USDA Blog

In today's technological society, children have retreated from outdoor activities -- bike riding, tree climbing or clinging to a rope swing to drop into a river -towards entirely virtual activities, indoor adventures at the end of a power cord. A few years ago, researchers and educators gave this...

Two-thirds of Maine's population or about 780,000 residents live in the "wildland-urban interface.” In these areas structures intermingle with natural vegetation, and wildfire threatens lives, homes, and property. The Maine Forest Service’s Division of Forest Protection established a Wildland-Urban...

While invasive insect species are widely recognized as being among the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem stability worldwide, there has been little research into their economic impact on the national level especially for non-native invasive species. Many examples come to mind like the...

Mount Roosevelt in South Dakota is maintained by the Black Hills National Forest as a recreational trail and picnic area where the 5,690-foot summit is dominated by the Friendship Tower--- a stone memorial that rises about 25 feet above the surrounding meadow. Friendship Tower was built by Seth...

Did you know that Woodsy Owl has been giving a hoot for 40 years? This week, the furry and big-eyed environmental and antipollution steward marks 40 years of being a U.S. Forest Service symbol.

Recently I got an intimate tour of a longleaf pine forest, a rapidly vanishing Southeastern ecosystem that is home to one-of-a-kind wildlife. Longleaf pines once dominated the landscape of coastal Mississippi, but deforestation and urbanization have decreased both these forests and the unique plants...

Just one day after the start of autumn, the Forest Service is waiving fees at hundreds of recreation sites across the country on Saturday, Sept. 24 in recognition of Public Lands Day.

Cross posted from the White House Rural Champions of Change website: When Rick Huszagh and Crista Carrell purchased part of her family’s farm in 1995, their focus was on farmland preservation as much as the creation of a successful business enterprise.

The Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Lab started our employee-tended People’s Garden in 2010. Since that time, we’ve harvested 3,976 pounds of fruits and vegetables that we’ve donated to Wenatchee-area food banks and community organizations, providing healthy produce...

Doing more with less is a phrase we have all become accustomed to in recent years. U.S. Forest Service trail crews embody this spirit. Recently, I had the opportunity to spend the day with a trail crew out of the Whitman district in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Half of the crew was tasked to...