forest service

When it comes to ridding the earth of pollution leaking from dumps, closed landfills, and other waste sites, specific types of trees are quietly and efficiently absorbing the toxins.

Wildfires can negatively impact communities, as the past few years illustrate. However, many communities are surrounded by ecosystems where fire has always been a natural part of the landscape. These negative impacts can be reduced by returning fire to its natural role on the landscape, and the Forest Service uses prescribed fire to protect communities and improve landscape resilience.

If birthday parties were rated, the events surrounding Smokey Bear’s big day would easily earn five stars or diamonds since it is his 75^th. From California to Maine, states held celebrations in recognition of the USDA Forest Service’s fire prevention message “bearer” and his famous line, “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.”

I never thought I could ever work in the U.S. government. One day, when I was applying for my U.S. citizenship at a local Hispanic nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., I saw a flyer about the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) National Internship Program (HNIP). This seemed unbelievable for a student coming from a low-income family to know that there were paid internships that could also help me grow in my career. I was pursuing an undergraduate education at George Washington University. Being the first generation to attend college in the U.S., I often had to let go unpaid internship opportunities that could have helped my career, and instead get side jobs to pay for college.

Extreme climate events can be devastating. However, some of their effects can be transformed into opportunities.

Forest fires often reach or exceed temperatures of 2,000° Fahrenheit—that’s equivalent to one-fifth the temperature of the surface of the sun. What is the impact of such high temperatures on the soil and plants of our forests? And how do the intensity and heat of a wildfire impact its behavior, smoke and the surrounding weather?

Biochar, or wood waste, is a porous carbon substance that results from burning wood in the absence of oxygen. It is typically created when burning chunks of wood are covered by ash, soil or a lid, which insulates the coals and starves them of oxygen. This fire remnant provides a valuable addition to soil for agriculture and gardening purposes as well as contributing to overall forest health.

The country’s annual celebration of its independence is not complete without family gatherings, picnics, parades, and the sights and sounds of fireworks.

In recent decades the number, severity and overall size of wildfires has increased across much of the U.S. In fact, the 2018 wildfire season in California recorded the largest fire in acres burned, most destructive fire in property loss and deadliest fires in the state’s history.

How many times have you been out for a weekend drive or on a trip and decided to visit a national forest or grassland only to discover that you have no idea how to get to the areas where you can have the most fun?