National Get Outdoors Day is this Saturday, June 13th, and many state forestry agencies are working to connect you to the trees that surround you. Today, close to 80 percent of Americans live in cities. But, thanks to the great work of state foresters and their partners, the United States urban trees and forests provide plenty of [read more]
With support from the Forest Health Protection program of the USDA Forest Service, the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) is achieving goals outlined in its Forest Action Plan. Cogongrass is an invasive, non-native grass, which occurs in the southeastern United States. A pest in 73 countries and considered to be one of the "Top 10 Worst [read more]
Students often have bright ideas for the future, and sometimes that takes the form of preserving our wooded past. On the south west edge of Fayetteville, Arkansas rests Mount Kessler, a favored spot for hiking and mountain bikers. Filled with rocky formations reminiscent of Gettysburg’s Devil’s Den and covered in a woody hillside, the hillside can [read more]
By Leslie Robertson NASF Photo Fellow This morning I met Russell Bozeman, director of forest protection and forest information with the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC). Russell and I headed to Warren County to see one of the state’s 16th Section Lands, which is part of 480,000 acres of forested school trust lands managed by the Mississippi Forestry Commission. We stopped at [read more]
Guest post by Leslie Robertson, NASF Photo Fellow Chelsea and I spent the morning with Hannah Anderson, a wildfire mitigation specialist. Shane McGowan, forest area supervisor for the team, explained that they were pretty short-handed at the moment; many of the firefighters were sent to California to fight wildfires there. We drove to a private [read more]
The Association of Conservation Information (ACI) recently awarded the Missouri Department of Conservation four national communication awards for their Trees Work communications campaign. The 2014 awards are: Communications Campaign – First Place – Trees Work Posters – First Place – Trees Work One-time Publications – First Place – Trees Work Postcards Audio Program – Third [read more]
By Leslie Robertson NASF Photo Fellow Today I headed over to the DNR’s office to meet with Ken Holman, the DNR Community Forestry Director, where we planned out the day. I was also able to meet many of the leaders in the DNR office and say hi, which was great! Our first stop was at [read more]
Our NASF Foundation photography fellow Leslie heads to Minnesota on July 14. Following that trip will be a photographic journey into the forests and Pennsylvania, Florida, Mississippi, and California. We’d like to thank the host state foresters and their teams for jumping on board with this exciting project which will help us document working forests [read more]
The United States Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie announced a multi-year partnership between the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) called the Chief’s Joint Landscape Restoration Partnership. This partnership will invest $30 million in 13 projects in 12 states across the country [read more]
Robert Parkes has been elected the 2014 Chairman of the Board of the Arkansas Forestry Commission (AFC). Parkes was appointed to the Board of Commissioners in 1998, and is currently serving a second term. He is the owner of Parkes Dental Clinic in Dover. He and his wife, Lisa, are private landowners in Scottsville, Arkansas. [read more]
