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Ecosystem Management Decision Support system keeps getting better

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A landscape view of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. USDA Forest Service photo by Pattiz Brothers. OREGON—There is no single correct approach to managing a forest or grassland. Each decision maker must weigh the ecological complexity of these ecosystems, the changing environmental…
#Planning, #SharedStewardship, #PlanningRule

Prescribed burns restoring National Forests in Arkansas and Oklahoma to health

Prescribed fire burns the understory in a forest
Tufts of smoke from prescribed fires on the Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests can be seen from a NOAA satellite image across Northwest Arkansas and East Oklahoma. When conducting prescribed burns wind direction is just one of many critical factors fire personnel consider to limit…
#PrescribedFire, #SharedStewardship, #ControlledBurn, #FuelReduction

Planting the Shade You’ll Never Feel

Worker swings a tool during reforestation efforts on an area damaged by the Rim Fire
Editor’s note: The USDA Forest Service’s 10-year strategy to confront the wildfire crisis and improve forest resilience isn’t just about mitigating wildfire, it’s also about post fire restoration. Together we work with our partners to reforest areas impacted by wildfire.“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Greek Proverb…
#Reforestation, #Wildfire, #ForestHealthProtection, #ConfrontingTheWildfireCrisis, #SharedStewardship

Celebrating Partnerships in the Central Sierra Recovery and Restoration Project

A tractor removing hazardous fuels
Editor’s note: The USDA Forest Service has committed its efforts to mitigating wildfire risk across 20 million acres of National Forests and up to an additional 30 million acres of other Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands as a part of the agency’s 10- year strategy to confront the wildfire crisis.  This article illustrates how working across boundaries will be essential for that…
#Restoration, #FuelReduction, #SharedStewardship, #Mitigation

Racing the clock to stem the spread of the mountain pine beetle

Removing infected, dead, and susceptible trees is key to stemming the spread of mountain pine beetle outbreaks. Logging operators in Gunnison have been turning these trees into usable timber, ensuring that nothing goes to waste and providing an added benefit to the local community. (USDA Forest Service photo)
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 “Gateway to the Rockies.”As she drove down the winding canyon road flanked by pine trees, her gaze caught a subtle inconsistency in the forest canopy…
#WildfireCrisis, #SharedStewardship, #Partnerships, #MountainPineBeetle, #ForestHealth, #WildfireRiskReduction

Working together for clean water, healthy streams

A picture of two women planting a tree in a large grassy area where many other trees have been planted.
Volunteers are key to our efforts to plant trees and improve watersheds. They do the hard work of planting young trees in the ground and affixing plastic tubing that protect saplings from deer that would otherwise eat the trees. (Photo courtesy Chesapeake Bay Program) The earthy smell of…
#SharedStewardship, #Partnerships, #Watershed, riparian, #Wildlife, #Trout, #Farming, #Fish, #Freshwater, #Science