquartered at Newtown Square, PA, NRS
develops and delivers leading-edge science and
technology that helps people ensure the longterm health and productivity of rural and urban
landscapes. NRS maintains 24 field locations and
24 experimental forests across 20 states in the
Midwest and Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Iowa,
Maine,
Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget is $50,495,000 of
which $15,718,000 is for annualized Forest
Inventory and Analysis (FIA). In addition,
$2,944,000 is provided for the National Fire Plan
Research. NRS will also receive a competitive
share of the national amount of $9,614,000 for the
Joint Fire Science Program.
FY 2015 Program Changes The President’s Budget
includes a station decrease of $4,126,000 from the
FY 2014 Enacted level. At this level, the NRS will
continue to provide cutting edge research in
FY 2013
Enacted ($)
FY 2014
Enacted ($)
FY 2015
Budget ($)
$896,000
$959,000
$959,000
$896,000
$959,000
$959,000
urban forestry and forest disturbance processes as
well as develop practical tools to enhance forest
productivity and increase production of clean air
and water. The FIA program will continue to
monitor and inventory the nation’s forests to
better inform forest policy development and
provide valuable data to enhance accelerated
forest restoration. NRS will focus on the highest
priority research by eliminating the Northeastern
States Research Cooperative; research on
mycology, long term soil productivity, and riparian
research critical to water quality; and the invasive
species program in MI and CT.
FY 2013 Key Accomplishments
 Worked with Federal partners in the Urban
Waters Federal Partnership to reconnect urban
areas with their waterways in Northwest Indiana.
 Worked as part of an interdisciplinary team
developing Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)-resistant
ash trees for the restoration of ash in urban and
natural landscapes.
 Identified insects and pathogens attacking
stressed walnut trees in Indiana to maintain the
health of this valuable species.
 Supported land managers with development of
the Climate Change Response Framework, an
integrated set of tools, partnerships, and actions
for climate-smart conservation and forest
management.
Priority Research in Indiana
Forest Service R&D priority research areas build on
existing local and regional research to solve issues
important to the American people. Priority
research activities in Indiana include:
Forest Disturbance: As climate changes so will our
forests. We need to understand how to manage
forests to adapt to climate change, including
providing opportunities for new and changing
species mixes, restoring forests and wetlands as
temperatures and rainfall change, controlling
invasive insects and diseases, and reducing the
risk of wildfire. Indiana forest managers can
access current tree and bird distribution maps
and habitat projections under different climate
change scenarios.
Urban Natural Resources Stewardship: With most
people living in urban areas, an emphasis on
science and technology transfer is paramount to
ensure the proper care of natural resources and
the advancement of ecosystem services in urban
and urbanizing landscapes. Communities in
Indiana have improved tools for assessing,
protecting, and managing urban natural
resources through i-Tree software.
Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA): The NRS FIA
program conducts an updated annual inventory
of Indiana’s forest resources in cooperation with
the State Forester and other state organizations.
FIA provides the science-based information
needed by the nation’s leaders to make sound
forest policy decisions and to better understand
forest processes and associated threats to
ecosystem health.
Bioenergy and Biobased Products: America’s
forest resources contribute significantly to energy
security, environmental quality, and economic
opportunity.
Indiana
forest
owners
have
benefited from land management decision-
support tools developed by NRS scientists for
assessing biomass inventory and distribution.
Watershed Management and Restoration: The
availability of clean water is becoming limited in
many parts of the United States, a trend likely to
continue as the population grows. It is important
to understand where water shortages will occur,
to identify how future climate will affect rainfall
and snowfall, and to find ways to reduce water
pollution and to effectively manage and protect
water sources. Conservation practices that
promote Indiana’s water quality can now be
effectively adopted more widely due to research
insights into the factors that influence landowners’
decisions to implement such measures.
Localized Needs Research in Indiana
Focusing on critical regional and local research
issues, NRS provides research results and tools and
technologies including:
Invasive Species: NRS researchers are developing
basic gene insertion techniques to help in the
fight to save the five ash species being killed by
the emerald ash borer throughout the Midwest.
Butternut Restoration: NRS researchers are
propagating and preserving germplasm from
individual butternut trees that are resistant to the
fungal blight that is killing this species throughout
the Northeast and Midwest. In addition, they
have developed genetic tools to evaluate and
understand the genetic diversity and purity of the
remaining native butternuts from forests and in
managed collections.
FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (FS R&D) is a world leader in innovative science for sustaining global forest resources for future
generations. Research findings and products benefit forest and rangeland managers, and everyone who uses goods or services from
forests. We operate five research stations that encompass all 50 states, the Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, Wisconsin, and
the International Institute of Tropical Forestry located in Puerto Rico. Our researchers and support personnel are located at 67 field sites
throughout the United States. We also maintain 80 experimental forests and ranges across the Nation. Our unique ability to integrate
science and decision making and to work across boundaries between public, private, and tribal lands through strong partnerships
advances the Agency’s three core themes of restoration, communities, and fire.
The FS R&D program has two components: Priority Research Areas and Strategic Program Areas. The Priority Research Areas address
urgent needs in seven areas: Forest Disturbance, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Watershed Management and Restoration, Bioenergy and
Biobased Products, Urban Natural Resources Stewardship, Nanotechnology, and Localized Needs Research (region-specific needs). The
Strategic Program Areas (SPAs) are the long-term programs from which Priority Research Areas are funded. The seven SPAs are: Wildland
Fire and Fuels; Invasive Species; Recreation; Resource Management and Use; Water, Air, and Soil; Wildlife and Fish; and Inventory and
Monitoring.
The FY 2015 President’s Budget includes $275,315,000 for Forest and Rangeland Research, $19,795,000 for the FS R&D National Fire Plan, and
$6,914,000 for the Joint Fire Science Program.