California

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Chances are that you—or whoever’s the “grillmaster” at your house—have your own “secret ingredient” for making grilled...

Recently, 1,400 goats reported for duty with the U.S. Forest Service. Their mission: Lend their appetites to the removal of fuels buildup on the Cleveland National Forest. The goats were a part of a 100-acre forest-thinning project that begin in late April to clear a 300-foot community fuel break...

It is a simple idea. If you have more than you need, share with those who don’t have enough. An estimated 50 million Americans do not have access to enough food. So what can be done? Amazing things can happen when you implement a simple idea by combining a love of agriculture and commitment to...

It’s not a pleasant memory for Maykia Yang. Fleeing on foot from her native home of Laos at age eight and following her family to Thailand where she spent two years in a refugee camp. “My father was a soldier and worked for the CIA during the [Vietnam] war. After the CIA pulled out, the Vietnamese...

The summer months are here. Families are making plans for vacations and leisure time spent at the local pool or beach. But for many parents and caregivers, summer is also a time of anxiety as they wonder if they’ll be able to put enough food on the table without school lunch and breakfast to...

The beauty of watching a flock of birds migrating on the wing is a sight many enjoy. Protecting their habitats to help them on their journeys is part of the work that U.S. Forest Service employees across the nation do every day. “Forests and grasslands managed by the U.S. Forest Service are critical...

This past weekend, civic hackers across the country took action—or hack-tion—when they gathered together to use their coding, designing and tech-making powers for good. Armed with a passion for data and working under a framework that focused their energies on solving civic problems, over 11,000...

The U.S. Forest Service has partnered with the California Conservation Corps to provide firefighter training for military veterans. “Fire and Aviation Management is particularly appealing because of the significance of our mission and our well-defined organization,” said Robert Baird, deputy...

With the increased use of electronic devices and scheduled activities competing for children’s outdoor time, how can we strike a balance? There’s still hope by encouraging kids to get outdoors and to experience wild things. In March, the Klamath National Forest and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s...

Chips the bobcat, who was only four weeks old when she was rescued last August by U.S. Forest Service firefighter Tad Hair and his Mad River Hand hotshot crew, is now 8 months old and back in bobcat territory in Lassen County, Calif. Because of early human handling to treat her second-degree burns...