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When most people think about football they’re not likely imagining urban forests—or planting trees for that matter. But that’s exactly what the U.S. Forest Service and Green Bay Packers through their First Downs for Trees program, wants you to think: Plant trees and lots of them.

In fact, last year through the program’s successful initiatives, more than 400 trees were planted in 22 communities. This year the program, which includes the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division, is expanding with the planting of more than 850 trees in 26 communities.

Welcome to the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway All American Road.

This 500-mile byway celebrates the spectacular scenery of the volcanic landscapes between Lake Almanor in California and Crater Lake, Oregon.

Along this journey from volcano to volcano you’ll find opportunities for adventure, exploration, communion with nature and an appreciation for the culture and history of the region. You’ll also find residents eager to share the beauty and mystery of this land that is dotted with evidence of an eruptive past.

How do you get tent caterpillars and termites to follow a circle on a piece of paper? Paint the circle with pheromones.

This was one of the many cool facts that kids and adults learned perusing the USDA exhibits at the USA Science & Engineering Festival this past weekend.   I joined thousands of people during this three-day event designed to revive interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and promote careers in those fields.

A Forest Service Recovery Act grant to the Land-of-Sky Regional Council (LOSRC) to implement the Western North Carolina Forest Products Cooperative Marketing Project has provided the momentum to help local businesses expand and diversify while offering producers and consumers a practical means of finding one another.

LOSRC is a non-profit, voluntary association of local governments that manages regional projects and provides services to its members in the areas of planning, economic and community development since 1966.

Climbers are being asked to temporarily avoid a popular rock wall on the western slopes of Washington’s Cascade Mountains because it’s become a nesting spot for peregrine falcons.

Hoping to find ways to reverse a potential environmental disaster, several land managing federal agencies are working together in the Greater Yellowstone Area, which includes the Shoneshone, Gallatin and Teton National Forests, to address the wide spread loss of whitebark pine trees due to the effects of climate change.

Law enforcement officers with the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests joined forces with about 70 other professionals recently to showcase their careers at Clarkesville Elementary School in Clarkesville, Ga.

The Forest Service is a regular participant in the school’s career day.  Captain Stuart Delugach and Officer Derik Breedlove talked with the students about jobs in Forest Service law enforcement.  This year they met with approximately 500 students and showed off some of the tools of the trade, including their All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and law enforcement vehicles.

The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitors Center is a large public building that is used by more than 140,000 visitors a year. With steeply rising utility costs over the last decade limited funding for operational costs were suggesting shorter operating hours and reduced seasonal openings to save money. To avoid limiting public services, the Forest Service began to explore alternative solutions.

Situated in a climate where the sun shines an average of 289 days of the year, installation of a photovoltaic power system for the visitor center offered a logical opportunity to cut energy costs and reduce the agency’s carbon footprint.  In 2010, Forest Service Recovery Act funding offered the opportunity for the investment for the energy and money saving technology.

The first weekend of the first ever Women in Wildland Fire Boot Camp exceeded the expectations of boot camp organizer, Bequi Livingston.

“The first session of our boot camp programs were beyond incredible and certainly one of the highlights of my career. I think that we have certainly developed a model for future use that is very successful and provides so much ownership at the field level,” Livingston said.

For over a century, toxic runoff from the Blue Ledge Mine destroyed  aquatic life and fisheries in Joe Creek, a tributary to the world-famous Rogue River in Oregon.