Since 1998, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has worked in partnership with the USDA
Forest Service to support the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. As the Nation’s forest census, FIA researches
and reports forest status and trends in the United States. Our group provides operations research to support decision-making
within FIA by developing problem-solving techniques to optimize the storage, delivery, analysis, and display of forest inventory
data. The support we provide helps to ensure that information about the health and productivity of our Nation’s forests is
both timely and accurate. This enables policymakers, land stewards and non-governmental groups to base decisions and assessments
related to the health, diversity, and productivity of U.S. forests and grasslands on scientifically credible information.
The partnership between FIA and UNLV has resulted in important accomplishments toward FIA’s program goal to improve information
management efficiency. UNLV has been pivotal in supporting FIA’s vision to provide complete, current, consistent, and credible
data to Forest Service clients. UNLV staff have likewise benefited from this partnership by utilizing national experts in
strategic annual forest inventories to enhance its pool of expertise in information management. It has also provided internships
for students to gain hands-on experience and professional development.
Our mission is to provide optimal, creative, and responsive information technology solutions for the USDA Forest Service and its partners through data management support, optimal information management solutions for the storage and display of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, analytical tool development, data structure maintenance, and project management. We also support UNLV’s mission by promoting community and well-being through education and research and by fostering a climate of innovation and diversity.
Since our earliest cooperative agreement with the Forest Service in 1998, our group has grown in both size and diversity. We have employed over 80 people since 1998, including over 30 student interns, many of whom were hired post-graduation as full-time employees. Our staff have come with degrees from various disciplines, including Forestry, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Soil Science, Geoscience, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Agricultural Science, Freshwater Ecology, Marine Biology, Zoology, Physics, Chemical Engineering, and Cybersecurity. Our team remains dedicated to our core commitment of providing optimal, creative, and responsive solutions for the Forest Service and its partners.
Our staff at UNLV works in partnership with the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) National Operations Team to optimize and standardize the use of analytical tools and data structure maintenance. We collaborate with FIA staff on a variety of data management and data delivery system projects and co-tasks.