Topic: USDA Forest Service

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Wildfire season: 7 ways you can help save lives and property

Homeowners living within a mile of forests or any fire-prone landscape – public or private, rural or urban – can take simple preventive steps to limit damage from wildfires. Here are seven ways to help your community become "fire adapted" and contain rising fire-control costs.

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Ash borer beetle shows up in Iowa (again)

Ash borer beetle, first spotted in Iowa three years ago, has now appeared in a second location in the state, officials announced Tuesday. Most ash borer beetle infestations have been caused by people unknowingly moving infested firewood, nursery plants and sawmill logs across county and state lines.
Idyllwild fire a 'rapidly changing animal'

Idyllwild fire burned seven homes in the mountains west of Palm Springs, Calif., late Monday and early Tuesday as the fire more than doubled in size. The Idyllwild fire was mostly moving away from small communities and toward the desert, but officials said a shift in wind could easily sweep it back toward homes.
The Simple Dollar The National Park system is the best vacation value in the country

The National Park Service provides tremendous value for US travelers. If you’re planning a family summer vacation, keep our national parks and national forests in mind.
Arizona wildfire: Details emerge on tragedy that killed 19 hotshots

As more becomes known about the devastating Arizona wildfire that killed 19 members of a hotshot team, broader questions are being raised, including roles of residential development and climate change.
Prayers for firefighters

A Christian Science perspective.
Powerhouse wildfire north of L.A. heralds a much longer fire season

The Powerhouse wildfire, which has blackened 30,000 acres and forced thousands to evacuate their homes, suggests climate change is making fire seasons longer, analysts say.
Wildfire season: 7 ways you can help save lives and property

Homeowners living within a mile of forests or any fire-prone landscape – public or private, rural or urban – can take simple preventive steps to limit damage from wildfires. Here are seven ways to help your community become "fire adapted" and contain rising fire-control costs.
Brood II: After 17 years, billions of eastern US cicadas rise again

After 17 years out of sight and under foot, billions of noisy, bulge-eyed Brood II cicadas are crawling out of the ground in the eastern US to mate, hatch offspring, and start the cycle anew.
Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac & Other Writings on Conservation and Ecology

The collected writings of American naturalist Aldo Leopold appear in a beautiful new edition from the Library of America.
Cabin burglar: How Utah sheriffs caught a six-year fugitive

Cabin burglar caught in Utah: A suspect who lived in the mountains on the run for six years, Troy James Knapp, was caught this week. The so-called "cabin burglar" lived off the land and in Wasatch Mountain cabins.
Sardines in India latest indicator of how your food is on the move

Mumbai’s new sardine bounty is an example of how warmer temperatures may be redrawing the world’s geographic distribution of food with potential implications for what and how we eat.
Wildland fires: New yardstick for risk aims to help protect communities

The risk index announced Wednesday is a tool for communities in the 'wildland-urban interface,' where development has pushed into areas in which wildfires are part of the ecology.
In Pacific Northwest, a welcome break from a very wet week

Flood watches continue in the Pacific Northwest, but the latest storm to blow in via the 'Pineapple Express' has moved inland. Some areas have seen as much as 15-20 inches of rain since Nov. 27.
Jesus statue: Lawsuit filed by atheists to remove it from Montana mountain

Jesus statue lawsuit: A statue of Jesus Christ near the Whitefish Mountain ski resort is on federal land. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, and an atheist skiier, have filed a lawsuit to remove the statue that's been there since 1955.
Calif. freeway shut down over wildfire worries

The interstate is the main highway from the region to Las Vegas.
Dodging the law, scouring forests for...ginseng?

A new breed of ginseng diggers are looking to parlay rising Asian demand for the increasingly rare plant's roots into a fast buck. Amid a sluggish economy, police say, more poachers are seeking out wild ginseng, ripping up even the smallest plants and ignoring property lines.
Editor's Blog Tracing America's green roots

John Muir and Gifford Pinchot represent the two strains of environmentalism in the United States -- and most of us think like both of them. We want nature pristine and undisturbed, but we also rely on its resources and understand the need to use care in extracting them.
Did guns trigger western wildfires? (+video)

So far this year, dozens of wildfires have been traced to shooting. But politicians are hesitant to restrict gun use and gun rights advocates are skeptical of the link between shooting and fire.
Tanker crash shows US firefighting fleet badly needs overhaul, critics say

Grounded for a day after a deadly crash in South Dakota, firefighting C-130 tankers have taken to the skies again. The questions remain about whether the Forest Service has enough air power.
Key part of firefighting fleet grounded after fatal S.D. C-130 crash

The decision by the military to put seven C-130s on an indefinite 'operational hold' has removed critical firefighting aircraft from the skies during one of the busiest and most destructive wildfire seasons ever to hit the West.
Air Force C-130 crashes while fighting wildfire

An Air Force C-130 crashed will dropping fire retardant on a wildfire in South Dakota. Six crew members were on board the C-130, but no official word on casualties.
Colorado wildfire: Have we learned any lessons? (+videos)

Ten years after the devastating Hayman Fire caused policy changes and a new federal law, another massive Colorado wildfire is causing destruction. Experts have a good idea about what's wrong, but fixing it is another matter.
Colorado wildfire: Weather forecast offers hope as fire marches toward city (+video)

Mayor Steve Bach said a more accurate account will be available later in the day of the damage from a blaze that has burned out of control for much of the week and forced more than 30,000 evacuees to frantically pack up belongings and flee.
Unexpected legacy of wildfires and other emergency events: innovation

While wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other emergency events leave behind devastation, they also create the impetus for investment in new technologies and life-saving innovation.
Waldo Canyon fire: About 300 homes destroyed in Colorado Springs

Waldo Canyon fire: No official reports on damage but the Denver Post says at least 300 homes were burned to the ground by the Waldo Canyon fire Wednesday in Colorado Springs.