Frozen Ground became the official News Bulletin of the International Permafrost Association in December 1989. It was preceded by five numbered newsletters between May 1986 and April 1989 that were prepared and distributed by the IPA Secretary General J. Ross Mackay. The early history and evolution the IPA is recorded in these newsletters. The first formal issue of Frozen Ground assumed the No. 6 followed by two issues of the News Bulletin annually until 1997. From 1997-2009 a single, printed annual issue was prepared. Starting in 2010, Frozen Ground was prepared and distributed in electronic format by the IPA Secretariats, in part to save on labor and mailing costs. The compilation and production of Frozen Ground varied and credits are found in each issue.

Starting in 2013 the IPA began publishing the Annual Country Reports in a separate publication that is available as a compiled PDF and includes the U.S. annual reports.