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The Chugach Children's Forest is Transforming Lives for Future Generations

December 17, 2015 Carita Chan, U.S. Forest Service, National Forest Systems

“If you were to tell me three years ago that in two years, I would be camping a couple feet away from a glacier and kayaking next to icebergs, I would tell you that you are out of your mind,” said Isabel Azpilcueta. But life takes us in unexpected directions, and that is exactly what Isabel – a...

Forestry

Saving Our Forest Heritage in a Vault

December 16, 2015 Gary Man and Randy Johnson, U.S. Forest Service

Trees are often referred to as the lungs of the earth, providing not only the oxygen we need to breathe but a filter to clean our air and water. Trees from forested lands provide timber for our homes, food for people and wildlife, protection from weather extremes and, in urban and rural settings...

Forestry

High Five for Pollinators: Busy Bees, Bats and Butterflies

December 15, 2015 Sarah Haymaker, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Day and night, pollinators are at work all around us—and it's not just honey bees. Did you know that pollinators are responsible for one out of three bites of food we eat? If you'd like to learn more, we've pulled together five blogs from 2015 highlighting some surprising facts about these busy...

Conservation Forestry

Forest Service Teams Help in Aftermath of Historic Flooding in Tbilisi, Georgia

December 15, 2015 Karin Theophile, U.S. Forest Service, International Programs

Last summer, after a flash flood swept through Tbilisi, the capital of the nation of Georgia, the U.S. Forest Service deployed three teams to help address some of the most critical challenges. The horrific event killed 19 people, forced 67 families from their homes, destroyed roads, and flooded the...

Forestry Trade

High Five for Partnerships with Native Americans and Alaska Natives

December 15, 2015 Leslie Wheelock, USDA Office of Tribal Relations

2015 was another banner year for innovative Federal / Tribal partnerships, government-to-government relations with Federally Recognized Tribes and investments that continue to improve the quality of life for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Here are five examples from this past year of ways USDA...

Conservation Energy Food and Nutrition Rural

Protecting Sage Grouse for Future Generations... One Seed at a Time

December 14, 2015 Jane Knowlton, U.S. Forest Service

The need for food and shelter for wildlife to survive is basic, particularly for sage grouse living in a post-wildfire landscape in western states. The U.S. Forest Service is helping this upland game bird survive by growing about 3 million sagebrush shrubs a year to restore the area’s dry, grassy...

Forestry

Job Corps Students, Alumnae 'Pay it Forward,' Helping Each Other Learn Leadership Skills

December 08, 2015 Michaela Hall and Jane Knowlton, U.S. Forest Service

Preparing for a career involves many steps, plus individual motivation as well as help from those who’ve gone before you. That’s what a group of 60 Harpers Ferry Job Corps students explored recently during a recent training session related to job preparedness for the U.S. Forest Service. Their...

Initiatives Forestry

Northern Lights Shine on Capitol Hill

December 03, 2015 Robert Westover, US Forest Service

When U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan asked Anna Devolld, a ten year old child from Alaska, to flip the switch, a momentary hush came across the crowd as thousands of lights on a massive tree illumined the West Lawn just below both Houses of Congress. More than a year of planning went...

Forestry

Tribal partnerships fuel sustainable aviation

November 25, 2015 Stephanie Pearl, science communicator, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

USDA celebrates National Native American Heritage Month in November with a blog series focused on USDA’s support of Tribal Nations and highlighting a number of our efforts throughout Indian Country and Alaska. Follow along on the USDA blog . Alaska Airlines will conduct a demonstration flight in...

Energy Forestry

Partnerships Help Accelerate Forest Restoration, Increasing Benefits, Decreasing Threats

November 19, 2015 Ellita Willis, Washington Office, U.S. Forest Service

We cannot care for public forests and grasslands alone—the land benefits the most when communities join us and provide input to help shape forest plans. The U.S. Forest Service takes pride in being part of the communities we serve, whether by managing the land to be resilient to disturbance or as...

Forestry