Happy New Year! Follow the Silver Belle’s journey and learn how planting trees can strengthen your land

An ambassador from Nevada graces the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol this holiday season – Silver Belle, a perfectly shaped 53-foot red fir from the Carson Range of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. (Forest Service video)

More than a Christmas Tree

The 55-year tradition of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has invited a different national forest to provide the tree annually, with each forest adding its own distinctive touch to the effort. This year marked the first time that the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest provided the “People’s Tree.”

Multifunctional buffers are strips of vegetation placed in the landscape that can achieve multiple objectives. (Photo by iStock)

Multifunctional Buffers: Design Guidelines for Buffers, Corridors, and Greenways

This publication—a revision of a 2008 General Technical Report—updates design guidelines for vegetative buffers that can help land managers enhance production and environmental benefits on their lands, build climate resilience, and enhance rural prosperity and food security. It includes over 80 illustrated design guidelines that were developed from a review of more than 1,900 research publications.