SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
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Forest Service FeaturesMid September – 2024
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| Public Affairs Specialist Ruby Gonzalez on the Angeles National Forest. (USDA Forest Service photo) |
A SoCal calling to protect forests and rivers: First-generation Latina builds career in forestryRuby Gonzalez, public affairs specialist on the Angeles National Forest, can’t pinpoint the exact moment that led to her current communications work. But she trusted in her love of the outdoors and interest in storytelling to set her on the right path. As a first-generation Latina growing up in Long Beach, California, Ruby paid attention to the issues her Mexican immigrant parents faced. And she saw firsthand the port area where she lived struggling with air quality and even bigger issues. Read more… |
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| A yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) perches up on a fence post bordering wetlands near Plumas National Forest, May 29, 2023. (USDA Forest Service photo by Jamie Chambers) |
How to get started birding: From apps to ethicsEver marvel at a flash of color zipping across the trail in front of you, then frantically scrolled the internet to identify the winged wonder? You are not alone. It’s the bird’s world, after all. We’re just living in it. So, just how do you get started birding? Perch up and stay awhile. Here’s what you’ll need to take flight. Read more… |
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| A public engagement neighborhood meeting with Onondaga Earth Corps in Syracuse, New York, drew together planners and members of the community. (Photo courtesy of Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs) |
Giving city trees a fighting chance: Scientists publish guide on urban tree plantingFrom car doors banging against trees to construction projects that damage roots, urban trees have it rough. In fact, Forest Service research showed that half the trees planted in an urban environment live just 13 to 18 years, with more than 30% dead within five years. Beyond the Golden Shovel offers practical advice to city planners, landscape architects, urban foresters and others when planning tree planting initiatives. Read more… |
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| 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) |
Firefighter finds comfort, healing at Land Between the LakesForestry Technician Doug Phelps grew up visiting Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. He never could have imagined how much the place would come to mean to him. Read more… |
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| The 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, September 10, 2019. In 2002, Congress asked the USDA Forest Service to create the Living Memorial Project which uses the power of trees to bring people together and create a lasting, living memorial to the victims of 9/11. The trees in the Pentagon Memorial are a result of the Living Memorial Project. (USDA Forest Service photo by Cecilio Ricardo) |
Showing up in times of need: Remembering Sept. 11There are days we remember forever; from the people we shared them with to the feelings they evoke within us. Most of these days are full of joy and celebration—a wedding, a birth, a graduation. Then, there is Sept. 11th, 2001. It is a day etched in our collective memories. It left us saddened and stunned, and forever changed the context through which we see the world around us. However, 9/11 did not end with us sunk in sadness. On that day, we also saw the best of us rise to the surface. On that day, first responders selflessly put themselves in harm’s way to aid and protect others, in some instances sacrificing their own lives in the process |
