The Forest Research Laboratory (FRL) is Oregon’s original research agency designed to help solve problems, create opportunities, and develop new understanding and innovation about forest ecosystems, forest management and forest-derived renewable materials; its director is the dean of Oregon State University’s College of Forestry. Established by the Oregon Legislature in 1941, the program is supported by state and federal appropriations and by research grants from public and private sources (see Oregon Revised Statute 526.225).

In November 2013, the College launched the Institute for Working Forest Landscapes (IWFL) to focus FRL research programs on innovative approaches for managing landscapes that will enhance people’s lives and improve the health of our lands, businesses and vital ecosystems. The IWFL will develop adaptive forest management techniques that integrate social, ecological, and economic objec­tives at the landscape level. 

In addition to research in campus laboratories and university forests, studies are conducted cooperatively in public and private forests and in laboratories and manufacturing facilities throughout Oregon and the world.

Faculty, staff, and students from the College of Forestry’s Departments of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management; Forest Ecosystems and Society; and Wood Science and Engineering contribute to a diverse portfolio of fundamental and applied research and outreach activities. Activities benefit from collaboration with many other departments and colleges at Oregon State and elsewhere. Communication of results to science peers, land managers, policy makers, and the public is a high priority.

The FRL, the Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service, the Corvallis-based Forest and Rangelands Ecosystem Science Center of the U.S. Geological Service, and related research conducted elsewhere on campus combine to form the largest concentration of forest sciences research in North America.