USDA Forest Service
Government AdministrationDistrict of Columbia, United States10001+ Employees
The United States Forest Service is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, encompassing 193 million acres. It uses an ecosystem-based approach to natural resource management, balancing ecological, economic, and social factors to sustain forests, rangelands, and aquatic ecosystems. The service operates through major divisions, including the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and the Research and Development branch. Its mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands for present and future generations. Based in Washington, D.C., the agency leads federal conservation efforts, overseeing protection, management, and use of these lands and their resources through land and resource management plans that seek to restore biodiversity and ecological productivity to support recreation, water, timber, minerals, fish, wildlife, wilderness, and aesthetics.