12 days of Forest Service ChristmasJoin us and the Durand High School Madrigal Choir from Durand, Michigan, as we celebrate the holiday season with a Forest Service reinterpretation of that Christmas classic, “The 12 Days of Christmas!” Read more… |
|
Smokey Bear makes his way along the parade route with his group of 40 balloon handlers below. Alex Robertson is the tallest handler on the left. (Photo courtesy of Robin Robertson) |
Wrangling the world’s biggest Smokey BearTess McCarville and Alex Robertson revel hearing this chant for three hours as they slowly walk 2.5 miles, holding the ropes of a 16-foot long, 25-foot wide and 51-foot-tall Smokey Bear balloon in the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Read more… |
|
USDA Forest Service crews with the Appalachian Ranger District work to clear downed trees from a road near Carver’s Gap on the North Carolina and Tennessee border, Oct. 8, 2024. Hundreds of miles of roads were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene cutting off access for local residents and severing travel corridors along the states’ border. (USDA Forest Service photo) |
Reflections from receding waters and stormsWhen Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States in late September 2024, its destruction spared neither national forests nor members of the USDA Forest Service workforce living in its path. The national forests in North Carolina were among the worst impacted. But in the weeks and months since, Forest Service employees joined their communities to reopen, repair and rebuild. Read more… |
|
A black bear near the main viewing platform of the Anan Wildlife Observatory. The observatory is located 30 miles southeast of the town of Wrangell. Anan Creek has the largest run of pink salmon in Southeast Alaska, which supports the high density of black and brown bears. (USDA Forest Service photo by Paul Robbins Jr.) |
Alaska students broadcast the bears of the Anan Wildlife ObservatoryCan’t make it to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to watch bears fatten up for the winter? Then head on over to Explore.org to watch from two webcams set up by students from Wrangell High School! Read more… |
|
A tribal citizen uses a traditional coiling technique to make pine needle baskets from flexible, long pine needles. The technique focuses on wrapping strong stitching around a bundle of pine needles to hold them tightly together. (USDA Forest Service photo by Stacy Blomquist) |
Planting the seedWhen Elliott Abbey was a boy, he would collect pine needles and pinecones from the forest with his aunts, which they later turned into pine needle baskets. Today, he credits that tribal tradition as planting the seeds of his success. Efforts on the Kisatchie National Forest to preserve the longleaf have also borne fruit, both in preserving a unique ecosystem but also in helping the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana preserve their cultural heritage. Read more… |
|
The Stanislaus National Forest has multitudes of beautiful habitats like the confluence of these two streams, home to aquatic creatures and providing drinking water to wildlife and ultimately human communities far downstream. (USDA Forest Service photo). |
A stunning wonder of natureThe Stanislaus National Forest is a dramatically beautiful and picturesque forest located in the middle of California and includes portions of the jagged and soaring Sierra Nevada Mountain range. It’s part of the illustrious chain of national parks and national forests in the Sierra Nevada that include El Dorado and Inyo National Forests, as well as Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Read more… |