fs

The USDA Forest Service recently reached a milestone of protecting more than 2 million acres of private forests threatened by development.  The Forest Service’s Northeastern Area helped the agency reach the milestone when the state of Ohio purchased a 15,000-acre property as the new Vinton Furnace State Experimental Forest approximately 90 miles south of Columbus.

Mention to anyone that you traveled to or lived in Alaska, and they are immediately drawn to you with questions and curiosity. Even today Alaska embodies the pioneer spirit that drove generations of Americans to explore, tame and settle our great nation. The USDA Forest Service anticipates that type of attention to the dynamic segments they are posting to the USDA Forest Service Youtube channel beginning this week that highlight the features, resources, livelihoods and people who live in and around the Tongass National Forest.

It isn’t part of the agency’s mission statement to make childhood dreams come true – but it became our privilege today at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell had the honor of making a childhood dream come true for actress Betty White.

Upcoming Veterans Day, November 11, marks the fourth time this year that the U.S. Forest Service is offering national fee waivers on recreation sites it manages. The choice of this date has been made to honors the country’s veterans, members of the armed services, and their families.

The 2010 Capitol Christmas Tree will be harvested and prepared for its cross-country journey this weekend. This year’s tree is coming from the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, the first time the tree has come from Wyoming. The tree, a 67-foot Engelmann Spruce, will be harvested at 8 a.m. local time in Wyoming.

The USDA Forest Service Conservation Education staff is participating in the first annual National Green Schools Conference in Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 24-26.  The conference is being sponsored by the Green Schools National Network. Conservation Education and partner, American Forest Foundation’s Project Learning Tree, will be highlighting our national “GreenSchools!” program through offering a workshop during the conference.

Every summer since I was four years old, I’ve been returning to a small glacial lake in Northern Wisconsin where my family had summer cottages. As a child, I’d spend all day swimming in the lake that was darkened by the tannins secreted by the surrounding hemlock trees. The lake was often so cold that my lips turned purple, but not enough to break a determined child’s spirit.

The “Family Hike” masterpiece by Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman will be presented to the USDA Forest Service this Friday, October 22, at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The Forest Service is acquiring the original painting to support the growth of the Robert Bateman Get to Know Program in the United States.

It started as a three-quarter ton chunk of ice taken out of Mendenhall Lake on the Tongass National Forest in Juneau, Alaska.

From New England through the south and across the upper Midwest to the Rockies and Pacific Northwest, many people anticipate that this weekend will be a showcase for a vast array of brilliant fall colors.