Feature Stories

Sunlight dapples through the verdant forest canopy above you. A gentle breeze cools the late summer warmth. Occasional white blazes peeking from trees reaffirm you’re going the right way. Flame

USDA Forest Service is reducing wildfire risk and forging unusual, unique partnerships. The Gila National Forest and Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery work together to reduce wildfire risk across

“I’m the project overseer,” said Mayordomo Vicente Fernandez humbly when asked specifically about his mayordomo title. Vicente is the community manager of a 71-acre parcel in the Carson National

We’re celebrating Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday, by honoring wildfire prevention heroes. Heroes like Lassie, Walt Disney Productions and the San Diego Padres, who have all been awarded for their

Sarah King remembers one time when she was focusing on the day’s task of preparing an area of the Custer Gallatin National Forest in southwestern Montana to be burned to reduce the threat of future

Bordering southern Idaho, in Owyhee, Nevada, winter temperatures can dip below zero degrees on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. For Shoshone-Paiute Tribal members, burning wood to heat their homes

Across the West, lands are scarred with reminders of overuse and undermanagement. A century of fire suppression has resulted in unhealthy and overstocked forests. The cost to treat an acre of land can

What do student-produced documentaries, a crosscut saw competition and cultural performances all have in common? The answer: the 2024 Centennial Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness, the first

The Caribou-Targhee National Forest extends like a long finger down the Idaho-Wyoming state line with seven ranger districts scattered from the storied lawless zone the U.S. Constitution forgot near

For Nicole Bringolf being deaf hasn’t stopped her from being many other things. She’s a self-proclaimed ski mountaineer, who summited several 14,000-foot peaks in the U.S. and Switzerland since

Youth gather for outdoor projects in an ecological forestry workforce training program in their ancestral homelands on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon.

Last summer, a military veteran seeking solace experienced tranquility in an unexpected way. He visited the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama for a guided tour to experience “forest bathing.” Joel

A gentle sea of green stretches out in front of you, framed and occasionally broken by individual trees. A far cry from the usual view you might expect when visiting a national forest, where a dense

In the heart of Idaho lies a prime example of natural beauty. The Sawtooth National Forest has majestic mountains and glistening lakes scattered over 2.1 million acres. It is also home to many flora

This is the first in multi-year series of features where the USDA Forest Service will tell the story of every national forest and grassland we manage for the American people. The heart of Wyoming has