Forest Management Service Center
Highlights
The Forest Management Service Center (FMSC) is a sub-unit of the Forest Management Staff of the Washington Office. Our offices are located in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the Natural Resources Research Center. The FMSC was created as the Mensuration, Systems Development, and Data Processing Section in 1976 to support the technical and quantitative aspects of the National Forest System Timber Management Program. The name was changed in 1997 to better reflect Forest Service policy shifts on the approach to forest management, including a better understanding of composition, structure, and function in the management of the national forests. This shift led to creating partnerships with research and other groups to incorporate the role of disturbance agents (fire, insects, and disease), wildlife habitat, canopy cover, and structure, utilization of small diameter trees, biomass estimation, and carbon accounting. In 2012, the FMSC was expanded to include the contracts and appraisals group, Timber Information Manager (TIM), Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS), web management, and other services for Forest Management.
The FMSC includes the following groups:
Biometrics
The Biometrics group provides products and technical support for forest vegetation modeling and forest product measurement to the National Forests and our partners. This includes:
- Efficient, consistent, and practical tools for field use within a common framework
- Technology transfer and support to field units through project-ready applications
- Technical assistance for development and implementation of policy and handbook direction
- Business support for the sale of forest products
- Analyses for special projects
Many of the functions served by the Biometrics Group are in support of timber sale contracts and forest and project level planning. The Biometrics group consists of two sub groups.
Forest Vegetation Simulator
The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) is the USDA Forest Service’s nationally supported framework ensuring consistency among forests in vegetation growth and yield modeling. In addition to training and support, other responsibilities include adapting FVS to new areas, model maintenance, enhancement, testing, validation, and connection to other corporate software.
Forest Products Measurement
The Forest Products Measurements group coordinates biometric activities for the national forests supporting the Forest Service’s forest product sales program. Our primary responsibilities are developing and applying practical and efficient methods of timber cruising, scaling, volume estimation, and area determination that are accurate, consistent, and defensible.
Timber Sale Administration and Appraisals
The Timber Sale Administration and Appraisals group provides technical support to the Agency, Regions and Forests for Forest Products Financial Administration (FPFA), Timber Sale and Forest Products Appraisals, Timber Sale and Forest Products Contracting and Sale Administration (Timber Sale Preparation, Timber Sale Contracts and Permits, Timber Sale Administration), and Suspension and Debarment.
Natural Resource Manager
The Team Leads for the Natural Resource Manager (NRM) Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS) and Timber Information Manager (TIM) applications are stationed in Fort Collins with the Forest Management Service Center.