January 2021

What do you think of when you hear the phrase family-owned business? You may not immediately think of the family farm, but they are just as important to our economy and communities. In fact, family farms account for 96% of all U.S. farms, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report released last week by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). These farms – 1,789,439 small family farms, 108,304 mid-size family farms, and 52,592 large-scale family farms – collectively produced $318 billion worth of agricultural products in 2017.

For decades, federal, state, and nonprofit organizations have focused on restoring habitat for the iconic Northwestern coho salmon, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Each year, severe wildfires ravage forests across the country, damaging ecosystems, infrastructure and recreation facilities, which are often in need of repair before they can be safely reopened. The 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire--one of the worst in California’s history--devastated more than 459,000 acres, including 288,000 acres of the Mendocino National Forest. That damage meant a lot of work to restore what was lost.