Feature Stories
-
From the forest floor to mountaintop: An inspiring ascent
January 22,2025
What’s a typical day like for a forest supervisor on a national forest? Well, they oversee how visitors use the land and help protect forests. So, they have their hands in lots of tasks, like -
Monarchs at risk
January 16,2025
On December 10, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced their proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Efforts to protect these iconic -
Transforming Archaeology in the Forest Service
January 10,2025
A hippie at heart, Archaeologist Margaret Hangan reflects on her career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and a life well-lived as she nears retirement and looks towards her -
Preserving an Indigenous food source
January 8,2025
The Apache Tribes of Arizona have harvested acorns from Emory oak trees for centuries, using them in cultural ceremonies and as a traditional food source. However, in recent decades, tribal elders -
Smokey Bear a legend of legends 80 years and counting
January 3,2025
Year-end reflections. We all do them. What did we accomplish? What were the highlights? Did we exceed, meet or fall short of our goals? For many of us, the last question is all too common an -
A flame without fuel
December 30,2024
Wildfire. It’s not if, but when. That’s the paradigm for most Western states affected by wildfire each year. California routinely tops the annual list for most acres burned and largest fires. It also -
A holiday spirit of resilience
December 20,2024
Towering over the Ellipse, framing The White House and President's Park with festive cheer, is the National Christmas Tree. Always a symbol of the holiday spirit, this year’s tree, a red spruce from -
A stand with a plan
December 18,2024
To the average mountain biker or hiker on the Pine Brook Trail, there may not be anything about the area that stands out. Lots of trees, some dead and downed wood — an average “backyard” if you grew -
Planting the seed
December 16,2024
When Elliott Abbey was a boy, he would collect pine needles and pinecones from the forest with his aunts, which they later turned into pine needle baskets. Today, he credits that tribal tradition as -
12 days of Forest Service Christmas
December 11,2024
Join us and the Durand High School Madrigal Choir from Durand, Michigan, as we celebrate the holiday season with a reinterpretation of that Christmas classic, the 12 Days of Christmas! Sing along with - Pink salmon fill the creek each summer at the Anan Wildlife Observatory near Wrangell, Alaska, returning to their ancestral spawning grounds after a year and a half at sea. Here on the Tongass
-
Wrangling the world’s biggest Smokey Bear
December 6,2024
“Smokey, Smokey!” Tess McCarville and Alex Robertson revel hearing this chant for three hours as they slowly walk 2.5 miles, holding the ropes of a 16-foot long, 25-foot wide and 51-foot-tall Smokey -
Reflections from receding waters and storms
December 4,2024
When Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States in late September 2024, its destruction spared neither national forests nor members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service -
A stunning wonder of nature
December 2,2024
The Stanislaus National Forest is a dramatically beautiful and picturesque forest located in the middle of California and includes portions of the jagged and soaring Sierra Nevada Mountain range. It’s -
Thanks to our partners!
November 27,2024
Reducing wildfire risk across the country is no small feat. The work requires significant financial investments, a capable and well-equipped workforce and a vision. But the U.S. Department of