Climate Change

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with Mexican Agricultural Secretary Francisco Mayorga in Merida, Mexico to discuss agriculture and trade. The two agricultural leaders engaged in a very productive dialogue on a wide range of issues important to both the United States and Mexico.

Earlier today it was my privilege to address those attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico. Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing our planet, and the United States is taking significant action to meet this challenge. Under President Obama’s leadership...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is speaking today at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, at 2:30 p.m. EST. He will be addressing actions that USDA is taking to strengthen the role of agriculture and forestry in helping to address climate change. The Secretary will...

Every summer since I was four years old, I’ve been returning to a small glacial lake in Northern Wisconsin where my family had summer cottages. As a child, I’d spend all day swimming in the lake that was darkened by the tannins secreted by the surrounding hemlock trees. The lake was often so cold...

Most people do not realize that more than half the water in the United States comes from watersheds managed on forests. Used in homes, on ranches, in industry and for energy production, water resources in forests provide important services to people, as well as habitat for a wide variety of aquatic...

This post is Part Two of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Read part one here.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. On July 20, the Forest Service announced a new system for integrating consideration of climate change into agency...

A new publication by the USDA Forest Service, Private Forest, Public Benefits, explains how privately held forests in the U.S. are under substantial stress from the effects of climate change, wildfire, insects, pathogens and urban development. And since 55 percent of all national forested lands are...

By David Cleaves, U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Advisor This update is one way we are trying to connect people inside and outside the Forest Service around the issues and the lessons we are learning in this changing climate. In implementing the Department’s new Strategic Plan (described in the...

By David Cleaves, U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Advisor “Sound climate science is the foundation for an effective management response.” These were Chief Tidwell’s words to the participants of a Forest Service workshop on climate change adaptation this past April. Using science to help us deal...