Established as Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906, the Forest Research Institute Dehradun, was first situated at Chandhbagh on the Mall Road. A much larger campus at the present location was acquired ca 1923. Construction of the new buildings commenced thereafter. Styled in Greco-Roman Architecture by C.G. Blomfield, the main building was inaugurated in 1929 by then Viceroy Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon. It is now a National Heritage site. Forest Research Institute Dehradun is among the oldest institutions of its kind and acclaimed the world over. The institute's history is virtually synonymous with the evolution and development of scientific forestry, not only in India, but over the entire sub-continent. Built over 450 hectares, with the outer Himalaya forming its back drop, the institute's main building combines Greco-Roman and Colonial styles of architecture, with a plinth area of 2.5 hectares. The building was listed for a time, in the Guinness Book of Records, as the largest purely brick structure in the world. The institute has a developed infrastructure of all equipped laboratories, library, herbarium, arboreta, printing press and experimental field areas for conducting forestry research, quite in keeping with the best of its kind anywhere in the world. It is 7 km from Clock Tower, on the Dehradun-Chakrata motorable road. It is the biggest forest based training institute in India. Most of the forest officers are a part of this institute. The FRI's building also houses a Botanical Museum and there are many different kind of trees from around the world.
Location
campus is a census town, between Kaulagarh in the north and the Indian Military Academy to the south. The Tons River forms its Western Boundary.
Training facility
Within its campus, it hosts Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, which is a separate organization of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests. It also hosts the Central Academy for State Forest Services. The Wildlife Institute of India was on campus but now has moved to Chandrabani, and is an independent organization under MoEF. IIFM is an independent autonomous organization of MoEF and has good liaisons with FRI for forestry research and related activities. Presently IIM Kashipur running its executive management course on weekends for working person in this campus. The deemed university of FRI runs four MSc courses viz. Cellulose & Paper Technology, Environment Management, Forestry Management, Wood Science Technology and two P.G.Diploma courses in Natural Resource Management and Aroma Technology. It also enrolls a large number of research scholars every year for Ph.D.
Museum
The museum is open from 9:30am to 5:00pm daily. There is an entry fee of ₹40 per person and a nominal entry fee for vehicles. There are six sections in the museum: