#EarthDay

Earth Day is April 22 and on this unique and special day the U.S. Forest Service is celebrating our nation’s forests and grasslands. Looking from space, the world has been described as the great blue planet. But you don’t need to travel beyond our atmosphere to see the Earth for what it is — a...

It’s a fact most of us learned in grammar school. More than seventy percent of the earth’s surface is water. On this 45th Earth Day, I can’t help but be proud to recognize the work that USDA Rural Development is doing to improve water quality and availability in Rural America. Today, USDA is...

I am a soil health geek. I didn’t seek to become a geek. But the more I learned about our living and life-giving soil, the more I became convinced this miracle under our feet holds the promise of our future. We are all connected to the soil. Without it, life as we know it would not exist. However...

This Earth Day I visited the rural Maine community of Hartland, population 1,782, for its 1 st Annual Earth Day Celebration. I was greeted by Hartland’s Interim Town Manager Christopher Littlefield, and the smiling children, residents, town and wastewater officials who welcomed me to their community...

As part of USDA’s weeklong celebration of the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, I had the pleasure of visiting Wayne County, Pennsylvania to announce funding that will bring improved water and wastewater services to residents and businesses of The Hideout, one of the state’s lake communities in the...

Earth Day is an every-day celebration! It’s also about the future -- creating a safe and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren. That's just what I celebrated with the families at Mountain View Estates in Oasis, California, alongside Congressman Raul Ruiz and California State...

Do you like to go swimming or fishing? Rivers and lakes are cleaner thanks to USDA water/sewer investments in rural communities. On Monday, I joined Earth Day celebrations in the rural communities of Sparta and Monterey, Tenn. Part of being good stewards of the Earth and our natural resources is...

As we celebrate Earth Day and think about ways to protect our environment, we cannot ignore the dramatic effects that climate change is having on our planet. To help the U.S. Forest Service respond to a changing climate, the Climate Change Resource Center , an online portal to credible, relevant and...

For years, it was believed that a certain amount of cropland soil erosion was inevitable. But by using conservation techniques like cover crops, no-till and diverse crop rotations, an increasing number of farmers are proving that we can actually build our soils and, in some instances, increase soil...

Earth Day is a reminder that some of our best moments can be spent in the great outdoors. Getting outside is one of the best ways to feel re-invigorated, whether on a short hike to the Crags Trail on Pike National Forest or on a longer exploration of the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail, which winds...