Feature Stories

The rhythmic thwack-thwack-thwack of helicopter blades cut through the pre-dawn darkness. The burnt orange MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter, bearing the crossed anchors of the U.S. Coast Guard, emerges

Mark Gruenhaupt and his brother busied themselves setting up camp on the San Juan National Forest in Colorado in July 2020. They were on the second night of a self-guided, multi-day four-wheel-drive

Don’t let the arid terrain fool you. The Southwestern U.S. offers more than 10 million acres of fishable reservoirs, lakes and ponds and 220,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Coronado National

The coastal cutthroat trout is a fish of many names: sea-run cutthroat, blue-back, harvest, among others. Regardless of the name, most Pacific Northwest anglers agree the coastal cutthroat is a

National forests across the country support a number of industries that in turn bolster rural and national economies. Among those industries are mining, timber and grazing. But another industry rivals

During a virtual ceremony on May 26, Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen and Acting Deputy Chief Tina Terrell announced the 14 employees and partners who are recipients of the 2020 Rise to the

Over the last year, people across the U.S. chose the great outdoors to reduce stress and find a physically distanced alternative for having a little fun. National forests and grasslands were

From the sweater you wear, to airplane carpets, wool is one of the most incredible fibers in the world. It can keep you warm, its ability to absorb almost a third of its weight in water can keep you

What would you pay to a hike through an ancient forest, where the wind makes the trees whisper history’s secrets? Or to go kayaking down a crystal-clear stream, where fish swim against the current

Pedestrians scurry up and down the central boulevard, peering nervously upwards at the interlocking limbs of enormous oak trees lining the street. A traffic light flashes from red to green, the chime

In the summer of 2019, Forest Service entomologist Amy Lockner made her way along the Taylor Canyon Road toward Gunnison, Colorado, a small mountain town situated in a valley often referred to as the

In August 2017, a wildfire swept through more than 24,000 acres of central Oregon, threatening the small town of Sisters at the foot of the Cascades Mountains. Residents in subdivisions near Sisters

Remember, Saturday, May 1, is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day , a national campaign to encourage people and organizations to join in a single day to take action to raise awareness and reduce

Change is inherent in forests, but insects and pathogens that have been inadvertently introduced, known as invasive species, have brought about a novel kind of change that trees in both urban

I can remember Woodsy Owl’s public service announcements pop up between episodes of my favorite cartoon, Speed Racer. Laying on then-fashionable 1970s-era green shag carpet, my friends and I would