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President Obama


Protecting a California Legacy

October 23, 2014 Tom Tidwell, Chief of U.S. Forest Service

It has now been a couple of weeks since President Obama declared the San Gabriel Mountains in California a National Monument, and I’m still very excited about the great prospects ahead for that area based on this historic proclamation. This is another rare opportunity for the Forest Service to...

Forestry

Connecting Communities: Broadband for Rural America Benefits Us All

October 22, 2014 Doug O'Brien, Acting Under Secretary, USDA Rural Development

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced over $190 million of investment in broadband projects through USDA's Community Connect program, the Public Television Digital Transition Grant, and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program. Time and time again, we hear stories about the significant impact...

Rural Technology

National School Lunch Week Offers a Time to Celebrate Children's Health

October 15, 2014 Dr. Janey Thornton, Deputy Under Secretary, USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services

On Friday, President Obama recognized October 12-18 as National School Lunch Week with an official proclamation. The message thanks hardworking school food service professionals, the tireless staff who demonstrate a daily commitment to providing schoolchildren with proper nutrition to enrich their...

Food and Nutrition

Celebrating America's Newest National Monument: The San Gabriel Mountains

October 10, 2014 Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama

Today, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish 346,177 acres of USDA National Forest land in the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California as a national monument, permanently protecting the popular outdoor recreation destination to increase access and outdoor...

Forestry

Secretary's Column: Bioeconomy Brings Big Opportunity to Rural America

October 08, 2014 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Today, small businesses and global companies alike have harnessed the power of America’s farms to create new biobased products that are used all around the world. Everything from cleaning products to packing peanuts originates in rural America, and the potential to create even more new products...

Conservation

Tribal Youth Celebrate New, Safe Place to Learn

September 26, 2014 Jasper Schneider, North Dakota State Director, USDA Rural Development

"In the Dakota language, there is no word for 'child' or 'children.' Instead, there is 'wakanyeja,' which means 'sacred little ones,'" reported a local newspaper. The importance of that future generation was evident on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in North Dakota as we broke ground for a new...

Rural

US Forest Service Waives Fees in Support of the Largest, Single-Day Volunteer Effort on Public Lands

September 25, 2014 Carmen Young and Chelsea Suydam, Recreation, Heritage and Volunteer Resources, U.S. Forest Service

As the waning, sweltering summer days transition to the cooler weather of autumn many people take the opportunity to give back by participating in the annual National Public Lands Day. The Sept. 27 event, in its 21 st year, is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort in support of public...

Forestry

Obama Administration Launches Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture

September 24, 2014 Secretary of State John Kerry, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Dr. Rajiv "Raj" Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development

From record droughts in Kansas to deadly wildfires in California, the United States is feeling the effects of climate change. These same conditions have a dire impact across the developing world, especially for poor, rural smallholder farmers whose very lives are threatened every time the rains...

Conservation Food and Nutrition Trade

New State-of-the-Art School Complex on the Warm Springs Reservation Celebrates Traditions, Nurtures Young Learners

September 12, 2014 Deputy Under Secretary Patrice Kunesh

As young learners of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation of Oregon walk through the doors of their new school this month, they will become part of a new history of education ideals and community collaboration that will ensure their future success and well-being. The new Warm Springs Academy, funded...

Rural

Secretary's Column: The Land and Water Conservation Fund at 50: As Important Today as Ever

September 03, 2014 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Today, September 3, 2014, marks two important 50 th anniversaries: the signing of the Wilderness Act and the establishment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Since President Lyndon Johnson signed both pieces of legislation in 1964, Americans in all 50 states, across thousands of rural and...

Conservation Forestry
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