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.

Stop by any trailhead or boat landing on a national forest or grassland and take a moment to ask folks to explain the origins of their love for the outdoors. You will likely hear people return time and again to some formative experience they had in grade school. For some, the smell of the pine...

The USDA Forest Service is charged with caring for 193 million acres of the nation’s forests and grasslands and solving some of the most complex land management challenges. Across the country, forests densely packed with trees are at high risk of catastrophic wildfire as well as insect and disease...

Usually when an event as wonderful as the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has its 50 th anniversary, the events surrounding it are packed with people ready to celebrate. That was the plan this year, but the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything and yet nothing.

This bear can fly. The new Smokey Bear balloon debuted in last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (USDA Forest Service photo.)

For 50 years, the arrival of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has brought enormous excitement to the workers who deliver the tree across the country and then hoist the towering conifer into place on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill.

Mangrove forests along the coastlines in the Asia-Pacific region provide building materials for traditional homes, shelter fish and wildlife, protect communities from tsunamis and typhoons, and store more carbon than any other forested ecosystem in the world. Despite all they do for humans and the...

When most people think of the lighting of a national Christmas tree, they are often thinking of the ceremony near the White House during which the President flips a switch and lights the tree.