USDA Blog

National Get Outdoors Day, created in a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, will include a wide variety of opportunities to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun, from a rousing day of festivities in City Park in Denver to quieter observations on some national forest and grasslands. Go Day, as...

They are fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and sisters and brothers. They served in remote corners of the forests and grasslands, helped lost recreationists find their way and arrested people who were violating the law. They were our friends and colleagues who lost their lives in the line of...

As an environmental educator, I’ve taken tons of kids outside for fun and educational experiences in the woods. Now, I am looking forward taking my own son out for his first discoveries and to create memories we’ll share for years to come. I figured I would share my personal camping tips with you...

Today the Obama Administration announced a Presidential Memorandum that expands a government-wide effort to improve the Federal permitting and review process. This is a big step for USDA because it will help us ensure timely decision-making and review of infrastructure projects, while ensuring the...

The U.S. Forest Service has partnered with the California Conservation Corps to provide firefighter training for military veterans. “Fire and Aviation Management is particularly appealing because of the significance of our mission and our well-defined organization,” said Robert Baird, deputy...

Recently, elementary students in three Oregon classrooms welcomed a few hundred special guests that required unique accommodations — a small refrigerator, a covered tank, gravel, and a water filter. The students were part of an international fish education project that connected students in Oregon...

The U.S. Forest Service Green Team wants you to know that Green Office Week has arrived from across the Atlantic. The first Green Office Week was launched in 2009 in Great Britain in response to research showing that United Kingdom employees felt they were being held back from being environmentally...

As the weather begins to get warmer and the sun stays high in the sky longer, we hope your thoughts turn to camping and outdoor activities on your national forests and grasslands. Whether you are camping on the ground, in a tent or in a recreational vehicle, whether it’s your first time or you’re a...

Until recently, Thomas Barnett, formerly of Washington state, did not have a career goal in mind. However, this spring, the 24-year-old graduated from the Centennial Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in Nampa, Idaho, and will begin his career as a seasonal firefighter on a fire crew with the...

Some children are unaware that in order to reduce tree hazards, protect other trees, or to get wood, it is necessary to cut trees. So the recently published book “Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down?” is intended to raise awareness of the issue. The book, which primarily targets first to third grade...