By Rick Thom Philmont Scout Ranch in the Cimarron Mountains of Northern New Mexico is the largest outdoor youth camp in the world. Each year over 22,000 young men and women from throughout the U.S. come to Philmont to experience adventure and learn outdoor skills. Thanks to the Philmont Visiting Forester Program, my friend, Greg [read more]
Caring for your woods can be daunting. Where does one start? What programs exist to help you manage your land? Who do you contact? In addition to your state forestry agency, the Women Owning Woodlands website at womenowningwoodlands.net offers numerous tools and resources for landowners and their families who want to sustainably manage their woods. The Women [read more]
Trees and forests built America and are essential for the nation’s growth and success. State forestry agencies are poised to support the new presidential administration. The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) is pleased to provide the Donald Trump Administration and Congress with recommendations for capitalizing on the benefits of trees and forests. Trees and [read more]
City planners and urban foresters now have a resource to more precisely select tree species whose growth will be a landscaping dream instead of a maintenance nightmare. The U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station recently published a technical manual and launched the most extensive database available cataloging urban trees with their projected growth tailored to specific geographic regions. [read more]
According to the USDA Forest Service study 2013–2027 National Insect and Disease Forest Risk Assessment, 81 million acres of forested land have hazardous conditions for disease and insects. To learn more about the National Forest Health Monitoring Program, please join the following webinar on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 11 am EST: Research Contributions to Forest Health Monitoring Dr. Frank Koch [read more]
By Emily Bazydlo Looking for a fun an innovative way to teach youth to identify plant pests and diseases in their communities? Check out Plant Heroes, an educational campaign by the American Public Gardens Association with support from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Serivce and Forest Service, offers free downloadable educational materials with fun characters [read more]
Urban and community forests provide essential benefits we cannot live without. My Tree—Our Forest®, NASF's urban and community forestry campaign, aims to increase public understanding about the benefits that healthy forests offer to communities across the United States and the role that state forestry agencies play in protecting the nation’s urban trees. Download the new My Tree—Our Forest fact sheet for [read more]
By Sara Pezzoni Repeat photography is the practice of taking photographs of a specific location at two or more different times. It is a powerful visual resource for scientific study and education in forest and landscape management. From working forests to wilderness areas, such photographic pairs or sequences can help us understand ecosystem processes, and [read more]
The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) unveiled the 2015-16 NASF annual report today at its meeting in Savannah, Georgia. From city streets to remote mountainsides, trees connect a forested ecosystem that connects with people in countless ways. This is the essence of NASF's work, and the association is pleased to share recent accomplishments through this publication. Trees [read more]
Edited by Greg Pilchak Information provided by Carla L. Rapp, Project Learning Tree Co-coordinator, Georgia Forestry Association Forty years ago, Project Learning Tree® was founded to help the next generation value the natural world, and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions and take responsible actions to sustain forests and the broader [read more]
