Pacific Southwest Research Station

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Science that makes a difference.

The Pacific Southwest Research Station is a world leader in natural resources research through our scientific excellence and responsiveness to the needs of current and future generations.

We represent the research and development branch of the USDA Forest Service in the states of California and Hawaii and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands. Our primary work occurs in California (the most populous state with the fifth largest economy in the world) and Hawaii (a strategic location in the Pacific Rim economies and tourism). Our mission is to develop and communicate science needed to sustain forest ecosystems and their benefits to society.

Boy tends garden. Forest Service employees help boys' gardens grow - In an on-going partnership with Progress Ranch, a youth home in Davis, Calif., six Forest Service employees from the Pacific Southwest Research Station and State and Private Forestry recently worked with five boys on their community garden project. The boys, ages 8 to 12, made name plates for their garden plots, pulled weeds from raised beds, filled wheel barrows with compost, planted vegetables and spread mulch. During the process, they learned about soil fertility, how different vegetables will grow and drip irrigation. The employees, who work in Davis, also held a bake sale and raised more than $300 for the project. Two local nurseries also donated plants.

Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps team members planting native species in Pu‘u Wa'awa'a. (Photo: Elliott Parsons) Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry honored for work with youth - The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) will receive a 2013 Site of the Year Award from Kupu, a Honolulu, Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit community organization, for its conservation education work with Hawaiian youth. IPIF has hosted members from Kupu's Hawaiʻi Youth Conservation Corps (HYCC) and AmeriCorps programs for the past three years. [Read the full news release]

U.S. Forest Service and partners fund edible forest project in Richmond, Calif. Urban youth in Richmond, Calif. will get more opportunities to spend time outdoors and learn about plants and trees, thanks to a $30,000 Forest Service grant and a $93,000 matching partner contribution, which will fund the Richmond Edible Forest project.

The money will be used to provide conservation education to 700 underserved youth through field trips, camping excursions, and opportunities to install three edible forests or gardens in Richmond parks and school areas. The project is a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station, Urban Tilth, and the City of Richmond. [Read the full news release]

Devils Postpile columnal basalt formation. Air pollution diminishing air quality at Devils Postpile National Monument—Air pollution from wildland fires and urban and agricultural areas in California is diminishing air quality at Devils Postpile National Monument, according to a recent study published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. [Read the full news release]

Sources and Science: A Guide to Experts at the Pacific Southwest Research Station

The Pacific Southwest (PSW) Research Station carries out the research and development mission of the USDA Forest Service in California, Hawaii, and the U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands. From the southern chaparral, montane Sierra Nevada, and coastal redwood ecosystems of California, across the ocean to the tropical wet and dry forests of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, our scientists and professionals are dedicated to enhancing knowledge of complex natural resource issues and communicating this knowledge to society.

Browse this inaugural edition of our "experts guide" to meet our researchers, discover the diversity of the scientific work that we do, and see how our science is making a difference—today and tomorrow.

Missed it when it was new? Browse the What's New archive.

Cover image PSW Research Accomplishments 2012 Eng, Sherri; Heavey, Caitlin; Sullivan, Michael. 2013. PSW Research Accomplishments 2012. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 19 p.

Cover image psw-gtr-233 Godfrey, Anthony. 2013. The search for forest facts: a history of the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1926–2000. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-233. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 542 p.

Cover image psw-gtr-239 McDonald, Philip M.; Lahore, Lona F. 2013. Life in Challenge Mills, Yuba County, California, 1875–1915, with emphasis on its people, homes, and businesses. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-239. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 55 p.

Global Climate Change

Pacific Southwest Global Change - Learn about climate change research and related activities conducted by scientists at the PSW Research Station.
Scientists talking about climate change - Video topics emphasize information of interest to wildland managers and others who want an understanding of the interaction among climate change, forests, wildfire, water supplies, fish and wildlife, and associated values, and the implications for wildland management.
Pacific Southwest Research Station and Region 5 Sustainable Operations Survey Report - Read the results of our sustainable operations survey. Current participation in sustainable operations efforts and ideas for increasing success are presented. For more information contact Pat Winter pwinter@fs.fed.us.