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Stepping Outside the Classroom to Learn Lessons for Life

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 brings them back to camping with a cub scout troop. For others, getting their hands dirty stirs memories of a favorite teacher’s class garden.

Innovative Finance for National Forests Grant Program Fosters New Ideas, Partnerships

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 outbreaks that could impact ecosystem health for generations to come.

When Bears Fly

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

Science is Saving the Mangrove Forests

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 planet, mangrove forests are threatened by over harvesting and rising sea levels.

Harvesting Trees in the Right Place at the Right Time

Timber sales are an important part of the work to reduce wildfire risk on your national forests and grasslands. However, many of the policies governing how forest products are harvested and sold are decades old, and forest conditions, climate, forest products markets and our workforce have changed.