http://www.fs.fed.us/ National news from the U.S. Forest Service en-us http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/srs.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/srs.shtml Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner today announced that more than $389 million in Forest Service revenue will be distributed to 41 states and Puerto Rico for improvements to public schools, roads and stewardship projects. Press Office 2007-12-21 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/openspace.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/openspace.shtml Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell today announced the release of the Forest Service's Open Space Conservation Strategy. Press Office 2007-12-06 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/trends.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/trends.shtml A recent Forest Service determination finds climate change could affect the distribution and diversity of plants and animals in the United States. Press Office 2007-12-04 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/connaughton.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/12/connaughton.shtml U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail R. Kimbell today appointed Kent P. Connaughton as Eastern regional forester. Press Office 2007-11-30 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/11/climate.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/11/climate.shtml The Nobel Committee recently announced the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 in equal parts to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore, Jr. Thirteen U.S. Forest Service researchers are IPCC authors and reviewers and share in this esteemed honor. These scientists specialize in diverse fields including forest ecology, hydrology, soils and climate. Their work is part of studies covering 40 years of climate and air quality research on forested lands. Press Office 2007-11-20 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/strategic-plan.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/strategic-plan.shtml U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today the release of the agency's strategic plan. Press Office 2007-10-29 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/standards.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/standards.shtml The results of a two-year, third party audit released today by the U.S. Forest Service found that five national forests studied as part of the independent audit perform very well in meeting many of the widely accepted standards for sustainable forestry. Press Office 2007-10-29 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/research.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/10/research.shtml U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today key personnel changes for Research and Development within the Agency. Press Office 2007-10-19 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/lands.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/lands.shtml The U.S. Forest Service will join the public and roll up their sleeves for the largest hands-on volunteer effort to preserve America's public lands. Press Office 2007-09-29 http://wwwtest.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/newman.shtml http://wwwtest.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/newman.shtml U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today a key personnel change for the Regional Forester position in the Southwestern Region, which includes Arizona and New Mexico. Press Office 2007-09-28 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/water-quality.pdf http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/09/water-quality.pdf The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have agreed on new steps designed to improve water quality on National Forests and Grasslands. Press Office 2007-09-28 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/08/changes.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/08/changes.shtml U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today two key personnel changes for Regional Forester positions in the Intermountain Region and the Pacific Southwest Region. Press Office 2007-09-06 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/08/rules.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/08/rules.shtml The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is providing public notice and opportunity for comments on proposed rules for National Forest System land management planning and the Forest Service's NEPA procedures. Both proposals have 60-day comment periods. Press Office 2007-08-16 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/06/poster.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/06/poster.shtml Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell will honor the winner of the National Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl poster contest at the World Children's Festival day of Health and Environment on Saturday, June 23. Press Office 2007-06-22 http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2007/june/NR_0706_1.html http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2007/june/NR_0706_1.html In response to the increased national demand for clean renewable energy, the Bureau of Land Management today announced it will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) analyzing areas with high potential for geothermal energy development. Press Office 2007-06-13 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/05/kids.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/05/kids.shtml The U.S. Forest Service awarded a half million dollars in matching challenge cost-share funds today to improve children's health and close the widening gap between America's youth and the outdoors. Press Office 2007-05-22 WASHINGTON, May 21, 2007-The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that an independent Brookings Institution panel found the USDA Forest Service exercised appropriate and adequate fiscal diligence in suppressing wildfires during the record breaking 2006 fire season. Press Office 2007-05-21 WASHINGTON, May 7, 2007-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that the USDA Forest Service has purchased a 5,200 acre parcel—which houses the historically significant and natural resource rich Elkhorn Ranch in western North Dakota. Press Office 2007-05-07 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/04/market-based-conservation.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/04/market-based-conservation.shtml Mark Rey, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, conducted a briefing on April 12th on market-based conservation, a component of the Conservation Title in the Administration's proposal for the 2007 Farm Bill. The goal of market-based conservation is to take conservation beyond the boundaries of the farm, ranch, and forest and develop a system that will make environmental credit trading mainstream. Press Office 2007-04-12 WASHINGTON, Mar. 28, 2007-Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns today demonstrated a one-stop internet site for making reservations and exploring federal recreation lands. They led an event in the nation's capital formally launching a new web site, www.recreation.gov. Press Office 2007-03-28 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/03/civil-rights.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/03/civil-rights.shtml WASHINGTON, March 27, 2007-U.S. Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell announced Debra Muse as the agency's Civil Rights Director. Press Office 2007-03-27 WASHINGTON, Mar. 20, 2007-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced the award of $6.2 million in grants to more than two dozen small businesses and community groups to develop innovative uses for woody biomass, including renewable energy and new products, from national forests. Press Office 2007-03-20 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/new-director-named.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/new-director-named.shtml WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007-Forest Service Deputy Chief of Research and Development Ann Bartuska today announced the selection of Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Franco as director of the Forest Management Sciences Staff. Press Office 2007-02-12 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/oil-and-gas-permits.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/oil-and-gas-permits.shtml WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2007-The Forest Service today announced a new rule that permits it to respond quickly to applications for oil-and-gas exploration on Forest Service land already under federal leases. Press Office 2007-02-09 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/grazing-fee.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/grazing-fee.shtml WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2007-The Federal grazing fee for Western public lands managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management will be $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) in 2007, down from $1.56 in 2006. The newly adjusted fee, determined by a congressional formula and effective on March 1, applies to more than 8,000 permits administered by the Forest Service and nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases administered by the BLM. Press Office 2007-02-02 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/01/recreation.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/01/recreation.shtml WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2007-USDA Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has tapped a National Review Team to gauge the effectiveness of citizen participation in the Recreation Site Facility Master Planning process. Press Office 2007-01-26 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/bosworth-retires.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2007/releases/02/bosworth-retires.shtml WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2007-The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the selection of Abigail Kimbell as the 16th chief of the Forest Service. Kimbell succeeds Chief Dale Bosworth, who is retiring on Feb. 2 after 41 years with the Forest Service. Press Office 2007-01-12 WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2006-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that more than $385 million in Forest Service revenue will be distributed to 41 states and Puerto Rico for improvements to public schools, roads and stewardship projects. Press Office 2006-12-28 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2006/releases/12/scientists.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2006/releases/12/scientists.shtml WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2006-Two U.S. Forest Service scientists, Drs. Julie Sloan Denslow and Barbara Illman, have been elected by their peers as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The fellowships recognize scientists whose "efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished." Press Office 2006-12-27 http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2006/releases/12/ce-statement.shtml http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2006/releases/12/ce-statement.shtml WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2006-The Forest Service has completed environmental review of the new process for developing and updating land management plans under regulations published last year. The environmental review has documented that writing management plans has no effect on the environment, which qualifies the individual plans of each National Forest for categorical exclusion from individual study under the National Environmental Policy Act. Further specific environmental study will be focused on each project that carries out the plan. This completes the final step in the overall revision of the Forest Service's planning process, which began in 2001. Press Office 2006-12-12 WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2006-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is joining with the Department of the Interior, the Western Governor's Association and the National Association of counties in reestablishing their commitment to enhance the health of forests, grasslands and prairies and protect communities from wildland fires. Press Office 2006-12-07 http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061205.html http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061205.html WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2006-Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Under Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey today announced a new interagency recreation pass that will benefit visitors to national public lands. The new pass, authorized by the Congress in 2004, combines the benefits of existing recreation passes from five federal agencies into one comprehensive pass, the "America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass." Press Office 2006-12-06