By Mikayla Manthiram Young children and teenagers today are growing up amid looming, existential threats, not least of which is a changing climate. Catastrophic wildfire, drought, and extreme weather events, all exacerbated by climate change, have created a generation of climate conscious young people. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is a program for these students. It [read more]
By Keith Wood Friday (April 30th) is National Arbor Day! Last year’s Arbor Day celebrations (and just about everything else) looked different than normal because of COVID-19. To the state and local urban and community forestry programs that found creative ways to celebrate last year: we commend you! 2020 helped us all realize how important [read more]
By Robyn Whitney Last week before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen provided glowing testimony on the efficacy of state and private forestry programs, including those most important to state foresters and their agencies. Below are a few choice excerpts from the hearing: On Forest [read more]
By Hannah Wagner The Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition (SUFC) held its 16th annual meeting and reception on February 24, 2021. Like most meetings this past year, the group met virtually via Zoom and made the most of their remote get-together with the help of facilitators. In all, 75 attendees participated—far more than would have normally [read more]
Please join us in welcoming the newest member to the NASF team, Communications Coordinator Hannah Wagner! In her new role, Hannah is most looking forward to flexing her creativity on social media and strengthening NASF's online presence. She will also be assisting in the administration of NASF's three awards programs and campaign work, including the [read more]
By Tyler Hoguet and Whitney Forman-Cook | This blog is a cross-post and will appear in the Autumn 2020 edition of the National Woodlands Magazine. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced the largest economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression. During the Great Recession of 2008, America’s real GDP declined by 8.4% during [read more]
By Tyler Hoguet This summer has truly been unique in so many ways. The COVID-19 pandemic placed much of life on hold, and for many of my college peers, it placed their internships on hold as well. While other organizations and institutions decided to suspend their internship programs so they could focus on dealing with [read more]
By Tyler Hoguet The World Economic Forum (WEF) launched 1t.org in January 2020 and has since helped establish Trillion Tree chapters across the globe, including in the United States. The 1t.org platform seeks to unify individuals, businesses, NGOs, and governments in a "global initiative to grow, restore, and conserve one trillion trees around the world" [read more]
By Tyler Hoguet You generally won't see the Firefighter Property Program (FFP) and the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) program included in NASF's annual appropriations recommendations; however, state foresters know that FEPP and FFP are instrumental in helping their agencies fight wildfire nationwide. Both FEPP and FFP help state and local agencies secure much needed firefighting [read more]
By Tyler Hoguet (Image sources are linked below) As recently as 2017, just 11% of adults living in North America (surveyed by the North American Forest Partnership) would characterize the forest industry as “innovative.” And yet, we've seen the recent emergence of several cutting-edge wood technologies and forest products: from mass timber to cellulosic biofuels to [read more]
