This month the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) will initiates the second-ever inventory of the forests of U.S. Virgin Islands. The survey begins on the island of St. John and continues an effort to measure and monitor the public and private forest lands of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "Our goal is to help residents, legislators and agencies understand the uniqueness of island ecosystems and the significant ecological changes that they have been experiencing recently," said Tom Brandeis, forest researcher with the SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis program. "With better information, resource managers can take steps to reinforce desirable trends and mitigate undesirable trends."