Category: Environment and People

Helping African American Rural Landowners Keep Family Forests

by Adapted from article by Josh McDaniel in February 2016 Issue of Leaves of Change  • 
After the Civil War, African Americans were deeded or bought property across the South, but at that time they often lacked the money for — or were denied access to — legal resources. As a result, much of this land was passed down through the generations without the benefit of a written will or title and…  More 

Educating Future Engineers about Cities and Trees

by Eric Kuehler, Technology Transfer Specialist, Urban Forestry South  • 
According to the 2010 census, almost 81 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas. As the U.S. loses more of its forests and natural resources to the expansion of urban areas, it is important to provide information about the benefits of trees, forests, and natural areas to city planners and the engineers who…  More 

The Emerging Role of Ecosystem Services in Preventive Medicine

by Viniece Jennings, SRS Integrating Human and Natural Systems unit  • 
There’s growing evidence that spending time in forests, gardens, or parks may improve physical and mental health. Many environmental scientists have embraced the concept of ecosystem services as a framework for understanding how nature contributes to human well-being. However, the term is still unfamiliar to some professionals outside the environmental field. In collaboration with Claire…  More 

Worldwide Loss of Interior Forest

by Stephanie Worley Firley, EFETAC  • 
Between 2000 and 2012, the world lost forest area and gained forest area. But the losses exceeded the gains, according to U.S. Forest Service researchers and partners who compared tree cover data from those years and estimated a global net loss of 1.71 million square kilometers of forest — an area about two and a…  More 

In the Southeast, Who’s in the Path of Smoke Plumes?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
For more than 30 years, researchers have known that poor communities and people of color in the U.S. are more likely to be affected by environmental threats such as landfills and toxic waste sites. “Are these socially vulnerable communities also exposed to more smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires?” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Cassandra…  More 

Historic Camp Claiborne, Louisiana

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A new book published by the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station richly illustrates the legacy of Camp Claiborne, a military site established on the Kisatchie National Forest during World War II.  SRS emeritus scientist Jim Barnett wrote the book with co-authors Kisatchie deputy district ranger Douglas Rhodes and district ranger Lisa Lewis. In 1939,…  More 

How the Urban Forest Strike Teams Began

by Excerpted from longer article by Paul Revell, Urban Forestry Coordinator, Virginia Department of Forestry  • 
The Urban Forest Strike Teams (UFSTs) are a means for city foresters, state foresters, commercial arborists, and others to quickly come to the aid of a region whose urban forest has been impacted by a natural disaster. Here’s the backstory.  In 2003, Hurricane Isabel cut a devastating path across Virginia, leaving lots of damaged trees…  More 

Linking Water, Forests, & Communities in Atlanta: Part 2

by Josh McDaniel ; Annie Hermansen- Báez, InterfaceSouth  • 
Projects led by Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) researchers support a wide partnership effort to clean up an urban Atlanta river and revitalize the communities in its watershed. Proctor Creek snakes through downtown Atlanta and eventually works its way north to the Chattahoochee River. Along the way it passes through both middle and lower…  More 

Linking Water, Forests, & People in Atlanta: Part 1, Urban Forest Assessment

by Josh McDaniel; Annie Hermansen- Báez, InterfaceSouth  • 
Projects led by Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) researchers support a wide partnership to clean up an urban Atlanta river and revitalize the communities in its watershed. Proctor Creek snakes through downtown Atlanta and eventually works its way north to the Chattahoochee River. Along the way it passes through both middle and lower income…  More 

Intertribal Timber Council Scholarships Connect Students with Forest Service Scientists

by Patty Matteson, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Climate change, groundwater, and air quality are just a few of the focus areas of the recipients of the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC) Native American Natural Resource Scholarships announced recently. Connecting these students with U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS)  scientists is a goal of the continuing ITC-SRS partnership. “These students are encouraged to reach out to…  More