Forest Operations Engineering and Management became an autonomous IUFRO body after the 1948 IUFRO World Congress, held in Zurich, Switzerland. It was then called

• Section 32 "Operational Efficiency" until 1972, when its name changed to
• Section 32 "Forest Operations and Techniques".

After the 1971 IUFRO World Congress, held in Gainsville, USA, it became

• Division 3 "Forest Operations and Techniques", which changed to
• Division 3 "Forest Operations " after the 2000 World Congress.

Division’s 3 brand should automatically „activate links“ to the broader scientific community. Division 3 was therefore renamed to

• Division 3 "Forest Operations Engineering and Management",

which emphasizes the relations to Industrial Engineering and Management, or Operations Engineering and Management, respectively.

A powerpoint file, giving more background information on the history of IUFRO and the 2006 reorganization process is available for download (link to ppt document, about 1.7 MB).