Forest Focus

This is the fifth and final installment of a miniseries about amphibian conservation and determination called For the Frogs. This time, we meet the mountain yellow-legged frog and tag along during a reintroduction of this endangered species to the Angeles National Forest.

This is the fourth installment of a miniseries about amphibian conservation and determination called For the Frogs. In each episode, we will meet to one native amphibian that can be found in California's national forests. These creatures are important to ecological health and can deepen our connections with public lands, but they are also in a state of decline. Fortunately, a village of specialist...

In this episode we turn back towards Nature's Benefits and cut further into Timber and Wood Products by discussing Wood Innovations and Biomass Utilization with a program specialist from the Pacific Southwest Regional Office. We talk grants, mass timber, forward-thinking projects, tribal initiatives, urban forestry and more with guests from Angeles National Forest and a sawmill owner in Los Angele...

We’re taking a wilderness walk in recognition of this anniversary year of the 1964 Wilderness Act, which created the National Wilderness Preservation System. But long before the Wilderness Act, and long before we were even using the word “wilderness”, these lands were used and stewarded by Indigenous communities. So designated wilderness areas are both Tribal homelands and places for recreation. T...

This is the third installment of a miniseries about amphibian conservation and determination called For the Frogs. In each episode, we will meet to one native amphibian that can be found in California's national forests. These creatures are important to ecological health and can deepen our connections with public lands, but they are also in a state of decline. Fortunately, a village of specialists...

This is the second installment of a miniseries about amphibian conservation and determination called For the Frogs. In each episode, we will meet to one native amphibian that can be found in California's national forests. These creatures are important to ecological health and can deepen our connections with public lands, but they are also in a state of decline. Fortunately, a village of specialist...

This is the first installment of a miniseries about amphibian conservation and determination. We're calling the miniseries For the Frogs. In each episode, we will meet to one native amphibian that can be found in California's national forests. These creatures are important to ecological health, and once we get to know them, they can deepen our connections with public lands. But each of these speci...

There are portals within many national forests that offer entry into realms of the most curious forms of biodiversity. These underground chambers and hallways are called lava tubes or caves. In these landscapes below the ground, tiny creatures creep in the shadows in costumes of faded hues. Their pallor is paired with neighboring life forms that sparkle when hit by a flashlight, as if dusted with...

In this episode, we ride along with a Recreation Technician from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest while he grooms 55 miles of trails for snowmobilers and ask him more about his work throughout the year, how does he make that corduroy pattern, what is that big red button for, and other hard snowball hitting questions. Then, we get behind the wheel. How hard can it be?

In 2024, the Pacific Southwest Research Station was part of the Forest Service's research and development organization. R&D employed more than 500 scientists, as well as several hundred technical and support personnel, located at 67 sites throughout the U.S. In this episode, we focus on three employees to share who they are and how they have contributed at the station.

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) became extirpated, or locally extinct, in California in the 1920s. But this large member of the dog family was once a native species in California that ranged widely here and throughout much of the United States. In recent years, gray wolves have been returning to California. Their slow comeback is a natural progression of population growth happening in others western s...

When it comes to getting perspective on forest health, sky-high observations are a big help in California. With over 30 million acres of forested land throughout the state, there is a lot of ground to cover. So, each summer, Forest Service aerial tree survey specialists spend several weeks in the aircraft gathering observations on tree mortality in lands of all ownerships.

National Forests are locations where we can listen to a concert of wildlife sounds. The caws, croaks, howls, growls and squeaks we might hear are gems of information about wildlife and their habitat. The USDA Forest Service and partners work together to conserve and restore land that wildlife species need to survive but to avoid unintended negative impacts on wildlife, it is essential to know what...

Species are designated as endangered when their population is in significant decline, which often means documentation of these species in their natural habitat is increasingly challenging. Perhaps as difficult as landing on a conclusive verbal description of how they look. But knowing where endangered species like the fisher are in the landscape and how many of them are there, is essential for the...

[Croak. Ribbit. Croak. Ribbit.] This is the anthem of Frog Fridays. This May-time wildlife survey is held within a stream on the Tahoe National Forest, where foothill yellow-legged frogs lay their eggs. Each outing is part training exercise, part data collection for future habitat restoration and part protection mission. And it is where we will literally get our feet wet in wildlife conservation.

This is the audio version of our first Videocast (Search Cone Camp: I Feel the Need, the Need for Seed on YouTube) from one of the four Cone Camps held in 2023. The camps are built around a day in the classroom and a day in the field. Participants network and learn from industry experts from American Forests, USDA Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and the California Cone Corps. On the agenda: cone phenolo...

In this episode we learn the valuable connection between beavers and meadows. In a meadow, the squish of mud and splash of a slightly flooded landscape are signs of health. It can be easy to overlook meadows within national forests, perhaps simply because our attention is more often drawn to things that fill a space - a lake, a mountain, a grove of trees - rather than what appears to be merely ope...

In this episode, we return once again to our series on Nature's Benefits. Today, we will focus on a benefit you can't see. Well, you can see the effects of it... it's a bit hard to explain. Luckily, we have Lara Buluc back to handle the reins, along with experts to talk about...Carbon.

Springtime is defined as an early or flourishing stage of development, and after a wildfire damages the landscape, we sometimes see teams of people replanting trees within the burn scar during the early part of the year. Jamie Hinrichs helps explain reforestation efforts in a very special place in the forest.

Have you ever wondered why some trees -- in certain locations, a lot of trees -- are brown and dying? The connection between bark beetles, drought and tree mortality is a topic of this episode and how researchers are looking into making trees less attractive...to bark beetles, not tree huggers.

In this episode, we learn about tree disease and how it affects forest health from Jamie Hinrichs. Jamie was featured in Episode 28: Trails and Transformation when she took us to the Inyo National Forest backcountry to hear from a California Conservation Corps trail crew. Expect to hear more from Jamie and her adventures into the forest in future episodes in what we will start calling an occasiona...

In the episode, we focus on another nature's benefits: recreation. This continues our series on the many benefits forests provide so let's take a long hike and chat about how we understand outdoor activities. The diverse landscapes and climates in California’s 18 National Forests provide many outdoor recreation opportunities to nearly 24 million people annually including: hiking, camping, picnicki...

In this episode, we meet up with a backcountry trail crew on the Inyo National Forest. California Conservation Corps members and the United States Forest Service staff tell us what it takes to live and work on the trail. As we shall soon learn, the combination of partnership, funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, and True Grit brings transformation for the trail and the crew.

In this episode, we focus on how reforestation and restoration projects begin. It all starts with a seed. What happens when a national forest in California needs to replant trees after the damage of a wildfire, insects or other harmful activity that has scarred the landscape? What they need are seedlings adapted to grow in specific elevations and climates. What they need to do is call the seed spe...

National Forests are loved by many people for many things beyond the recreational benefit they provide. We will tie in Episode 22: Employee Spotlight: Hydrologist, Stewardship Coordinators with another amazing benefit carved into the national forest landscape. History. Historical markers can be found throughout California's forests, parks, cities and towns that speak towards the Native American tr...