Feature Stories

At a traffic light in the small mountain community of Bailey, Colorado, you can grab a burger and a beer at a local joint. It’s a crossroads of locals and their kids, intermingled with mountain bikers

America’s forests are in a state of fire emergency. Nearly 25% of the contiguous U.S. is at risk of severe wildfire, with Western landscapes bearing the brunt. The areas at greatest risk are those

As the air begins to cool and the leaves fall in the mountains of North Carolina, there is a growing sense of anticipation whispering through the forests. For it is from one of these forests that a

The Forest Service is home to some of the most renowned recreational accommodations across the country. Offerings range from old homesteads, historic log ranger stations and early 20th century

Wildfires know no boundaries. They can easily cross between federal, tribal, state, and private lands, making it crucial for all communities to know their respective wildfire risks and the actions to

During this time of the year, while ghosts and goblins are the talk of the town, bats, the only mammal that truly flies, are both feared and revered, like the tiny tri-colored bat. The 47 bat species

Access to high-quality water will be a defining feature of the 21st century. Record heat waves and drought are not only leading to more frequent and intense wildfires but are also putting one of life

The robotic birds of the sky, known colloquially as drones, were a menace to the wildland firefighting community. The mere appearance of a recreational drone in the skies near a wildfire called for

Fall is the favorite season of many a poet, song writer, visual artist or just you and me. The quaking gold aspen sprouting from the giant Pando on Utah’s Fishlake National Forest inspires the

You think the kids have it tough going back to school this fall? Just be glad they’re not gopher tortoises. Just to set the score straight, the first two years of life are the hardest for the gopher

Editor’s Note: Ashleigh Bell is in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program at the University of Colorado. She worked with the Forest Service as part of a Capstone Project that places students

Editor’s note: The Backcountry Trails Program, established in 1979, is the longest-running special program of the California Conservation Corps. For two decades, the program, in partnership with

A fine mist rolled off the surface of Round Pond as morning dawned over the White Mountain National Forest in Albany, Maine. An elderly man and his granddaughter carried a red Old Town canoe down the

Editor’s Note: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is initiating emergency fuels reduction treatments in California to provide for the long-term survival of giant sequoia groves

On a hot, southern Sunday afternoon, more than 500 people from the town of Old Fort, North Carolina, stood on a freshly laid Pisgah National Forest trail as four young girls cut a green ribbon