Faces of the Forest

To be a wildlife biologist and to be in Alaska … it’s not a question, it’s the good life for this Forest Service land manager. Just ask Robert Stovall, the deputy district ranger for the Seward Ranger District since 2009 for Alaska’s Chugach National Forest. There are no roads into the forest’s...

When Katie Armstrong read “So You Want to be a Forester,” like many high school students she wasn’t sure what career path she wanted to follow. So she decided to attend a summer forestry camp offered by Michigan Tech. After the camp she was hooked. Then she set her goal on attending Michigan State...

Ryan Hanavan is a multi-faceted individual who enjoys his work on the front lines of forest health as an entomologist for the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry. “I have always been fascinated by insects and this career has essentially allowed me to explore a lifelong curiosity,” Hanavan...

Jennifer Heisey Barnhart has always loved the outdoors so it’s only logical that all of her jobs have been working outdoors. Jennifer is a fairly new employee of the U.S. Forest Service, currently working with the Andrew Pickens Ranger District on the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina for...

This summer, USDA is highlighting partnerships to invest in the future of rural America. Our partners work with us year after year to leverage resources and grow economic opportunities. They are the key to ensuring our rural communities thrive. Follow more of our stories on Twitter at @USDA or using...

When a forester embraces the various challenges of his job – such as timber management, building roads, squelching wildfires or perhaps even national policy issues – you can count on the variety of experiences and the ever-changing nature of the job to provide interest. For Dick Fitzgerald...

Betsy Howell has a professional and personal interest in conserving two diverse parts of U.S. history. As a wildlife biologist on the Olympic National Forest in Washington State she focuses part of her work on the history and future of the fisher, a member of the weasel family considered threatened...

Jim Lootens-White, an information technology specialist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station, has a keen interest in interpreting scientific data and developing web projects to highlight the compelling research accomplishments of the station’s scientists. As an IT specialist for...

Finding a sense of place is a huge factor in the life of this district interpreter on the world’s largest temperate rainforest - the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Corree Seward Delabrue has either lived in or travelled through many of our nation’s states. But Alaska holds the allure of the...

Over his 40-year career as a forester, scientist, teacher, and writer, Aldo Leopold brought a greater understanding of our relationship with the natural world at a time when the technological advances of the 20 th century increasingly shut people off from their surroundings.