forest service

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached the milestone of administering one million COVID-19 vaccines throughout the country. This occasion comes on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement that nearly 150 million people in the United States have been vaccinated.

Deceptively delicate and fragile in appearance, the Eurasian watermilfoil forms thick mats in shallow areas of a lake, quickly growing and spreading to block sunlight, killing off native aquatic plants that fish and other underwater species rely on for food and shelter.

On the cold January night following her swearing in earlier in the day as the first woman vice president of the United States, Kamala D. Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff stood before the Lincoln Memorial. The stoic face of Lincoln looked eastward, past some of the signposts of our history in the form of war memorials and monuments, all the way to the U.S. Capitol. The monuments before both Lincoln and Harris are symbols of American history; but this January, history was unfolding at Lincoln’s feet.

Like many of us, I spent most my life thinking of vaccinations as an item to check off the list at a routine doctor’s visit or as preparation for an international trip. I never imagined that someday every adult in the United States might need access to a critical, life-saving vaccine all at once. The logistics to carry that out—needless to say—are daunting.

Every year roughly 100,000 avalanches sweep down mountains across the U.S., damaging everything in their path and killing 28 people on average.

For decades, federal, state, and nonprofit organizations have focused on restoring habitat for the iconic Northwestern coho salmon, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Each year, severe wildfires ravage forests across the country, damaging ecosystems, infrastructure and recreation facilities, which are often in need of repair before they can be safely reopened. The 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire--one of the worst in California’s history--devastated more than 459,000 acres, including 288,000 acres of the Mendocino National Forest. That damage meant a lot of work to restore what was lost.