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Most American’s don’t realize that Forest products are a part of daily life. From buildings, bridges, and paper, to energy, chemicals and even jobs, our society depends on trees to provide for us.  In recognition of the importance of forest products to our nation, President Obama has proclaimed the week of October 21-27, 2012 as National Forest Products Week.

The Forest Service has been conducting forest products research for more than 100 years in support of its mission to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the Nation’s forests. Forest products research promotes the responsible use of wood. New products and technologies that are developed through this research create jobs, especially in rural areas, and stimulate economic growth.

STEM – the fields of study in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

No one had trouble communicating despite the acronym overload at a STEM Internship Expo hosted recently at Phoenix College in Arizona.

Several USDA agencies gathered under the shade of a canopy with tables packed with information on internship programs and career opportunities for STEM students. USDA Rural Development staff was joined by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Forest Service. Other USDA agencies were also represented.

You don’t have to be in a lake or river, on a forest or in a wilderness area to participate in the outdoors.

If you live in a city, a fun and interesting outdoor experience can be right in your own backyard.

Through the Forest Service’s partnership with the Wilderness Inquiry’s Urban Wilderness Canoe Adventures program, hundreds of inner city youth from the Washington, D.C. area are exploring the beauty of the Anacostia River in voyageur canoes Oct. 23-27.

A ceremony Oct. 20 in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., marked the completion of a series of important federal, state, and locally funded trail projects, the official grand opening of the Mammoth Lakes Trail System, and the celebration of the agency partnerships that supported it. The project helped to create a network of trails from within the town of Mammoth Lakes going out to the surrounding public lands.

Several noteworthy long-term trails projects were honored including the completion of the Lakes Basin Path, and the wayfinding and interpretive signage that was installed along paths and trails in the area.

This time of year brings back fond childhood memories. Fall’s increasing chill and leaf-covered ground take me back to elementary school, where nature and the changing seasons served as learning material. A favorite lesson I learned was how to create a book of pressed leaves.

Muskegs, a colloquial term for peat bogs, blanket 10 percent of the Tongass National Forest. These wetlands range in size from a few square feet to many acres. Over the ages, muskegs formed as Sphagnum mosses, rushes and sedges grew and built up spongy carpets in these very wet, almost treeless areas.

This week, USDA and other federal departments and agencies are recognizing the huge success of the 4^th annual Feds Feed Families Food Drive. USDA employees, farmers, and friends raised a total of 2.77 million pounds of food this summer!  The U.S. Forest Service was a big part of this effort and the stories below captures a snapshot of how several different Forest Service offices helped fill the shelves of food banks and food pantries in their communities.

In Duluth, Minnesota, the Superior National Forest Supervisor’s Office set a goal of 2,500 pounds for the food drive. As an incentive to encourage their team, Forest Supervisor Brenda Halter and Deputy Supervisor Tim Dabney promised they would wear Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl costumes and greet people in Duluth’s Canal Park if they reached their goal. The staff pulled together and donated 4,500 pounds of food to Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. With the goal met and far exceeded, the Forest Supervisor and Deputy Supervisor put on the Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl costumes!

While most teens were enjoying a much deserved summer break, South Tahoe High School seniors Emily Barnett and Tyler Myers were prepping for an international competition. With the support of their teacher and Forest Service (FS) employees, they presented their field research project, “The Effects of Fire and Forest Thinning on the Biodiversity of Understory Plants in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” at the 9^th Annual International Junior Foresters’ Competition.

Apparently hard work does pay off…they won Third Prize amongst 52 projects presented by students from around the world. The students were honored during a concert celebrating “Day of the Forest Worker” in Moscow, during which the host and Head of the Russian Federal Forestry Agency, V.N. Maslyakov, presented their prizes.

The competition held Sept. 12^_14, is an annual event that brings together young scientists from many nations to promote and reward their efforts in the environmental field and encourage international dialogue concerning forestry issues.  This year, close to 100 students from 35 countries competed.  The students’ projects (a written report and a 10 minute presentation) were judged by an international panel of fifteen forestry experts.  This was the first time the United States participated in the competition.

Every fall, nature puts on a dazzling show across America’s great outdoors for all of us to see.

Whether you’re an adventurist or someone who just likes a good road trip, national forests are the places to be this time of year.

Their eyes wide open and their minds prepped to learn, a group of Native American youths from Florida recently glimpsed the skills and knowledge needed for  Forest Service careers during a field trip to the Apalachicola National Forest.

Forest professionals from civil engineering, landscape architecture, archaeology and recreation escorted teenagers from the Florida Indian Youth Program during their visit.  The teens got the stories behind several hiking, biking and fishing day-use areas on the forest. The goal was to give the teens insight in the process of creating user-friendly recreation sites. From idea, to planning, to execution, the employees presented the stages involved in site development.