SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
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| The National Christmas Tree is officially installed on the Ellipse to welcome the holiday season! (USDA Forest Service photo) |
A holiday spirit of resilienceNot to be confused with its neighbor, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, the National Christmas Tree stands on the Ellipse at The White House and President’s Park. Always a symbol of the holiday spirit, this year’s tree embodies rebirth and recovery, both for an iconic species of tree and for the hurricane-ravaged region whence it came. Read more… |
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| Fire and smoke plume from the Line Fire on Sept. 8, 2024. The fire overlooks a community in Southern California. (Photo courtesy of inciweb.wildfire.gov) |
A flame without fuelWildfire. It’s not if, but when. Sometimes, it’s that prior groundwork that makes all the difference. Two of last year’s larger fires in Southern California — the Line Fire and the Bridge Fire — provide examples of just how wildfires interact with these areas, and how treatments can be used as opportunities to defend homes and communities. Read more… |
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| James Donahey, forester and silviculturist for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, stands in a red pine plantation in decline. (USDA Forest Service photo by Briana Shepherd) |
A stand with a planTo the average mountain biker or hiker on Vermont’s Pine Brook Trail, there may not be anything odd about the trees. To James Donahey, forester and silviculturist for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, unnaturalness towers over this stand of trees. The trial cuts through a mature “man made” red pine plantation, and it’s time to harvest. Read more… |
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| Newly emerged cicada from a 2017 emergence in Minnesota. (USDA Forest Service photo by Sjana Schanning) |
Top feature of 2024: Here come the cicadas!Audiences were abuzz over the hotly anticipated cicada double brood that emerged across much of the eastern United States from late April through May 2024. From our top story of 2024, it had been over two centuries since these two broods last emerged in the same year, back in 1803. Read more… |
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| The full-grown emerald ash borer is a small, bright green beetle of the buprestid family. The typical size for a full-grown emerald ash borer is between 0.3 and 0.5 inches. Males and females are very similar in appearance. (Photo courtesy of Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik) |
The future of ash treesAnother top feature of 2024 covered how an insect that is smaller than a penny can cause so much ecological, economic, and cultural devastation. The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle native to Asia, is one of the most destructive invasive species in North America. These tiny pests killed tens of millions of ash trees in the northeast – and continue to this day. Read more… |
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| Laura Deaton, Forestry Technician (HELITACK), Caribou-Targhee National Forest, lives in a tiny home she built herself and parks at the home of some co-workers. In many areas where our employees are based, particularly in remote areas in the West, housing is currently unaffordable, unavailable, or inadequate. This is impacting our ability to recruit, retain, and support the workforce needed to protect and maintain the nation’s forests and grasslands. (USDA Forest Service photo by Preston Keres) |
A place to call homeRounding out the most-viewed stories of 2024 comes from a July 2024 feature about how housing affects agency staffing and retention and services to the public. The Forest Service has some of the most remote working locations of any federal agency. Whether it’s firefighters responding to wildfires, recreation managers ensuring campgrounds are ready for visitors, or wildlife biologists deep in the woods monitoring sensitive species, the remoteness is part of the draw for these types of jobs, but it’s also part of the challenge. Read more… |
