The Colorado State Forest Service is now accepting Forest Legacy Program proposals from Colorado landowners. The program authorizes the CSFS or USDA Forest Service to purchase permanent conservation easements on private forestlands to prevent those lands from being converted to non-forest uses. The purpose of the Colorado Forest Legacy Program is to protect environmentally [read more]
Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee and Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark yesterday sent a letter to congressional leaders urging Congress to end “fire borrowing" and provide the USDA Forest Service with the resources it needs to effectively improve forest health and respond to increasingly devastating wildfire seasons. In the past two years, Washington state has [read more]
Nanocellulose was in the spotlight during a recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) highlighted work done at the University of Maine to support the forest economy and biobased industries, and emphasized the need for research and development institutions across the country to work together in support of American manufacturing [read more]
By Jessica Hernandez A healthy urban forest can provide numerous benefits to the communities in which they flourish. Trees are a part of community green infrastructure and provide environmental, social and economic benefits to all urban residents. To conserve, protect and enhance America’s urban and community forests and the benefits they provide, state forestry agencies [read more]
Texas A&M Forest Service is accepting applications for the 2016 Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program. Through this cost-share program eligible forest landowners can receive financial and technical assistance related to reducing the threat of future SPB infestations and outbreaks. Funds provided by USDA Forest Service-Region 8 and Forest Health Protection can assist landowners with conducting [read more]
Texas A&M Forest Service Firewise Coordinator Nick Harrison received the 2015 USDA Forest Service Robert E. Browning Jr. Award for his efforts in wildfire prevention. The award is in memory of Browning, a southern wildland firefighter who gave his life battling the South Canyon Fire in Colorado in 1994. The award goes to those who [read more]
Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill 252 into law and created the nation’s first Century Forest program during a special ceremony inside the Executive Mansion in Richmond, Va. Developed by the Administration and patroned by Sen. Frank Ruff, SB252 is designed to honor and recognize those Virginians who have owned working forestlands for more than [read more]
The National Wildfire Mitigation Awards proigram is supported NASF, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the USDA Forest Service and the National Fire Protection Association. Southwest Coloradoans accounted for three out of 12 awards handed out nationally for fire mitigation worked performed in communities. Three Colorado winners were Peggy Beach of Pagosa Springs, Les Cole or La Plata County and [read more]
Forests and woodlands across the state of Arizona are in need of market development opportunities to facilitate on-the-ground restoration activities. Arizona State Forestry and the USDA Forest Service are committed to advancing the installation of commercially viable wood energy systems in the public and private applications that use woody biomass generated from public lands and [read more]
The next federal spending bill should establish a new way to pay for fighting ever-more-severe wildfires as the cost of mobilizing fire trucks, helicopters, air tankers and hundreds of firefighters burns through more than half of the U.S. Forest Service budget, a top USDA official said this week. In a section of Medicine Bow National [read more]
