Firefighter finds comfort, healing at Land Between the Lakes
Doug Phelps, a fuels technician with Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area lights a prescribed fire on the Ocala National Forest in Florida in September 2023. (USDA Forest Service photo)
Forestry Technician Doug Phelps grew up visiting Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. He never could have imagined how much the place would…
wildland firefighters, mental health, prescribed fire
Avian ambassadors and tribal perspectives
Acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorous) perches on the branch of a California live oak (Quercus agrifolia). (U.S. Fish and Wildlife photo by Cal Robinson).
Birds are our melodic neighbors. They soar above skyscrapers in New York City and nest in coastal redwoods in Northern California. Their familiar sight and distinctive calls…
birds, birds of prey, native american, prescribed fire
One nation helping another nation
Jon Sutherland recently earned his GED diploma and was working as an assistant manager at his local Dollar General when he heard about a fire crew being developed through the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Through this partnership with the USDA Forest Service, Sutherland is living out his family’…
prescribed fire, Choctaw Nation
Women Spark Interest in Fire
For the second year in a row, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest hosted an all-female fire training crew late-February 2024 to enhance readiness and provide meaningful opportunities on our public lands for Forest Service Job Corps students. (USDA Forest Service photo by Gabriel Templeton…
women firefighters, prescribed fire, Southern Region
Moose Habitat
Moose are an iconic Minnesota animal. Their significance dates to some of the first settlers who arrived several hundred years ago. For the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa who have occupied this landscape for much longer, moose remain an important source of traditional food and hides and a focal point in their struggle to retain their…
Moose, minnesota, prescribed fire
Prescribed burn associations ignite the future
Prescribed fire, sometimes referred to as controlled burning, is deeply rooted in the South. Historically and culturally, fire has been used to maintain healthy wildlife habitat for hunting, improve grazing land for livestock and maintain healthy oak and pine forests.“There are a lot of landowners that are interested in using controlled burns as a management tool on their land,” said Jesse…