USDA Blog

Access to high-quality water will be a defining feature of the 21 st century. Record heat waves and drought are not only leading to more frequent and intense wildfires but are also putting one of life’s most valuable resources at risk: the water we drink.

I recently decided to go for a walk on a seasonably warm afternoon. I got out of my car at a wooded recreation area and immediately noticed how much cooler the air felt, thanks to the biggest plants on Earth – trees. From my years growing up on and then managing my family’s organic walnut farm I...

During his first visit as Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Dr. Homer Wilkes announced additional funding to combat wildfire in Nevada and California.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest new Supervisor's Office in Rhinelander, Wisc., was re-engineered with "green" features. The use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding helped complete its restoration. Here students from the USDA Forest Service’s Blackwell Job Corps Center help...

I want to thank Avoided Deforestation Partners for holding this event and inviting me to join all of the distinguished speakers here today in urging the adoption of REDD plus as part of a global climate framework.

As we approach the end of the year, millions of Americans are counting their blessings and many are bringing Christmas trees into their homes to celebrate the season. At USDA, the Forest Service helps with the nation’s holiday traditions by providing a tree to be displayed as the Capitol Christmas...

Earlier this year, the President launched the SAVE Award - a program that offers every federal employee to chance to submit their ideas for how government can save money and perform better. In just a few weeks, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received over 38,000 submissions, many of which...

In celebration of American Indian Heritage Month the U.S. Department of Agriculture today reported that there are nearly 80,000 American Indian operators on 61,472 farms and ranches across the United States. This represents an 88-percent increase over the number of American Indian farmers USDA...

It was a moment some felt would never happen – at least not so spontaneously. The two mascots, the Forest Service’s Smokey Bear and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Sammy Soil were amusing adults and children attending the final USDA Farmer’s Market of the year, when they met face to...

All too often Americans hear about wildland fires ravaging various corners of the country. Each and every day there are brave men and women working to suppress and prevent wildland fires on a nearly 700 million acres of federal public land – that’s approximately one-fifth of the total land area in...