The MCC crew has finished the site on the Chippewa National Forest. They have planted 10,000 white pine seedlings in three stands that have the North Country Trail winding through them. One of the stands is a red pine plantation that had variable density thinning completed on it a few years ago. Another of the stands was an aspen / hardwood thinning. The white pine has been planted in open areas of the stands and adjacent to the trail. The two crews constructed and placed wire cages that are 5 ft. tall around a portion of the white pine along the trail. The cages are staked down and will be in place to protect the pine from deer browse. After the young pine have grown up past deer browse height the cages will be removed and recycled to another site (approximately 6-10 years).

The MCC crew will return in the fall to do bud capping of natural white pine that is growing on another site. Additional seedling cages may also be constructed at that time if funding allows. Forest staff will also be looking for opportunities to work with local clubs to do volunteer bud capping on the portion of the 10,000 pine that did not get caged.

This project exemplifies the Secretary of Agriculture's emphasis on landscape-scale conservation, an "All Lands" approach, and how it happens at the National Forest level. The Chippewa National Forest regularly works with many of these local government partners and is now looking at projects that can be implemented across agency boundaries with common goals. For this project the particular landscape is well adapted for pine species, while the Chippewa's Forest Plan encourages the establishment and restoration of more pine and partnering with other agencies to help provide the needed funds and labor to accomplish it. Partners believe the project is a great example of what can be accomplished by working together.

This is the first project of the Leech Lake Pines Collaborative (LLPC), made of multiple government agencies (Cass County, US Forest Service, MN DNR, and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) and organizations (The Nature Conservancy, MN Forestry Association, North Central Landscape Committee of the Minnesota Forest Resources Council). They formed in 2008 to explore opportunities for collaborative, boundary-less forest management and to meet the desired outcomes of the North Central Landscape Plan of the Minnesota Forest Resources Council.

The Hoosier National Forest is completely within the Ohio River Basin and began efforts in 2009 to resurvey and identify mussels within the basin. Sites will be revisited from previously surveyed sites by Clarke et al. in 1998 and 1999. These surveys will help to locate federally listed and Regional Forester's sensitive species and determine changes in the mussel assemblage from 1998-1999 to 2009-2010. This information will help to identify potential habitat restoration locations.

In 2009, sites were revisited from Clarke et al.'s (1998) survey of "A Freshwater Mussel Inventory of the Tell City Ranger District; Hoosier National Forest; Perry and Crawford Counties; Indiana." An additional 30 sites were chosen using a random survey design from sites previously surveyed for fish passage assessments by the Indiana Biological Survey.

A total of 31 live freshwater mussels of 9 species were collected. Most live mussels were observed in the Little Blue River and its tributaries. Live mussels were also observed in the Oil Creek and Middle Fork Anderson River systems. No evidence of mussels were observed in Poison Creek, Little Poison Creek, Middle Fork Deer Creek, Deer Creek, the Anderson River systems, Millstone Creek, or the tributaries of Bear Creek. Habitat varied greatly among sites, ranging from high gradient, intermittent streams with boulder and cobble substrates in the upper reaches of the watersheds to deep pool habitats with no flow and clay and silt substrates near the confluence of the Ohio River.

Findings from this study generally compare to those in 1998. No site appears to harbor a significant mussel community. Neither mussel aggregations nor juvenile individuals were observed. Clarke et al.'s (1998) conclusion that the damming of the Ohio River has affected mussel communities within these systems seems plausible. Most sites in the downstream half of each system exhibit lentic (lake, pond) characteristics produced by impoundment of the Ohio River. Effects were observed for several miles upstream of the confluence of most of the systems surveyed. These affects include decreased flow, which creates large pools and increased sediment deposition. This habitat not only reduces possible mussel habitat but also may deter fish from traveling upstream and thus dispersing mussel glochidia.

Suitable mussel habitat (moderate flowing run habitat at the head of shoals, gravel/cobble/sand substrate, good fish populations) did exist at a few sites in the middle portions of the Little Blue River, Oil Creek, and Anderson River tributaries. However, only a few mussels were found even in suitable habitat. Perhaps fish hosts are blocked by downstream lentic conditions. The presence of a few live mussels and a few shells suggests that occasionally a fish host drops glochidia in these areas. However, the frequency is apparently insufficient for formation of mussel communities.

In 2010, sites will be revisited from Clark et al.'s (1999) survey of "A Freshwater Mussel Inventory of Four Tributary Watersheds of the East Fork of White River, Hoosier National Forest, Indiana, with Notes on Other Freshwater Mollusks and on Amphibians and Leeches."

Surveys are being conducted in partnership with the Aquatic Research Center of the Indiana Biological Survey.

When the Iron River and Watersmeet District Offices co-located in May 2010, several employees decided to look for a way to reduce the number of vehicles traveling from Iron River, MI to the new facility located in Watersmeet, MI.

Working with MDOT's contractor "Michivan," the Forest Service, the Transit Subsidy Program, and Michigan Dept. of Transportation, the first public commuter Van is now operating in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan carrying FS employees round-trip daily from Iron County to Watersmeet.

This was a coordinated effort by the Iron River Ranger District employees with support from their supervisors, District Ranger, and Forest Supervisor. The end result: five employees are making a "greener" commute by reducing the amount of fuels and costs, and are lowering our carbon footprint.

You don't need to be in the "city" or have "metro-transit" to have public transportation. We encourage any group interested in van-pooling to give it a try. If you would like more information on how to set up your own vanpool, you can contact Lynn Karvala, Timber Financial Assistant, Ottawa National Forest at 906-358-4047.

Page and her dog, along with US Forest Service Region 8's Law Enforcement team of Kyle Addison and patrol dog Tonka, attended the daily morning staff meeting with US Forest Chief Tom Tidwell. The law enforcement officers spent the rest of the morning at Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigation Headquarters meeting with respective staffs.

During May 7-9, 2010, law enforcement patrol dog teams met with thousands of visitors on Washington D.C.'s mall and presented several demonstrations.

Patrol dogs have become an important part of US Forest Service Law Enforcement activities.

"Both patrol dogs are certified in narcotic detection, handler protection, tracking, suspect apprehension, area, and article searches," said Page. "They have to pass yearly certifications in all areas to earn their Forest Service Law Enforcement badges, and to keep them."

"They're highly intelligent, with a high drive and very social," Page said. "They're an important part of our accomplishing our law enforcement mission on National Forests."

Jarret Ficke and his family hosted a Kids' Fishing Derby at their well-stocked pond in Doniphan, Missouri. Doniphan City Police, with assistance from the Missouri Department of Conservation and Mark Twain National Forest's Eleven Point Ranger District, organized this annual event for about 50 elementary school-aged children.

Some of the children had never fished before and were taught the basics of baiting a hook and casting a line. Other children were "old pros" and immediately set out to catch and release as many fish as they could.

Parents and other assistants were kept busy untangling lines, getting fish off hooks, and offering advice and encouragement. Every child caught at least one fish, mostly bluegill, and some caught largemouth bass. The greatest excitement of the day came when 7-year-old Jessie Kelly caught a huge channel catfish.

After a few hours of fishing, Doniphan Police grilled hot dogs and served them with chips and sodas.

The Forest Service gave each child a colorful fish straw for their drinks and earlier had passed out sunglasses to protect the kids' eyes from the bright sunlight. Before the children left, Missouri's Department of Conservation gave each child a bag full of fishing-related items including hooks, stringers, stickers, and identification guides.

The kids shouted their thanks to the Ficke family and all the Kids' Fishing Derby sponsors. "They laughed and had huge smiles on their faces throughout the event," said Eleven Point District Ranger Tim Bond. "I think we've hooked another generation of anglers!"

Under Missouri's Adopt-A-Highway program, 10 volunteers picked up 45 bags of trash along a 2-mile stretch on US Highway 160 West of Doniphan, MO.

"Weeds and grass were high but arms were long and grips firm," according to Dianna Bland.

The last week in April saw the arrival of fifteen individuals with the Sierra Club on the Forest for their yearly service trip. Together in cooperation with the Forest Service, they completed over 300 hours of volunteer work.

The group was made up of people with diverse backgrounds from all over the country. They came from as far away as Oregon and Virginia, and ranged in age from 26 to 82 years old. Their stay was provided by the Forest Service at Lake Glendale in the Goose Bay camping area. The group arrived on Sunday, April 25, stayed in 13 tents and used the picnic shelter to cook meals and share the evenings. By Friday morning, April 30, most had packed up to leave due to weather, but not before a lot of work had been done on the Forest.

The work week started on April 26 with a hike through Lusk Creek Wilderness led by Terri Treacy. The hike took them all over the Lusk Creek area and covered about 7 miles of trail. While hiking, they picked up trash along the trail, did minor trail maintenance, performed trail monitoring, and removed non-native invasive species (primarily garlic mustard). A total of five garbage bags of garlic mustard were removed from the wilderness and the locations were reported back to Beth Shimp, Hidden Springs Ranger District Botanist.

On Tuesday the group came back to the Lusk Creek Wilderness with the Hidden Springs Ranger District trail crew. The project for the day was to construct two cedar turnpikes to eliminate very muddy spots in the trail and plug several user-made spur trails along the Wishing Well Trail (#481B). In order to accomplish this, hundreds of pounds of mud and muck had to be removed from the trail in order to install the cedar turnpikes on solid soil. The turnpikes, for a combined total of 30 feet, were constructed using timbers harvested in the immediate area, then carried several hundred feet to the project site. Three trails leading to the actual Wishing Well were brushed and plugged using small pieces of cedar left over from the turnpike construction.

Wednesday was an "easy" day for the Sierra Club. They spent the day doing clean up around Lake Glendale and visiting some of the local destinations.

Again on Thursday, the Sierra Club headed into Lusk Creek Wilderness to continue work on the Wishing Well Trail. During the day, there were several different projects. One group was shoveling, hauling and removing mud and muck from drainage on the trail. Roughly one ton of material was removed from the trail and used to fill user-created cuts and spur trails. Another group was working on hauling cedar logs for future use in turnpike construction. A total of seven logs were hauled from over one-quarter of a mile away. These logs ranged in size from 15 to 20 feet long and as much as ten inches in diameter. Other individuals were working on improving the trail tread by raking gravel back into the trail tread. Finally, about ten drainages were constructed or improved.

Thanks to everyone who helped out during the visit, and thanks to the Sierra Club for all their hard work and positive attitudes. Their work helped greatly in improving and protecting the Shawnee National Forest.

A podcast is a short digital (mp3) audio file and often includes video as well. The file can be distributed through email to radio stations as public service announcements or in the form of a sound bite to compliment news releases. Podcasts can be used as an interpretive medium and downloaded on an mp3 player or iPod, or on a CD from websites for a scenic drive, or accessed at an information portal.

Another potential the group discussed was accessing audio messages with a cell phone service from recreation sites or points of interest on the Forest. They also talked about working with partners to cooperatively tell our stories, strengthening our relationships, using podcasts. Someone even suggested producing a podcast with new and retiring employees. The enthusiasm as the group talked about the potential of podcasts was a tangible thing.

But first, all the knobs and wires and equipment had to be de-mystified. Gary patiently explained how the equipment and software worked and then each of us took our turn producing a podcast. Gary had us start from scratch, develop a concept, come up with questions then make our interviewee (another class member) comfortable and at ease. We then did a 2-3 minute interview. Once we had our rough tape complete with giggles, start-overs, and all the distracting "ums and ahs" of everyday speech, we learned to edit the tape. By the end of our editing, as the Shawnee National Forest Public Affairs Officer Becky Banker proclaimed, "we were all sounding silver tongued."

The 8-hr training session also taught us how to ensure our audio products were compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, by providing a transcript (pdf file) when we post the content to the Forest website.

Gary then showed us some tips in videotaping should we want to add video to our tool box of new skills.

Banker said she budgeted $6,000, but only spent about $2500 for top of the line audio podcasting equipment, including audio/video editing software for the Shawnee. With Becky, Lisa Roper, Wendy Cowsert and Donna Rann now trained in how to develop audio podcasts, the Shawnee should soon be turning out many new audio products.

Teena Ligman from the Wayne and Hoosier also attended the training. While the Hoosier doesn't yet have equipment, Teena hopes to acquire some soon and definitely sees the value of podcasts. The women were grateful to Gary who helped get the project going and put on the training. Gary indicated he is willing to train other Forest interested in doing podcasting and encourages others to investigate the potential of this technology.

Within these classes they are taught lessons in wildlife, fisheries, fire protection, forest management, archaeology, tree identification and forest products.

These aren't your typical lecture classes. The OSU extension has the cooperation of a mulitude of instructors from federal and state agencies, private industry, and individual volunteers. Each instructor has taken the time to make the lessons engaging for the students. Seeing the students faces wrinkle at the smell of a skunk lure and the awe of seeing animal skulls rivals their experience they get using a cross-cut saw in the games at the end of the day.

During the four-day School Forestry Tour, students, faculty and volunteers alike are all have a chance to engage in activities that are fun and interesting at the same time. All of which lead to the grand finale of the forestry games. Watching students act out a wildfire in "Nature Charades" is almost drowned out by the cheering of the students doing the "choker-setter" race. Boys against girls in the pulp toss gain excitement as the boys are pulling ahead and the cheers of excited students during the cross-cut sawing get louder with each pass of the saw. The newly taught sawyers breathe heavily as a sweat drips from their foreheads, moving their arms together probably faster than they have ever experienced.

At the end of the day the students are leaving with smiles on their faces, clutching their pieces of wood sawn off during the cross-cutting. Students say thank you as they leave, grinning from ear-to-ear. It really is enjoyable to be able to teach at an event such as this…..and coupled with encouragement from the teachers saying "This was the best day; I can't wait to bring my class next year" lets the staff and volunteers know it is worth the time to come and participate in a day where you can have so much fun.

Written by Emily Veale, Umpqua National Forest

In preparing for their presentations most teams had interviewed county officials and reviewed any planning documents the county or cities might have related to water or drought. They all agreed their officials were unanimously unconcerned and unprepared for water shortages in Indiana. Some officials were quoted as saying droughts happen out west, not here. Yet, the students had learned that in the past droughts HAVE happened in Indiana so they doggedly prepared a plan and some intend to go back to their county commissioners and suggest that they implement some of their suggestions.

Some of the creative ideas the teams suggested included having each household's baseline rates set for what water levels they used in the winter. The price for that level of usage would remain at a steady level year-round but any use above that level would be at a higher rate. The thought was over the summer many people tend to use water less judiciously but by putting a cap on only those who use extra water, people who continue to be frugal are not penalized. Some teams also suggested a water credit system similar to what is currently in effect for carbon credits so that factories and businesses who wanted to use larger amounts of a community's water supply could bargain with their fellow businesses for that right. One team suggested presenting a plan to Indiana cattleman to switch to the Brahman breed which is more drought tolerant.

The Indiana Envirothon competition focuses on five subject areas: forestry, soils, aquatics, wildlife and a current issue which changes each year. In 2010 that issue was Protection of Groundwater through Urban, Agricultural and Environmental Planning. A six person core team plans the event, writes the tests and organizes the eight regional contests and one state contest. Teena Ligman with the Hoosier is responsible for the Current Issue subject each year. The core team also helps coordinate and fund Indiana's first place team going on to compete in the national contest. In 2010 the contest is in Fresno, California.

The scoring for the competition is split between a written test and the oral presentation. The Gibson County 4H Team took first place in the written and first overall for the second year in a row. Clinton County 4H took first place in the oral presentation. The teams that compete also represent FFA classes, science classes, home school groups, and an occasional church group. Whether the team wins or not, the coaches and students continue to thank us for all they learn from the presentations and from the experience of being part of the Envirothon competition. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and all the other partners who help us put the events together each year do a fantastic job of bringing natural resources to the forefront for high school kids in Indiana. In 2010, despite cuts in school funding, we had roughly the same number of teams competing as the previous year so we're encouraged that when schools are looking at things to cut, so far, the Envirothon, is seen as having enough value to be spared.

Lois, whose expertise is interpretive writing was the featured speaker at the weekend workshop for volunteer naturalists and the sole presenter for the Friday, March 5th workshop on "The Art of Interpretive Writing."

The Friday workshop was open to the public and well attended by professionals from Ohio DNR, County parks, private conservation sites, museums, and university properties. It was also attended by seven staff from the Wayne National Forest. As a co-sponsor of the event Wayne employees attended free of charge and fortunately many made good use of the opportunity. Gary Chancey video-taped the presentation for employees unable to attend.

During the workshop we all had an opportunity to write sample interpretive messages, critique examples and learn techniques to avoid what Lois called the "book on a stick" approach to interpretive signage so that our messages would be memorable.

The goal of the workshop was for us to learn to write so that our messages changed the way people thought about the world around them. The jury is still out on how well we as students brought home the message but there's no doubt that Lois was an exceptional teacher!

The Solution - With funding from the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Wood Education and Resource Center, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) prepared a report on how they can reenergize Federal and State efforts to maintain and diversify markets for forest products. The report focuses on the role of the State Foresters, their agencies, and partners in encouraging the use of forest-derived wood and wood used for energy production. The strategies developed promote the use of woody biomass in thermal, electric, and biofuel or bioproducts energy applications.

The report establishes a sound knowledge base on which to build policies and incentives to improve technologies, encourage the development of applications, and promote sustainably managed forests. In addition, the report identifies ways that the State Foresters can serve as informed advocates for the increased use of biomass as an energy source.

Resulting Benefits - Renewable bioenergy increases energy efficiency; reduces dependency on fossil fuel, resulting in a more secure energy future; reduces greenhouse gas emissions; provides state-based Renewable Portfolio Standards and Production tax credit incentives; and provides economic development opportunities for local economies.

Sharing Success - The 46-page report, A Strategy for Increasing the Use of Woody Biomass for Energy is available on the NASF Web site: http://www.stateforesters.org/files/NASF-biomass-strategy-FULL-REPORT-2009.pdf; was presented at the 2008 NASF Annual Meeting; was distributed to the full NASF membership; includes a list of selected Web sites offering information on biomass feedstocks, technologies, and policies.

The Byway hired several consultants to hold focus group meetings in communities where the panels would be located, and to design and prepare the panels for construction and installation. Installation occurred this winter and spring. Each county that participated in the project supplied a matching grant to help pay for the panels. Buzzard Roost area was chosen as one of the sites to receive a panel located at an overlook area on the river with a view of the Ohio River and Kentucky.

The panel can be accessed from the hiking trail that begins along the Buzzard Roost road parking area and terminates at the Ohio River. The panel is very striking and tells the history of Buzzard Roost including how it received its name. The objective of the panel project is to interpret key attractions along the 302 mile portion of the 3 state Ohio River Scenic Byway that runs through southern Indiana. Other Perry County attractions with interpretive panels are the new Eagle's Bluff Park overlooking the Cannelton Locks and Dam in Cannelton, the historic Cotton Mill in Cannelton, and City Hall in Tell City. The Hoosier NF added an additional panel of the same style at Mano Point last summer.

The Hoosier National Forest has been an active member of the Ohio River Scenic Byway organization since its inception.

The half-day session, organized as a field trip on the Bartlett Experimental Forest where the C&M Crew is stationed, included site visits to past and future projects. The informal field environment encouraged an open two-way conversation between crew members and the specialists. Both groups gained an increased appreciation for what goes into a planning and implementing a successful project.

Jacob Ormes, Forest Transportation Engineer, started the meeting by expressing the team's appreciation of C&M Crew 's efforts, and reminded everyone that construction activities have a broad impact on natural resources. He talked about the commitment to do a good job based participation and flexibility, and suggested that the Forest and C&M, in particular, should be "setting the example" for this type of work.

Chris Mattrick, Forest Botanist and Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS) coordinator complemented the C&M crew on their past assistance with invasive species. Since the crew members often work in areas where NNIS is present they are crucial to identifying outbreaks and triggering the rapid response team that the Forest has organized. Chris also reviewed procedures for cleaning equipment to avoid transporting NNIS. On another topic Chris updated the crew on the use of native seed mixes and practices to follow when seeding areas that have been disturbed by construction or maintenance work.

Sheela Johnson, Forest Hydrologist, focused her discussion at several sites on erosion control practices. In talking with the crew, Sheela gained new understanding of crew operations and their approach to project planning and execution. Sheela specifically addressed the importance of planning to control erosion in the development of a project. She also provided guidance to the crew on actions they can take during road maintenance activities (grading, ditch cleaning, etc) that will reduce impacts to water quality.

Terry Fifield, Forest Archaeologist, led a discussion on what to do when a historical resource is encountered on a project. At one stop on the field trip he showed the crew a historical stone culvert and a lively discussion ensued on the benefits and costs of maintaining the historical structure within the context of a properly functioning watercourse. Terry described the transportation system as part of the forest's historic cultural landscape and encouraged the crew to view their work, much of it designed to last more than 50 years, as part of tomorrow's historic landscape.

Mark Prout, Forest Fisheries Biologist, took the crew through several topics including aquatic organism passage, stream simulation, and project design. Using a project completed in 2009, Mark demonstrated how subtle changes in culvert slope can have important changes in aquatic organism passage and how communication and coordination were top priorities for a successful field season in 2010.

The session was wrapped up at a future project site where many of the key points of the morning were obvious to all present. Ormes and Bill Dauer, the Forest Engineer, made it clear to everyone that having a safe working season, and one where we meet our responsibilities to preserving environmental values, was our mutual goal.

Feedback from the crew and specialists following the meeting was positive. The crew enjoyed the opportunity for discussion, was engaged with the BMP principles, and looks forward to a successful year collaborating with specialist support.

Springs and the surrounding forest landscape both contribute to the high water quality provided by the Meramec, though this was not always the case. By the end of World War II, the river was no longer swimmable. As a result of the Clean Water Act, though, the river has recovered greatly. Area residents take pride in the river's recovery. Each August they participate in a river cleanup that has been ongoing for 45 years. In 2009 the National Fish Habitat Board named the Meramec as one of its 10 "Waters to Watch" in its effort to highlight improving river systems. However, 20 cities are located in the Meramec River watershed and 2.5 million people live within a half-hour drive of the river, causing ongoing concerns about flooding, urban development, and pollutants.

The Solution - Continuing to improve the water quality of the Meramec River will take a multipronged approach:

* Prioritizing and establishing conservation easements on forest land tracts where long-term protection may support multiple conservation values. Activity: Conservation easements funded through the Forest Legacy Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Upper Mississippi Watershed Fund.

* Developing innovative marketing strategies to attract forest landowners who have been reluctant to develop and implement a management plan for their land. Activity: Targeted forest stewardship plan writing and implementation.

* Retaining rural landscapes by supporting farmers who are installing livestock watering devices instead of accessing water from the Meramec River and planting riparian forest buffers to restore streambank stability. Activity: Landowner assistance funded by the NFWF Upper Mississippi Watershed Fund and funds from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

* Protecting drinking water supplies by recommending ways to address nonpoint source pollution. Activity: Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry watershed project with additional funding provided by the NFWF Upper Mississippi Watershed Fund.

Resulting Benefits - Benefits include protecting 685 acres of forest land through conservation easements as well as improved grazing practices and tree plantings on 16 farms totaling 3,900 acres and 11 miles of stream front. Two landowners planted 57 acres of trees in the riparian area. Long-term protection of forested areas through conservation easements will continue as a result of 2009 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and 2010 U.S. Forest Service ReDesign grants.

Sharing Success - The Trust for Public Land conducted a "strategy exchange" in the Lower Meramec, bringing together experts in land conservation, stormwater runoff, and septic systems. Priority area maps that designate high-value land conservation and stormwater management areas in three subwatersheds of the Lower Meramec are available for local partner use through the Trust for Public Land Web site. The Trust trained local officials on how to access and use these maps. The National Fish Habitat Board also gave the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Lower Bourbeuse Landowner Committee an award to recognize their "extraordinary action in support of fish habitat conservation."

The partnership began when Friends of Tuckerman Ravine was formed in 2000, with the mission to preserve and protect the unique alpine and sub-alpine eastern slopes of Mount Washington, and work in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to sustain the traditional uses of this area. The Mount Washington Avalanche Center, as part of the Androscoggin Ranger District of the White Mountain National Forest, produces daily avalanche forecasts for the eastern slopes of Mount Washington, including Tuckerman Ravine. In addition, each year from December through June, they are the lead agency in charge of Search and Rescue in this area.

The new slatboards replace previous versions. They are located at the beginning of the Tuckerman Ravine Trail at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, at the Harvard Mountaineering Club cabin near Huntington Ravine, and at Hermit Lake Shelters near Tuckerman Ravine. The new slatboards maintain the traditional look and feel of the older signs, but have more flexibility to adapt the safety message as conditions change through a season. Other improvements include higher quality photographs of the areas impregnated into a ceramic/aluminum backing and more up-to-date nomenclature. The boards are designed to be a one-stop location for the latest safety information by displaying the daily Avalanche Advisory and weather forecasts from the Mt. Washington Observatory.

"We need to be able to accurately and effectively provide information about the current conditions" says Snow Ranger Jeff Lane. "The new slatboards will help us to better convey our message to the public."

Friends of Tuckerman Ravine raised money specifically for this project, and solicited donations of labor from three local construction companies and a variety of supplies from area business to build the framework of the slatboards. The Mount Washington Avalanche Center Snow Rangers constructed frames for the various display sections of the signs, including routing and painting each slat individually. Without this partnership with Friends of Tuckerman Ravine and working together toward a common goal, this project would have been difficult to accomplish. The exact amount of time and effort put into the project has been enormous, and is a tribute to the dedication of friends and partners to the safety of visitors, skiers, and climbers to this area.

The Forest Service staffed an educational kiosk which included an interactive firefighting relay and display. The purpose of the firefighting relay was to engage and introduce Scouts to the profession of firefighting. A wildland engine was also displayed courtesy of the Chippewa National Forest. Eager scouts tried on weight vests and one by one, scampered around a 100 foot hose lay. "Wow, that's hard work", one scout said as the pack test vest was lifted off. He was surprised to learn that a firefighter's physical fitness test requires carrying a 45 pound pack for 3 miles within 45 minutes.

Scouts had the opportunity to try on hard hats, goggles, gloves and fire shirts. Donning fire fighting attire and using swatters, scouts put out streamers of ribbon that symbolized spot fires. They also strapped on full bladder bags and put out streamer spot fires along fire flanks until they reached the head of the fire. When asked what their favorite part of the relay was, most scouts replied squirting water from the bladder bags. Several scouts thought a firefighting career could definitely be a job in their future.

Over 500 scouts completed the weight vest, swatter and bladder bag relay and received a Smokey bandana, whiz ring and carabineer as their prize. Over 100 Scouts received prizes for correctly answering trivia questions such as naming the two national forests in MN, stating the average number of wildfires reported annually in MN, or what it costs to outfit a firefighter.

Scouts and their leaders also learned about the emerald ash borer (EAB), its effect on ash trees and why it is crucial not to move firewood. Seeing firsthand what the EAB and its larvae looked like, how the larva exits the tree and the damage the larvae does to a tree. EAB brochures were also distributed along with forest maps and additional information about the MN national forests.

StarCamp lived up to its slogan as "The Adventure of the Century," what an extraordinary weekend! For more information you can access the following link:http://www.northernstarbsa.org/News.aspx?articleID=690

The ten-week project involved a 12-member crew, and will be completed at the end of February 2010. Under a Master Participating Agreement signed in 2009, the Chumash fire crew provides valuable assistance to Los Padres firefighters on local incidents. During the off-season, the tribal fire crew is upgrading their fire training resumes, maintaining and repairing equipment, and undergoing physical fitness training. Some members of the crew would not be working were it not for the ARRA-funded hazardous fuels project.

"Our crew spent eight to ten hours a day working on the fuel breaks on Camino Cielo," said J.P. Zavalla, the battalion chief for the Chumash Fire Department. "The Santa Ynez peak is a sacred site for the Chumash and being able to work on the fuel breaks is a special honor for us."

Defensible fuel profile zones, or DFPZs, are areas roughly 100-300 feet wide where standing brush has been removed to create a low-fuel break. They are designed to so that brush is almost completely removed in the center of the DFPZ, with progressively more standing brush toward the outer boundaries. This helps the DFPZ blend in with the surrounding landscapes and creates a naturally appearance. DFPZs are most effective along ridgelines and roads to maximize their effectiveness during fire suppression.

Once the brush has been cut, it will be crushed using a bulldozer and left to dry. After moisture levels fall, brush pile burning will be conducted to complete the treatment project.

"This is a great example of how ARRA funds are meeting multiple objectives," according to Los Padres Forest Supervisor Peggy Hernandez. "It has enabled us to accomplish important project work related to hazardous fuels by contracting with the tribe and using employees who might otherwise not be working."

Portions of the Camino Cielo fuelbreak have been in existence since the 1950s, and have proved valuable during recent fire suppression efforts. The fuelbreak is designed to maintain a diversity of vegetation age, size, and density with mosaic patters of unburned islands within the permimeter. Over time, the treatments will blend in to resemble a natural appearance.

As a result of this ARRA funded project, 12 firefighters from the Chumash Fire Department were employed over the course of the project, creating jobs and injecting vital capital into the local economy.

The truck, it was learned, had been decommissioned and brought to the District in 1998 by former Monterey employees Kelly Collins and Pat Bailey. It's believed that Collins, who at the time was a Monterey Battalion Chief, was interested in restoring the fire truck to its original condition. But tragically, Collins passed away from cancer in 1999 and the project never got off the ground.

That all changed during the last week in April. That's when Battalion Chief Mike Strawhun from the Ojai Ranger District came to the King City lot armed with a toolbox and a rare two days off before fire season.

Strawhun drove to the Monterey April 27 and spent two days working on the engine. He rebuilt the carburetor, replaced the battery and sparkplugs, and drained and replaced all the fluids. He then rebuilt the starter, replaced the battery terminals, and rewired the starter cables. With a bang and a big cloud of dust and smoke the old relic coughed and came to life.

"It's a 1966 Chevy Model 56," Strawhun explained. "It's a workhorse. They sure got their money's worth out of this truck-it's got almost 375,000 miles on it."

It was a proud moment, especially for Strawhun. He found that the air horn still worked, but the pump was shot and unable to draw from her 300-gallon water tank. The cab holds two occupants, and the crew would ride in back on a bench. Strawhun offered rides to the bystanders, including Monterey Ranger Sherry Tune.

"Everyone who was out there started clapping because it was such an exciting moment when that truck fired up," said Monterey Fire Prevention Technician Tammy Zimmerman. "He took it for a spin around the parking lot a few times but it was a little bumpy because the tires aren't as round as they used to be."

The next step is to transport the truck down to Ojai where Strawhun plans to restore it to its late '60s condition. He's quick to point out he'll need help from other Los Padres "gearheads," but already offers of assistance are coming in. There are no timetables for finishing the project, but when it is once again roadworthy with the green and gray paintjob used during that era, Strawhun would like to see it used in parades and other special events.

"I think it's great that we were able to recycle this piece of Los Padres fire history," Ranger Tune said. "Mike deserves a lot of credit for getting us started. And I think Kelly Collins would be proud to know we're seeing his project through. I can't wait to see Smokey Bear waving to the crowd from the back of the restored fire truck."

Recreation technicians and seasonal employees have been working to make repairs to the Garden of the Gods Observation Trail by replacing missing and resetting loose flag stones. The trail was originally constructed many years ago by the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) who used mortar and flat stones to create a walkway. Some of the stones are loose because the mortar, which originally held them, is old and crumbled.

More recently, several sections of the trail were reconstructed under a contract administered by the Forest's engineers, however the work did not cover the entire trail. The technicians are making immediate repairs to eliminate safety and tripping hazards on portions of the trail still needing maintenance work.

The crew is carrying in all the materials, mortar and water, by hand; mixing the mortar in a wheel barrow and relaying the stones with fresh mortar. The project will require several more days to complete. The project was reviewed and approved by the engineering and heritage disciplines prior to beginning work.

The attached photos are before and after images. The first image shows a missing stone in the trail and the second one is of the technicians fixing the trail.

Throughout the spring volunteers assisted the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District by:

* Completing trail maintenance activities on Clear Springs Trail in Clear Springs Wilderness. Volunteers installed water bars, cleared downed trees off the trail tread, re-established the back slope and out-slope of the trail, hauled gravel and installed reassurance makers.

* Working hard on the Ranbarger Trail and the River to River Trail in Bald Knob Wilderness. Through their efforts approximately nine tons of gravel was hauled to complete features already installed on the trails. Volunteers had the opportunity to challenge themselves by carrying up to 50 pounds of gravel in five gallon buckets loaded on cache haulers (similar to an external frame backpack), in addition the mules were used to haul gravel.

* The Shawnee Volunteer Corps hosted Alternative Spring Break experiences for local, regional and national volunteers during March. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C) students in the Outdoor Living Skills class participated in two service projects during the week of March 7.

* Students from Western New England College spent eight days on the Forest participating in a number of different service projects. They assisted the Forest's archeologists in mapping and recording "hominy holes", clearing a large portion of the Miller Grove cemetery, pulling garlic mustard, installing a split rail fence at Winter's Pond and of course, hauling gravel. Educational components built into the experience for these students included wilderness management, pre-historic and historic archeology, wetland management, non-native invasive species management, the importance of pollinator gardens and the Forest Service as an Employer of Choice.

* Fieldcrest Middle School students participated in service projects that included installing stacked stone stairs at Little Grand Canyon and gravel hauling. The education components added to the experience for the Fieldcrest Middle School students were Leave No Trace Awareness Training, wilderness appreciation and a site visit with the Forest's archeologists to Hamburg Hill/Trail of Tears.

* The volunteer efforts this spring included several students from Registered Students Organizations at Southern Illinois University, local residents and even volunteers from as far away as Effingham and Chicago, Illinois.

The totals are in and they are impressive! One hundred and forty four volunteers provided 2,692.75 hours of service. Thirty groups volunteered for 470 hours. Thank you to all of the volunteers who joined us this spring and donated time to assist us in meeting our goals. Your assistance makes it easier for the Forest to walk the talk of sustainability.

The Solution - With National Fire Plan funding provided by the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, in 2007 a grant provided training for local rural fire departments in Firewise principles and conducting home assessments. Volunteer fire departments conducted over 5,400 assessments throughout Itasca County and identified specific homeowner mitigation needs.

In 2008, the implementation team was awarded a second grant for mitigation through education, vendor training, and on-the-ground activities by means of the Chipper Days Program. Activities began in February 2008 and were completed by December 2009.

Resulting Benefits - During winter 2008 the University of Minnesota Extension and the Itasca County Firewise coordinator provided an educational program to communities throughout the county. Residents, civic groups, lake associations, and local decision makers were educated in Firewise principles and encouraged to participate in the vendor training and Chipper Days Program. Outreach efforts used a variety of media including local newspapers, radio, newsletters, and Web sites.

Four vendor training workshops resulted in identification and publication of a list of service providers or contractors (such as loggers, tree care providers, excavators, and landscapers) who could assist homeowners with mitigation activities.

The first Chipper Day was held in May 2009 in the Suomi area of the county. From all of the properties, the vegetation was hauled to a horizontal tub grinder and turned into chips for use by the Minnesota Power Rapids Energy Center in Grand Rapids, MN. Under the 2008 Firewise grant, 60 property owners participated in 11 areas. The Chipper Days Program collected 275 tons of woody biomass. Each project area had a neighborhood liaison who worked with individual homeowners and coordinated with the county Firewise coordinator.

Sharing Success

* Support from the Itasca County Board of Commissioners and fire protection plan implementation team was key to the success of the Chipper Days Program.

* Neighborhood liaisons were important in helping with mitigation activities, such as setting a time table and making sure projects were implemented in a timely fashion.

* Families were willing to participate to help keep their homes safe and contribute to renewable energy.

* Future efforts will produce chips on site and transport them to designated facilities, as hauling the woody material was costly.

The Young Rangers program provided an indoor introductory component followed by outdoor exploration and interaction with the environment. Crafts, a snack, music, and listening to a story from the library in the Discovery Corner finished up the session. The children were excited to learn about the natural world, to explore weather, animal tracks and the changes some animals go through during winter. How do you touch a cloud? Ask the kids, they did!

Forest Service staff and volunteer experts shared their passion and knowledge of the forest and natural world. Instructors included former Forest Service employee Jenne Walker sharing her skills in animal tracking, Michael Calleghan, retired teacher and weather expert helped participants understand weather, Candace Morrison, Pemigewasset District Recreation staff explained the amazing New England animal adaptations to winter while Clare Long, Conservation Education Specialist helped kids and parents see the tracks, scat, and signs of winter in the forest.

Program leaders used the many resources available in the children's corner at the WMNF Headquarters, and early arrivals and late hangers-on were able to browse through the library, try out one of the 20 Discovery Boxes, and enjoy a reflective moment in the comfy bean bag as they spent time at the White Mountain National Forest Headquarters in Campton, NH.

This innovative and exciting program was the brainchild of Allisoun Hodges, Pemigewasset Ranger District VIS staff member. Allisoun noticed that the Discovery Corner in the newly built Campton Office site was underutilized. She had been involved in a similar type of discovery program for children with a previous employer and saw the potential for inclusion and success in the new office area. Allisoun assisted with every program and was able to see how the knowledge of the natural world of the children and parents grew. Parents shared their excitement and were thrilled with the experience. So much so, that they were looking to sign up for the next series even before it had been announced and were looking to volunteer time to make sure this successful series continues.

Allisoun and others at the Pemigewasset District are in the process of developing further programs that will connect young children and their families not only to the Forest Service but to the fascinating natural world in their own backyard. By offering this series of programs these "Young Rangers," the next generation of stewards, have had an opportunity to experience the joy and wonder that will be their future.

Jeff Simon, who works for the Friends of the Center Alliance LTD, and Bill Route, from the National Parks Service, came to Mike's assistance as they tried to figure out how to safely place the eagle in the crate. Luckily, Jeff remembered that his friend, Northland College student and Fish and Wildlife Intern Mariah Cook, had experience handling mature bald eagles which she gained from her time working at the Northwoods Wildlife Center in Minocqua, WI.

Mariah drove out to the eagle's location and a plan was developed. The plan was to have Mike and Jeff approach the bird from the sides while Mariah and Bill approached from the back and front. As they moved in, the eagle got a little frisky and tried to run/hop its way through some saplings, brush and barbed wire along the road. Bill stood his ground and kept the eagle at bay, however he did suffer a cut on his fingers from the talons. Mariah stayed calm and slowly moved in on the bird, even as it hissed with its open beak and raised its talons up in the air looking for something to grab. She, with the help of Bill, got the bird under control and held its ankles before putting a blanket over its head. Mariah grabbed its ankles and picked it up against her chest where it remained calm. The blanket partially blew off due to the strong wind, briefly leaving Mariah face-to-face with the eagle. She seemed unconcerned to be nose-to-beak with a bald eagle!

Later that afternoon the bird was examined and fed at the Northwoods Wildlife Center. However at that time, it was too early to tell if the wounds to the eagle's radius bone and ankle would heal well enough for it to be released back into the wild.

The Northwoods Wildlife Center was established in 1979 as a non-profit institution that relies solely on public donations. The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center is a 37,000 square foot facility for visitor, education and community programs run by a partnership consisting of the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Park Service, Wisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Friends of the Center Alliance LTD. The NGLVC has been operating as a friendly partnership providing public service since 1998.

Staff from the Chippewa National Forest and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources teamed up to provide a joint educational opportunity to Deer River children. On May 11, sixty King School fourth graders enjoyed Environmental Ed Day, despite chilly, wet spring weather in northern Minnesota.

A variety of learning stations comprised the afternoon's curriculum for the kids. The children practiced identifying water critters, in the form of water insects, mussels, and crayfish. They learned about the habits, habitats, and adaptations of local wildlife as they handled skulls and furs of deer, bear, wolves, coyotes, fox, bobcat, and beaver. Fire came alive for them through the creative incendiary efforts of one of the instructors. Groundwater pathways were demonstrated using colored dyes and "enviroscape", a groundwater model. At the end of the day, the kids learned about the water cycle through a dice and bead game that involved 60 enthusiastic youngsters in the school gymnasium.

As is so often the case with gardens, it was a community of folks who contributed in various ways to the effort, from removing an overgrown tangle of weeds last fall, to hauling in and spreading new dirt, to getting the plants in the ground, and mulching it all down to reduce future weeding needs. The eclectic crew of people included SCSEP's, fire crew personnel rained out from other work, a resort naturalist, an administrative assistant, an information assistant, a wildlife biologist, a local volunteer, and even a member of the visiting Schenk Job Corps initial attack fire crew.

But not everyone hung up the harnesses. And, as Sumter National Forest's Glen Kansanback and Libby Meadows discovered, even in a mechanized age, once in a while there's nothing for the job but a big surefooted animal -or two.

"We'd been trying to figure out a way to haul and spread rock on the wet sections of our horse and off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails," said Kansanback, a natural resource specialist on the Long Cane Ranger District in western South Carolina. Aside from trail width issues, a particularly wet South Carolina winter made using heavy equipment impractical. Even smaller machines such as the Bobcat would bog down in the muck, causing as much trail damage as they were attempting to repair.

He and Meadows, the district's outdoor recreation planner, kicked around the idea of packing rock in on mules, or skidding it in on some kind of dragged sled. A crew then would be needed to spread the rock on the trail. It would be arduous and time consuming, but it seemed the only feasible option. They sent word out to the horse community in the area for input.

Luckily, the word got to just the right people.

Gene Knowlton and Duane Wetzel of nearby Saluda County, who between them owned both workhorses and mules, didn't warm to the pannier or skidding ideas, but they agreed to come out and take a look at the problem.

"Hauling rock in ten gallon panniers, we just thought it'd be forever getting it done," said Wetzel. But both men, friends for more than 20 years, were intrigued. When Meadows asked if they could do the job, Knowlton answered, "We'll come up with something."

They designed and built a cart. It would be drawn by two horses and would haul a ton of rock in each load, nearly three times as much as a Bobcat could haul. It would spread the rock to trail width using a feeder system similar to that of a dump truck as the horses moved up the trail, alleviating the need for a spreading crew.

Much of it was built from metal debris that had accumulated over the years outside Knowlton's welding shop.

"That's the back axle from under a little ol' minivan," he said, pointing to the wheel set on the bright yellow cart. And Wetzel explained how they used the third arm off a tractor to adjust the weight on the tongue. "We probably bought about $500 worth of materials, and got about $1000 dollars worth straight out of the scrap heap."

The cart materialized through good old-fashioned trial and error.

"Most of this was in Gene's head," said Wetzel. " We used a lot of his ideas and just kind of threshed it out and argued about it, you know? Had a ball building it." Knowlton and Wetzel figure they built three carts before they got it just right, adding pieces, then returning them to the scrap heap if they failed to achieve the balance point necessary to put no more than ten pounds of pressure on the horse's neck while hauling. They even added a master cylinder to provide critical braking power on the down slopes.

This season, using Wetzel's two Percheron/Paint mix draft horses, they've hauled 66 tons of three-inch rock to repair wet sections of the Parsons Mountain OHV trail, and 44 tons of three-quarter-inch rock to repair similar damage on the Long Cane Horse Trail. Wetzel drove the team and operated the cart; Knowlton ran a front-end loader to resupply it with ton after ton of rock.

"I'm just happy as I can be with the results," said Kansanback, who hopes to try another idea Knowlton developed to create a sort of mini horse-drawn road grader to take down berms and draw displaced soil back into the trail.

Though the Forest Service pays for their time, essentially renting the equipment for use on the trails, money was never the incentive for these men, says Kansanback.

"They were just looking for an opportunity to work their horses in a unique way," he said. "If it hadn't been for the ingenuity of these guys, I don't know if we would have been able to pursue these projects. I really don't know what we would have done."

Knowlton and Wetzel, clearly not grandstanders, kind of shuffled and fidgeted as he said that.

"Aw," said Knowlton finally. "We just like a challenge. It was just something nobody else was doing and there was a need for it. I told Libby that first day, we'll make it, and if it don't work we'll just put it back in the scrap pile with the rest of the stuff."

The first workshop was held in Grant County on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at the Landes Ruritan Building. A second workshop was held in Pendleton County on Thursday, April 22nd at the Franklin Community Building. Both workshops began with dinner followed by a presentation on why landowners should care about invasive species and a presentation on the Potomac Highlands CWPMA. The workshops concluded with six interactive, informational booths led by partners involved in the CWPMA. Funding for this project was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as well as the Monongahela National Forest, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - West Virginia Field Office, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, West Virginia Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. Over 75 private landowners attended the workshops and many more have expressed interest in learning how they can participate in the future.

There are an estimated 1,000 non-native species established in West Virginia, capable of reducing yields on pastures and croplands, damaging forest trees, and reducing the rich diversity of native plants and animals. The Potomac Highlands CWPMA has a long term vision of building a broad base of people who share the common goal of decreasing the impacts of invasive species on native plant and animal communities, public and private forestland, agricultural lands, and local economies. The group is working to develop and support partnerships among those affected in the target area, and to increase public awareness and understanding of the invasive species problem.

Invasive species found within the CWPMA which affect both the rich ecological values of the area and farmland include garlic mustard, Japanese stiltgrass, Japanese stiltgrass, purple loosestrife, and tree of heaven, and many more. Several areas within the CWPMA have on-going eradication efforts aimed at reducing one or more species of pests, but it will take a concerted effort by private landowners, conservation organizations, and governmental organizations to make a difference on a large scale. The Potomac Highlands CWPMA has funding and resources available to treat invasive species on private lands.

This project is one of eight projects on the Caribou-Targhee totaling $6.5 million to improve roads on the forest.

Work to be accomplished includes resurfacing roads, installing signs, cattle guards, and drainage structures on eight Forest roads. Approximately 50 percent of the work is complete and the remainder of the work will begin when seasonal weather conditions allow.

These Forest Service roads were in poor condition and impassable without high clearance vehicles especially during wet weather. The work on these roads will improve public access to the National Forest and reduce costs for future maintenance. The installation of drainage structures will reduce sediment into streams that parallel the roads.

The projects employed a Teton County road maintenance crew full time in 2009. Wes Stumbo, Caribou-Targhee National Forest Engineer said, "This employment opportunity and improved road conditions would not have been possible without this agreement and money from the Recovery Act."

When weather conditions allow, county construction crews will be back at work again to finish the projects in 2010. About $60,000 has been allocated towards the project. Work was accomplished through an agreement with Teton County.

At the heart of this program is a firm belief that students who immersed in the study of "their" place will more likely become involved in stewardship of public lands and in their communities as adults. Clare assisted teachers in developing curriculum that connected the students with ecology, sense of place, recreation, cultural resources of public lands through the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a 2,175-mile long public footpath. Conceived in 1921 and completed in 1937, private citizens built this trail. From Maine's Mount Katahdin and Georgia's Springer Mountain, this footpath traverses scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild and culturally resonant lands through 14 of the eastern United States, including sections of the White Mountain National Forest.

An important part of the curriculum Clare helped teachers develop included a service project, essentially a volunteer project, where the students were able to practice stewardship in a very real way. Teachers love Clare and she is tireless in support of their efforts to engage students in service opportunities on the Appalachian Trail.

Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief of the Forest Service, presented Clare the award noting "Through her extraordinary commitment to place-based, service learning teacher training programs, such as the Forest for Every Classroom program and the Trail to Every Classroom program, Clare has shown that cultivating active engagement of young people in both studying and becoming responsibly involved in the local environment leads to stronger communities and strong conservation ethics."

Clare Long continues working with teachers and engaging students of all ages through in recreational and service opportunities, passing on her passion in conservation education.

David Finnan from the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina (R-8), Ryan Blaisdale from the Superior National Forest in Minnesota (R-9) and Matt Schomburg from the White Mountain National Forest (R-9) formed a crosscut saw crew for two weeks. Their mission was to open the Clear Springs Trail in Clear Springs Wilderness. Over 200 trees, a mixture of oaks, hickories, ash and other hardwoods, had been blown down over the trail creating an extreme amount of complexity for the sawyers. The saw team was able to open the trail in six days, which was no small feat.

Upon completion of the Clear Springs Trail, the crew was next assigned to the Ranbarger Trail in Bald Knob Wilderness. A similar situation of tree species and complexity awaited the crew. They were able to open the remaining mile in one day. They also had their first encounter with a timber rattlesnake that none of them will soon forget.

Their next assignment was to continue the clearing on King Hollow Trail, back in Clear Springs Wilderness. The crew spent their remaining three and a half days working on King Hollow trail. They were able to clear an additional three quarters of mile before the end of their detail.

In addition to the crosscut saw work, the saw team joined the Shawnee Volunteer Corps for a volunteer work day on the River to River Trail in Bald Knob Wilderness. The mission for the day was gravel hauling to fill causeways on the Ranbarger Trail and the River to River Trail using mules and backpacks. For the members of the saw team this was their first time working around pack stock. They also did their share of hauling gravel in five gallon buckets carried on their backs with cache haulers.

Joining the saw team during their detail was Tom Sniegowski, a Southern Illinois University intern, working with Kelly Pearson and the Shawnee Volunteer Corps for the spring semester. Tom received Crosscut Training in January and was happy to assist the team and gain more experience. In addition, Dr. Whitney Ward from Southern Illinois University and his Outdoor Recreation Class joined the team for one day while they were working on the Clear Springs Trail. The students and Dr. Ward hiked in to the meet team and spent the day swamping out brush for the sawyers.

Almost one year following the extreme wind storm on May 8, 2009, the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District detailed in three crosscut sawyers from other forests and regions to tackle clearing three trails in Bald Knob and Clear Springs Wildernesses.

David Finnan from the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina (R-8), Ryan Blaisdale from the Superior National Forest in Minnesota (R-9) and Matt Schomburg from the White Mountain National Forest (R-9) formed a crosscut saw crew for two weeks. Their mission was to open the Clear Springs Trail in Clear Springs Wilderness. Over 200 trees, a mixture of oaks, hickories, ash and other hardwoods, had been blown down over the trail creating an extreme amount of complexity for the sawyers. The saw team was able to open the trail in six days, which was no small feat.

Upon completion of the Clear Springs Trail, the crew was next assigned to the Ranbarger Trail in Bald Knob Wilderness. A similar situation of tree species and complexity awaited the crew. They were able to open the remaining mile in one day. They also had their first encounter with a timber rattlesnake that none of them will soon forget.

Their next assignment was to continue the clearing on King Hollow Trail, back in Clear Springs Wilderness. The crew spent their remaining three and a half days working on King Hollow trail. They were able to clear an additional three quarters of mile before the end of their detail.

In addition to the crosscut saw work, the saw team joined the Shawnee Volunteer Corps for a volunteer work day on the River to River Trail in Bald Knob Wilderness. The mission for the day was gravel hauling to fill causeways on the Ranbarger Trail and the River to River Trail using mules and backpacks. For the members of the saw team this was their first time working around pack stock. They also did their share of hauling gravel in five gallon buckets carried on their backs with cache haulers.

Joining the saw team during their detail was Tom Sniegowski, a Southern Illinois University intern, working with Kelly Pearson and the Shawnee Volunteer Corps for the spring semester. Tom received Crosscut Training in January and was happy to assist the team and gain more experience. In addition, Dr. Whitney Ward from Southern Illinois University and his Outdoor Recreation Class joined the team for one day while they were working on the Clear Springs Trail. The students and Dr. Ward hiked in to the meet team and spent the day swamping out brush for the sawyers.

The clearing of these three remaining wilderness trails, totaling over five miles, completes the removal of the downed trees from the May 8th storm-damaged trails on the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District. It is also an example of working together to protect ecosystems across boundaries.

The stream simulator acts as a stream model, allowing students to actively engage in hands-on experiments to learn about ideal organism habitats, the impact of poorly designed/constructed road crossings on streams, and other human effects on aquatic ecosystems. It helps answer questions such as: What happens if there was no streamside vegetation? What happens to aquatic animals if water temperatures increase because of it? What happens to streams and aquatic organisms when road stream crossings are improperly designed and constructed?

Students were given objects and asked to formulate ideas on how each of those objects related to riparian habitats. For example, a coffee filter represented a riparian zone that protects streams by acting as a buffer, preventing debris and pollution from entering the stream and filtering impurities from upland run-off as it flows downhill to the water.

The stream simulator demonstrates how improperly sized and installed culverts can affect stream channel characteristics, as well as inhibit aquatic organism passage, and the overall health of the aquatic ecosystem. Multiple, small culverts set too high also have the potential to cause water to pool on the upstream end of the crossing, increase water temperatures, and inhibit organism passage.

Afterwards students had fun getting their hands wet introducing habitat or building crossings with culverts of various sizes and watching how their actions positively or negatively changed the stream.

The stream simulator was built by Jim Mineau, a Forest Service hydrologist in Park Falls, Wisconsin. It is often used as an educational tool for youth events held both on and off Forest.

For more information contact Sara L. Sommer, Watershed Specialist, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, at 715-362-1365.

The Nature Unleashed Program provides an opportunity to promote conservation education through instructional and outdoor hands on learning. For more information on the program and how to apply go to http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/20129.pdf.

The Nature Walk Program was held at the Caney Picnic Area on Glade Top Trail, and was facilitated by Nettie Sittingup-Perez, wildlife biologist; Darla Rein, recreation/timber staff; Travis Sweeney, forestry Ttchnician; Clarice Ford, rangeland management specialist, and Tina Sanders, customer service representative.

Four different activities enabled students to identify tree species; locate and identify wildflowers, insects and other wildlife; learn about cave habitats and inhabitants, and learn the concepts of Leave No Trace.

A Nature Walk was one of the final activities the students needed to successfully complete the Nature Unleashed Program. Each student maintained a field journal documenting living and non-living specimens, air temperature, and other facts of interest to them.

"We're always happy to host students and to give them a better understanding of their outdoors," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "Thanks also to Missouri Department of Conservation, Sparta School District and and Sparta students and their families."

Despite their well-documented ecological importance, we know little about the bee fauna in most regions of the world. Native bees are key pollinators of economically and ecologically important trees such as maples, basswood, and cherries as well as uncommon rare species of the forest understory.

The North-Central Forest is one of the most under-sampled regions of Wisconsin. So last year the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) helped fund the first comprehensive review of bee diversity since 1935. This is also the first inventory of this type on any National Forest.

Entomology experts Dr. Amy Wolf of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and John Ascher of the American Museum of Natural History compiled a list of 388 bee species in Wisconsin from field surveys, previous records, and collections throughout the state. That is more than double the number of specimens known from Nicolet side of the National Forest (165 species).

"Some bumble bee species have shown an alarming decline in the past decade and last year's find of Bombus frigidus is the only record in the eastern U.S. in over 45 years" Wolf said. She also found several colonies of Macropis nuda (oligolectic bees) which specialize in collecting pollen and floral oils from the plant genus Lysimachia to use for food and nest linings. This species is doubly interesting because of the potential of finding an associated rare parasitic bee (Epeoloides pilosula) which was once thought to be extinct but recently rediscovered in the east. "We hope that relict populations may be found where the Macropis host and Lysimachia occur together" said Wolf.

Wolf and Ascher, along with others, submitted recommendations to the Bureau of Endangered Resources to list several species of bees as endangered, threatened, or special concern in Wisconsin.

Appropriate pollinator habitat management is essential. The CNNF seeks to develop a conservation strategy that provides them with adequate flower resources, especially in years of short spring and fall flowering seasons.

Results from the Forest investigation give a clearer picture of distributions and abundance of bees in northern Wisconsin, yet much remains to be discovered. Wolf added, "We plan to continue the work, searching for rare as well as common bees, keying in on pollinators of forest trees, early spring flowers, and blueberries," she said.

For more information on bees and other pollinators, contact Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Botanist Marjory Brzeskiewicz or visit http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/index.shtml.

Stewardship contracting is a means for federal agencies to contribute to the development of sustainable rural communities, restore and maintain healthy forest ecosystems, and provide a continuing source of local income and employment. Hazardous fuels projects involve the removal of small trees and brush that increase the risk of wildfire near communities.

The scope of the project includes commercial/noncommercial thinning, natural and project generated fuel treatment, biomass removal, and prescribed burning on over 6,500 acres. Other goals of this project are to provide work for local contractors, generate 695 loads of saw timber and 255 loads of biomass for mills and cogeneration plants, reduce hazardous fuels, improve the health of the forest, and fund other projects.

The estimated volume from the project is expected to be approximately 26,360 tons of non-saw and saw material (merchantable woody biomass). Raw material generated from this project is going to local sawmills, cogeneration facilities, fuels for schools projects, and the new pellet plant located in Grant County, OR.

This project has provided jobs for equipment operators, thinning crews, log truck drivers, and mill workers whose industry is currently facing extremely difficult times.

The current stewardship authority in northeastern Oregon uses the receipts from the selling of logs and biomass to fund additional work on the Forest.

The project is scheduled to be completed by August 31, 2010.

The Hoosier National Forest sponsored a hike each of the three days. Kirk Larson and Teena Ligman led a hike on April 23rd to the Waldrip Cabin. Though Teena covered the history of the cabin and the farmsteads and fields in the area, she and Kirk also identified a plethora of wildflowers along the old road that meandered through the woods. Despite scattered showers and the threat of thunderstorms and tornados later in the evening, a hardy group of eight hikers showed up.

The next afternoon Kirk and Teena led a hike in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness. The Wild Hyacinth Hike is one of the longest running hikes in the Foray. A drenching hard rain before the hike ensured only the most hardy of hikers showed up. One woman had never hiked before. She'd called our office earlier and asked if she should bring an umbrella and what to wear - she said Cheri Stoops, our receptionist, was very patient with her and told her just what to wear and bring. She said she knew Teena so was sure that I wouldn't leave her in the woods. At the end, despite the rain soaking everyone to the skin, she was bubbling over with enthusiasm about what a great time she'd had and she and the others were asking when we would offer more wildflower hikes.

Sunday morning also saw the rain continuing in a continuous downpour but cars pulled up and people in raingear gathered for the 8-mile hike on the Hoosier's Pate Hollow Trail. Teena and Cathy Meyer explained this trail did not have as many wildflowers so would be a faster hike. One group of four said they'd come up from Floyd County. They worked together and after one of the woman had given up a pack-a-day cigarette habit cold-turkey three weeks ago they'd all launched on a healthier life style. They too had never hiked or been on the national forest. Despite the rain, the man took pictures of every new flower we came to. They asked innumerable questions about nature and the whole group enjoyed their enthusiasm. We were the noisiest group of wildflower forayers ever- with all the plastic rain suits one woman said we sounded like a herd of squeaky windshield wipers. With wet glasses it was sometimes hard to see the flowers, but the flowers were happy to have the rain, and we were happy to be outdoors sharing our love of nature with the public.

With each of the hikes a spring wildflower count is kept to monitor what flowers are found blooming each year, both native and nonnative. Though every hike is not done each year, the data base includes a valuable resource for plant's and their variability in blooming seasons as well as nonnative movement into Brown and Monroe County natural areas.

Accomplishments at the cabin included graffiti removal mainly from the interior; replacement of milled 4 x 8 timbers with more historically-accurate sill logs; flooring and porch repair using rough cut boards, and installation and leveling of additional dry laid foundation stones and entry steps. Accomplishments at the mill included siding and flooring repair, and stabilization of loose structural elements.

Falling Spring cabin and mill are part of a homestead established in 1851. A single crib log cabin (c. 1860) and a mill structure (c. 1927), complete with Pelton wheel, remain of what became a diverse farmstead. One of the PIT volunteers is a descendent of the family that originally homesteaded the property.

Two volunteers are local to the area and several traveled from various towns across Missouri to participate. Volunteers also trekked from Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, and South Carolina to donate their time and energy to help preserve a slice of Ozark history.

The cabin and mill are located within the Falling Spring picnic area, situated just south of Winona, Missouri, on Mark Twain National Forest's Eleven Point Ranger District. The picnic area is open to the public year round.

"Mark Twain National Forest appreciates the contributions of this remarkable group of heritage program volunteers," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "The work completed this spring at Falling Spring will benefit the public for generations to come."

Boy Scouts assisted the Forest Service with clearing and marking trails; closing off user-made trails, and replacing picnic tables and fire rings.

Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek Ranger District employees Langston Simmons, Todd Hottell, Steve Herndon and Carol Trokey led workshops on tree and plant identification, building wilderness shelters, leave no trace ethics and effects of prescribed fire and wildfires.

Other Boy Scout leaders led discussions on a wide variety of topics.

Boy Scouts use Pine Ridge Recreation Area on a regular basis for camping and backpacking trips.

"We were glad to help host this Camporee and share our love of the natural environment," said Mark Twain Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "Their contributions assisted the district with much needed trail maintenance from damage of previous wind and ice storms, and I hope they enjoyed their National Forest as well."

~ Ed Gentry in the film "Deliverance"

Those words might have been true in 1972 when the movie Deliverance, filmed partly on the Chattooga River, thrilled and horrified audiences across the United States. But not any longer. In high-use seasons, some 75,000 people paddle or float the 35-mile stretch of the lower Wild and Scenic Chattooga River that creates a border between South Carolina and Georgia. The rapids on the river range from Class I to Class VI, with VI being the highest difficulty ranking that exists in whitewater. It wasn't always such a popular destination...and Sumter National Forest Forestry Technician and River Manager David Hedden saw all the changes come about.

"My job's the second best job in the Forest Service," Hedden said, standing on the banks of the powerful river just before he retired in March after 38 years with the agency. What job, then, was the best? "I don't know, but there must be one better somewhere."

Hedden grew up along the banks of the Chattooga, specifically, in Mountain Rest, SC, at the headwaters of Whetstone Creek, one of the main tributaries of the river in South Carolina. In those days, the now famous-even infamous-river did not hold its 'wild and scenic' designation.

"Three things really happened at once as far as the river was concerned: public interest in rafting and whitewater paddling was just getting started in the late 60s and early 70s; then Deliverance, the movie, was made in 1972; and the wild and scenic river designation came along in 1974. They all kind of happened to the Chattooga all at once."

Interest in the river spiked immediately and built rapidly from there.

In the close-knit mountain communities of western South Carolina, the sudden attention came as a culture shock, quite literally, remembers Hedden. The outside world had taken no real notice of the mighty Chattooga before then, but the locals of those mountain towns had a long and very personal relationship with it.

"Here at Woodall Shoals [a Class VI rapid]the locals were used to driving down to get sand to make mortar for building blocks," said Hedden. "They wouldn't go buy sand; they'd just come down here and collect it. Earls Ford was a popular place for people to have baptisms, and all of a sudden you couldn't drive down there anymore. There was a lot of intense feeling about all of that. It had been a way of life."

And more, said Hedden, people were coming to the river in busloads and paying to raft it; trails were being built to and along the river. From the local perspective, their historical uses were being taken away, and the river given over to a new use, one in which they were not interested, one which they considered dangerous.

"When I was coming up, there was hardly any boating at all on the Chattooga. I used the river some, but I fished it. I didn't get out in it growing up. Almost nobody did. We respected the river because it was a known killer even then," said Hedden. He remembers being warned never to play in the water "where Warwoman Creek comes out at Earls Ford, because there at the confluence, the water would pull kids under, almost like a riptide."

"Still, even way back, some folks braved the river. They welded old Ford car hoods together. They were V shaped, so they'd weld the backs of the hoods together and make a sort of metal canoe out of them. They quite often used those, at least in a place or two. I don't think they ran any big rapids. That was just one way of navigating the river," said Hedden.

A "Drop Dead Gorgeous Killer"

Those "three things" that changed the course of the river's future were purely coincidental, Hedden believes, but the release of Deliverance may have been the most influential of them. Many rivers now are designated as wild and scenic, but only one on which the popular movie was filmed. It is still widely referred to as the "Deliverance river," a stigma, says Hedden, that people may or may not like.

When the craze hit, whitewater paddling was, at best, in its infancy. Kayaking was thought of as something that native Alaskans did.

Back then, said Hedden, "They basically had flat-water canoes to paddle in and really no whitewater kayaks. They were still just flat-water kayaks when they first started kayaking the river. Technology in boats has changed dramatically. It used to be that a Class VI was impossible to run and now they're paddling off waterfalls, so a Class VI is no longer what it was."

Indeed, nowadays expert paddlers and novices alike flock to the Chattooga from around the world. The river does not discriminate between them. Thirty-nine deaths have been logged since the Forest Service began keeping records in 1970, most of them paddlers, says Hedden, and some of them experts. In the last few years, the river has taken a higher toll on swimmers as well.

The turbulent hydraulics at the base of the stronger rapids can hold a person in their rotation, typically spitting them out when they lose consciousness and go limp, says Hedden. But perhaps the greater danger on the river is the wedge-shaped crevices formed by submerged rocks and trees which can snag legs and arms in the tremendous flow of the river.

Whatever their interest in the river-environmentalists, paddlers, fishermen or locals-it's at these tragic times that people unite with single-minded determination, says Hedden.

"I've said before that once people visit this river, they develop a personal relationship with it; they love the resource and try to protect it. Even totally polar opposite sides on the issues on this river, when they need to, they'll pull together. I've seen that especially in these tragedies more than anything else: at one point we had about 300 people out there setting up a porta-dam to recover a swimmer-locals and people from every interest group working together."

Beginnings

Hedden started his Forest Service career on the Andrew Pickens Ranger District as a temporary hire in 1972 after he returned home from three years as a Marine during the Vietnam era. He earned $2.39/hour working in timber stand improvement. Three years later, his interest in recreation led to a promotion to wilderness ranger in the Ellicott Wilderness, which borders the Chattooga. Still a temporary employee, he moved on to a position as river ranger, finally becoming a permanent employee, marking timber, in 1984. In 1989 he settled in as river manager, in charge of dispersed recreation on the Chattooga, the Chauga River and the Ellicott Rock Wilderness.

Being native to the area was a huge plus where the Chattooga was concerned, says Hedden.

"I already knew all the access points on the South Carolina side, and learned, later on, most of the Georgia access points on the ground. I paddled a good bit on the job and learned the basics of, I guess, pretty much every rapid on the river."

That experience has helped in other ways, too.

"It's a pretty complex job as far as the political aspects, dealing with outfitters, dealing with the public, acting as kind of a liaison between the Forest Service, the outfitters and the locals, meshing all that together. It's been complicated at times."

Hedden suspects that many visitors to the Chattooga, to the Ellicott Rock Wilderness and to the Andrew Pickens Ragner District itself, don't fully realize the uniqueness of the area.

"Maybe they haven't had the opportunity to compare it to other areas to recognize that it's one of the best places in the world probably, certainly the paddling aspects are world class."

The son of a subsistence farmer, Dave Hedden landed a dream job, the likes of which, as a youngster, he never realized he even wanted. It took him a full year to convince himself it was time to retire.

"I'm 60 and a half. I doubt I'll live to be a hundred and a half, so I want to be able to do things. But I tell you what, it's the third hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It was really a very difficult decision," admitted Hedden. What were the first two? "Burying my parents."

Hedden and his wife Carla, also a native of Mountain Rest, now live on 87 acres in Walhalla.

"I've been remodeling my house for about ten years, so I'm going to finish that. I like British automobiles; I've got two of those to restore. I've got a 1963 Triumph TR3B and I'm finishing up on a 1971 Triumph Stag. And I just acquired a 1939 Chevrolet truck. So I'll be keeping busy."

Hedden's long career includes five years operating the front line fire dozer, trails layout and design, and migratory bird studies.

"My one regret, my only regret," he said, "is that I didn't start sooner."

"We are excited that weather conditions have allowed the project to move ahead earlier than expected," said Forest Supervisor Tom Schmidt.

Earlier this spring, before weight restrictions went on the roads, ACRC crews replaced 16 culverts on the campground road. Now, workers are finishing the sideslopes along the Buck Bay Road and upgrading the AuTrain Lake Day Use Area parking lot and boat ramp.

According to ACRC Engineer/Manager, Bob Lindbeck, the poor soil beneath both surfaces is being replaced to improve drainage, enhancing the lifespan of the new pavement that will be installed this summer.

"If all goes well," says Lindbeck, "we hope to have the gravel in place at the boat launch and day use area, as well as in the two AuTrain Campground loops, by late May."

Of course, the work will be weather-dependent. However, the partners agree that the goal is to minimize impact on campground operations. They also agree that this ARRA-funded project has multiple benefits for the National Forest, community, local workers, and visitors alike.

Supervisor Schmidt notes, "This is an excellent example of successful interagency cooperation. With one project we can improve our road systems, provide for public health and safety, protect natural resources, and enable access to the National Forest."

Lindbeck echoes this sentiment saying, "Working together on joint-jurisdiction projects allows us to pool our resources. This project is benefitting the Road Commission, helping to round out the budget that provides for our employees. It's also providing a benefit to several local businesses providing materials and services."

Clearly, both partners are excited about the project, with Lindbeck adding, "The Alger County Road Commission and its employees are proud of the work we are doing here."

Surveying the work in progress, ACRC Foreman, Dave Maki, and his crew, put it this way: "When we get done here, this facility is going to be really nice for local people and visitors to use."

Every spring for more years than she cares to recount, Field Ranger Helen Tarbet has led groups of wildflower enthusiasts up Figueroa Mountain on the Santa Lucia District of Los Padres National Forest. The tourists come from far and wide to learn about these unique coastal bloomers and see the meadows thick with California poppies, blue dicks, johnnie jump-ups and fiddlenecks.

"A woman from Cincinnati wrote to me saying how much she wanted to come out and see the flowers," Tarbet said. "So she arranged a trip out this year, and when she returned home she sent me a note telling me how much she enjoyed her visit."

During each wildflower season, Tarbet produces a newsletter she posts to the Internet that is read by fans as far away as Europe and Australia. And each year she leads tours up Figueroa's winding slopes above the Santa Ynez valley.

Early one recent Saturday morning Tarbet assembled with a group of thirty or so visitors, and introduced Dr. Charlie Blair. A retired Air Force surgeon, Blair now teaches at a local college and is active with the California Native Plant Society. He described the topography and soil components, and tied that into Charles Darwin and tectonic plates, to weave together how that all relates to the wildflowers on Figueroa.

Blair also pointed out the danger posed by non-native plant species that are cropping up along the mountainside. "We have to make sure this stuff doesn't start taking over."

At the higher elevations near the top of the mountain, vast orange blankets speckled with blue and violet stretched up the grassy slopes. The visitors spilled out of their cars and listened as Dr. Blair began talking about genus and epithet. The children and pets bounded into the flowers as parents steadied digital cameras to capture the moment.

All told, dozens of different wildflowers call Figueroa Mountain home. There are purple sky lupine, golden yarrow, hummingbird sage, and yellow buttercups, as well as prickly phlox, lomatium, seep spring monkey flowers, chocolate lilies, and coreopsis.

"This really is a special place, and this time of year is so colorful," Tarbet commented as the group concluded its ascent to Figueroa's peak. "Everyone who's made the trip up the mountain is struck by the beauty."

The spectacular color that stretches across Figueroa Mountain inevitably reaches its peak by the end of April. And just like the swallows, monarchs and sea lions, the wildflowers flash their brilliance for a short time before leaving us with warm memories until their return next March.

Thirty-eight Missouri S&T students from Phi Kappa Fraternity worked April 10-11, 2010 at Red Bluff Recreation Area, near Davisville. Rolla campus students scrubbed and hosed down restroom buildings exterior, sanded and painted picnic pedestal grills, vehicle barrier posts, front gate and fee tubes; cleared debris off all roads, spurs and parking lots, and removed dead and downed wood. Students worked 480 hours at Red Bluff Campground on Potosi Ranger District, their volunteer contributions valued at $9,700.

Twenty members of Beloit College Outdoor Environmental Club February 28, 2010 helped clean up Silver Mines Recreation Area, also on Potosi Ranger District. Due to earlier flooding, a portion of the recreation site was covered in mud and debris.

Over winter, some of the newer Silver Mines Recreation Area pedestal grills had started to rust so volunteers used wire brushes and high heat paint to give them a new look. Weathered routered wood signs, iron fee tubes and gates were repainted and refurbished. Four volunteers put on backpack blowers and cleared roads and campsites, while others stained picnic tables and trimmed trees.

Beloit College Club members worked 140 hours valued at $2,800.

"We really appreciated the work and dedication of these volunteers," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "Their contributions help us get a head start on the recreation season and give forest visitors a much better outdoor experience. Thank you."

The Superior National Forest is in a unique position because non-native invasive plants are not broadly established on the Forest, therefore control efforts can still be effective. This project will supplement the ongoing program to control non-native invasive species that threaten natural communities across the Forest.

Treatments will occur both inside and outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Herbicide spot applications are being used to treat weed infestations across the Forest outside of the BWCAW. Hand-pulling of plants is being used at known weed infestations in the eastern part of the BWCAW. The work is being accomplished by both contractors and temporary employees.

Outside of the BWCAW, treatments are focused on roadsides, off-highway vehicle trails, and recently completed vegetation management projects. These are high risk areas for non-native plants to spread because of the volume of traffic moving in and out.

Similar work is planned in 2010 on approximately 50 acres that will involve a cooperative agreement with the Student Conservation Association, as well as contracting and hiring temporary employees.

In 2009, the Obama Administration invested nearly 13 million dollars in Northeast Minnesota's economy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The money will fund 23 projects on the Superior National Forest through 2012, helping put people to work, accomplishing needed work on public lands, and providing long-term benefits such as developing new skills and adding economic value to communities. Projects funded by the Recovery Act have been integrated into our overall program of work where we are creating significant efficiencies by combining similar projects and integrating project planning and preparation. This investment will provide multiple benefits such as clean and abundant water by restoring forest health. Additional information about the USDA Forest Service and how we are involved nationally in implementing the Recovery Act of 2009 is available at: www.fs.fed.us.

To facilitate this process, efforts are underway to coordinate the sharing of resources from several additional organizations including Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources County Biological Survey. As the summer draws near, we anticipate hiring an additional seven employees to assist with data collection during the field season. During the summer, the project will establish a network of monitoring plots across the SNF and begin to collect information targeted at characterizing forest ecosystem responses to climate change. A research technician was hired last fall to coordinate project activities and has been working with geographic information system (GIS) data to locate representative areas to place monitoring plots.

Other aspects of this project include expanding ongoing efforts to estimate how the amounts of carbon stored in forests on the SNF will change with varying levels of timber harvesting and predict how forests on the SNF will respond to changing climatic conditions. Results from this work will emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate management strategies to mitigate increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 associated with climate change and identify areas and forest types where forest productivity is likely to be impacted by climate change.

While this project is still in its early stages, it is clear that Recovery Act funds are being put to good use by helping resource managers answer important questions regarding the future of the SNF.

In 2009 the Obama Administration invested nearly 13 million dollars in Northeast Minnesota's economy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is one of 23 projects funded on the Superior National Forest through 2012, helping put people to work, accomplishing needed work on public lands, and providing long-term benefits such as developing new skills and adding economic value to communities. Projects funded by the Recovery Act have been integrated into our overall program of work where we are creating significant efficiencies by combining similar projects and integrating planning and preparation. This investment will provide multiple benefits such as clean and abundant water by restoring forest health. Additional information about the USDA Forest Service and how we are involved nationally in implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is available at: www.fs.fed.us .

The new school building has been used during the 2009-2010 school year; however it is being heated with propane. Once the new biomass boiler system is up and running, the propane will be used as back-up fuel.

An economic analysis of the heating system, conducted by McKinstry Industries, found that the district's heating costs would be halved if they switched from the original propane heating system to the wood system. The current heating costs are about $130,000 per year. They anticipate that the wood heating system will cost approximately $65,000 per year. The district contracted McKinstry Industries to design, supply, and install the system.

The biomass facility will be fueled by 600-900 tons of woodchips annually. The chips are forest waste and will be generated as a by-product from a local supplier. By providing a profitable outlet for these by-products, the boiler will indirectly support jobs at the local supplier, along with forestry workers such as truck and equipment operators and loggers. The jobs directly linked to the boiler will involve the construction and installation of the system, along with annual chip production, loading, trucking, and unloading of the material at the school. The annual savings generated by utilizing a biomass heating system will provide students additional educational opportunities.

A hand crew is cutting trees and piling the slash. There are no roads in this very steep area, so a helicopter is being used to remove the piles from the area. The tree bunches will then be chipped and utilized at local co-generation plants to produce energy.

West Washoe Valley was identified as a "high hazard wildfire community" in past assessments. The area has a history of wildfires, most notably the 2004 Waterfall Fire that burned on the southern end of the Community and destroyed 17 houses. Fires along the east slope of the Sierra Nevada's experience strong down slope winds. These winds drive the fires into communities at the base of the slopes of mountains. This project is designed to help reduce the wildfire risk in this area.

Everyone is encouraged to look for ways to help preserve these wonderful creatures. Potential pollinator activities and partners include (but are not limited to): North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, Monarch Live, Pollinator Live, Monarch Watch, Monarchs in the Classroom, Watchable Wildlife, and more. Come join us!

Related Success Stories:

* Details on the NABA agreement

- http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/ssrs/story?id=4419

* Our first butterfly list on the Chippewa National Forest

- http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wildlife/plants_botany/

Thanks to the Recovery Act, ten members of the Leech Lake Band were recruited and provided training as beginning firefighters. Five individuals were employed as a crew focused on fuels reduction work on the national forest, and available for other fire assignments with other agencies and organizations.

Last year, the Chippewa National Forest and the Leech Lake Band had cooperatively gained a grant through the Forest Service's Hazardous Fuels-Federal Assistance program. Last year, the CNF and LLBO cooperatively gained a grant through the FS Hazardous Fuels-Federal Assistance program. The Band purchased a skid steer machine and the grant provided employment for two operators on a fuels reduction project near the tribal community of Ball Club, surrounded by national forest system lands. These assets were also available to assist the Leech Lake Firefighter crew towards their 150 acre goal.

"Being able to connect Band members with jobs, equipment with needed projects, and help develop careers is just an intersection of good things," noted Carl Crawford, Zone Fuels Planner and Forest Service contact for this Recovery Act project.

In addition to completing fuels reduction work, the crew also earned acres toward their goal by assisting at a large wet meadow landscape prescribed burn, jointly conducted by 5 cooperating agencies. The opportunity to use their skills, and coordinate and learn from other skilled firefighters opened more new possibilities. "I was impressed," said Walker District Ranger Carolyn Upton, "by their professional attitude and how hard they work on their assignments."

Hard work has paid off and additional Recovery Act funds are able to extend their employment beyond the Minnesota fire season. To further enhance their skills, the crew is likely to be temporarily assigned to other geographic locations to experience other kinds of fire behavior. They may join a Type II Initial Attack crew for instance, or learn from an advanced Hot Shot crew to help expand their contacts and opportunities.

"As a Forest Service employee, I find this really satisfying," said Carl Crawford, who is also a member of a recognized tribe, "so I can imagine how good it must feel for the crew to look ahead to their future."

The Big Picture:

The Job Corps Program was created in 1964 and provides economically disadvantaged youth, ages 16 - 24, with academic, vocational, and social skills needed to pursue long-term, productive careers at Job Corps Centers nationwide. Nationally, Job Corps trains more than 60,000 students at 124 centers nationwide. Among these, 28 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (JCCCCs) are operated on public lands under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Forest Service. JCCCCs provide training and assistance to approximately 6,200 students for programs of work-based learning to conserve, develop and manage public natural resources and public recreational areas or to develop community projects in the public interest. The Forest Service, which played a principle role in establishing and operating the depression era Civilian Conservation Corps, took a central role in designing Job Corps. The JCCCCs span seven Forest Service regions, 22 forests and grasslands and 18 different states.

Schenck Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center:

The Schenck Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center is located literally across the street from the Cradle of Forestry in North Carolina. The center is named in honor of Carl A. Schenck. Schenck was a German forester and was Gifford Pinchot's successor at the Biltmore Estate and founder of the Biltmore Forest School.

JCCCCs offer hands-on training in over 30 vocational trades, including cement masonry, welding, business technology, painting, carpentry, bricklaying, food service and culinary arts, and forestry Each Job Corps student is required to complete a minimum of 360 hours of work-based learning as part of their vocational training. The average length of stay is approximately eight months for all students and approximately 12 months for graduates. Students may remain enrolled for up to two years, with an optional third year granted to students who qualify for advanced training. The Schecnk JCCCC is unique in that is offers both a 12 month Advanced Forestry and an Advanced Wildland Fire Mangement Program for students who have successfully complete a traditional Job Corps program. Competition for the Advanced Wildland Fire Management Program is high as over 50 individuals apply, but only 16 students are selected annually to the program. Operationally, the program operates as Davidson River Initial Attack Crew for local and national availability. The wildland firefighter program is aimed at providing training and enhancing the skills of Job Corps students through an advanced fire management training program with the opportunity to be hired into a temporary position in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP), or as a student traineed under the Student Career Experriance Program (SCEP). Training components include classroom sessions, fieldwork, on the job training and counseling.

Chippewa's Involvement with Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers:

In 2009 the Chippewa National Forest placed two Schenck students into Forestry Technician positions on the Blackduck Ranger District. One student has left the program, but the second Derek Gentry will be returning from school for a second summer. District Ranger, Greg Morris is working to fill the second position with a new student this May. Through utilizing the Schenck Job Corps program, the forest is able to obtain skilled candidates to work in fire, timber, and other resource areas.

A Passion for the Job:

While visiting the Schenck JCCCC, Martin saw young adults that have a passion for their work and desire to grow. They take pride in their accomplishments and desire to pursue careers in natural resources. They have come from a variety of backgrounds, many from rural areas where agriculture and forestry are components on the landscape. Some are from urban areas and are being exposes to the benefits and challenges that a career in natural resources can bring. All have a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. They are a diverse group that is working hard towards obtaining careers in natural resources with the Forest Service.

"Does this sound familiar? Eager, energized, motivated students that are seeking to get their foot in the door? I don't think that I'm alone in saying that these were my aspirations after coming out of school," Martin said.

Forest-wide, many interpretive programs are offered during the busy summer tourism season, but this unique opportunity occurred with patches of snow still on the ground. Eighteen area residents, including District Ranger Katie Stuart and Forester Gail Wigler, strolled through the off-season campground to explore the wonders of winter tree and shrub identification. The free half-day program was led by Peg Heaney, who kept the crowd continuously engaged with her knowledge, humor, and enthusiasm.

Peg teaches Tree and Shrub Identification and Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) at the White Mountain Community College and works seasonally for the Forest Service as a GIS specialist. Program participants learned tips and tricks to identifying almost twenty different species by observing their buds, bark, and twigs. Close-up investigation of flora like the understated Beaked Hazelnut and the smell of the young Yellow Birch's inner bark inspired a deeper sensory investigation by some students into each plant along the way. Peg showed the group pore-like lenticels and long pointed buds of the beech tree. Sunny skies, warm weather, and views of the Carter-Moriah Mountain Range completed the outdoor classroom.

This event used science, history, and hands-on experiences to involve the all-ages crowd. Although few had heard of the Weeks Act, everyone knew of Dolly Copp. Visitors can still see the old homestead site near the Peobody River, where Dolly moved to be with her new husband, Hayes Copp, in 1831. The hearty woman toiled for 50 years, raised 4 children, and finally declared, "Hayes is well enough, but 50 years is long enough for woman to live with any man!"

Dolly Copp left to live with her daughter in Auburn, Maine, and the family's land was sold to the E. Libby and Sons Logging Company in 1884. The land was later purchased as part of the White Mountain National Forest in 1915 and first served as a campground in 1921. From forest to pasture to forest, this land has been welcoming people for over 100 years. This year's Tree Identification walk successfully connected people to the land and gave them new knowledge with which to explore in the future.

On April 10, 2010, the Shawnee National Forest and the Illinois Climbing Association joined forces for a volunteer workday in the Jackson Falls area of the Hidden Springs Ranger District. The project included clearing blown down trees from several storm events of the past few years, on trails number 048 and 049. Other priorities included picking up trash; brushing in non-designated, user created trails; and scattering and dispersing fire rings.

The workday drew in ten volunteers from the Illinois Climbing Association and five other individuals interested in helping out for a few hours. Three district employees assisted as chainsaw operators.

The group cleared three miles of trail by removing brush and downed trees from the trail corridor. Nine fire rings left behind by campers were disassembled and eliminated. Also, several user-created trails were brushed in and all trash was removed from the site.

Thanks to everyone who attended and volunteered! Volunteers help the Forest in protecting ecosystems across boundaries

The Hidden Springs Ranger District plans on hosting additional workdays in the fall. Once scheduled, a list of the workdays will be posted on the Shawnee National Forest website at http://fs.usda.gov/shawnee. Anyone interested in volunteering with the Hidden Springs Ranger District should contact Eric Stead at (618) 658-1321.

Longtime LPF federal partners at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency asked the crew to install a Smokey Fire Danger sign in a courtyard at their Oxnard, California, office as part of a permanent exhibit that will share fire prevention messages with the public. The LPF's fire crews rely heavily on weather data generated by NOAA, and responding to the request provided an opportunity to extend their gratitude for the predictive services that are so critical during fire season.

In early March, Mike Rivera arranged a plan for fulfilling NOAA's request, and served as the project coordinator. Together with Gary Peterson, Stephen Klosterman, Jason Mitchell and Alvaro Valencia, the team lined up the materials and scheduled work dates. Klosterman assumed to role of lead carpenter and was able to fabricate most of the Smokey sign, reducing costs and lending the project a unique flavor.

Mark Gerwe from the Santa Barbara Ranger District provided the design plan and cut-outs that Mitchell hand painted. The team then assembled the pieces and arranged for a day to drive down to Oxnard and, as Rivera put it, "drop it in the ground." In all, the team spent about two weeks working on the project.

"The center in Oxnard is open to the public for educational tours, and our Smokey sign will go hand-in-hand with the exhibit in educating our young minds," Rivera said. "This was a true team effort, and shows our appreciation for all the weather info the center gives us during fire season."

NOAA is planning an official ceremony in the coming months to officially unveil the Smokey sign and acknowledge the efforts of the Figueroa Station crews in turning a request into a reality.

The program was sponsored by Detroit's Belle Isle Ecology Group. Members of the group include the Stewardship Network's Lakeplain Cluster, City of Detroit Recreation Department, Michigan Botanical Club, Detroit Zoological Society, Friends of Belle Isle, Friends of the Detroit River, Belle Isle Botanical Club, University of Michigan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Eastern Region's Urban Connections program.

Suzan Campbell, organizer for the Stewardship Network's South East Michigan Lakeplain Cluster, introduced Dr. Bauer and said that she hoped Dr. Bauer's research would eventually help with a strategy to respond to the effects of EAB in the Belle Isle Woodland.

The audience learned that EAB is an exotic beetle that was discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. However, the larvae (the immature stage) of the EAB are causing fatal damage to the ash trees. They feed on the inner bark, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. EAB probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia. Ash trees in North America aren't immune to the insect, thus EAB has the potential to wipe out more than 700 million ash trees in Michigan. Since 2002, it has killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone. Clearly, methods to slow the spread and control EAB in North America are needed.

Bauer provided details on the discovery of the EAB's natural predators in Michigan and China. She explained that research conducted by the Northern Research Station and Michigan State University had discovered five varieties of parasitic wasps which destroy the EAB larvae by feeding on them. Two of the wasps are native to Michigan, while the other three are found in China where EAB originated. She also discussed recent developments on the use of biological control for the management of EAB.

Bauer stated, "The invasion of forests by non-indigenous insect species will continue to increase along with international trade and travel. Despite ongoing efforts to close invasion pathways, such as in solid wood packing materials used by wood-boring insects, new introductions are inevitable."

After the presentation and refreshments, a number of participants accompanied Bauer and Suzan Campbell of the Stewardship Network on a tour of the nearby woodlands. They assessed EAB damage, and the area's potential as a study site for EAB biological controls.

Belle Isle, a premier city park, is on a 982 acre island located southeast of the City of Detroit in the Detroit River. Its 200 acre forest was designated as a preserve by Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of landscape architecture, who also designed Central Park in New York City. An extensively managed and built environment exists on the island, in addition to its natural areas: the forest preserve, several lakes, and a small prairie remnant. These natural areas are also threatened by invasive species. The Elm, Ash, and Oak forest canopies on Belle Isle - and in the south eastern Michigan area - have been devastated by the effects of Dutch elm disease and EAB attack.

The presentation was one of many events planned by Belle Isle Ecology Group designed to increase public understanding of Detroit's natural areas and the important role they play in the Great Lakes system. Urban Connections participated in this event to bolster awareness of the relationship between public health, quality of life, and healthy forests.

"Vendors purchase permits from the Forest Service in bulk at a reduced rate," said Halle Adams, Ava support services specialist. "They, in turn, are able to sell permits for whatever price the market will bear. This creates a considerable amount of savings in overhead costs for the Forest Service and provides the vendors an opportunity to attract more customers into their stores, which generates revenue for local communities. It's a win-win situation."

The Mark Twain National Forest currently has seven off-highway vehicle permit vendors for the Chadwick and Sutton Bluff riding areas, with more businesses expressing an interest. Vendors include Kay's Country Store LLC, Potter's Oldfield Outpost, Outdoor Inspirations, Casey's General Store, Branson West Powersports, The Ski Shack, and Cindy's Quickstop.

On March 27, 2010, the Shawnee National Forest and the River to River Society made some much needed improvements to the observation trail around the High Knob recreation area. The project included clearing leaves and debris off two sets of steps, trash pickup, removal of blown down and ice storm damaged trees and general trail tread improvements.

Ten volunteers from the River to River Society worked for five hours. Also in attendance were two Forest Service employees who were the certified chainsaw operators for the event.

The group maintained approximately 1/2 mile of trail. Included in the work were the two sets of steps, each with 30 or more stone steps. These steps were originally installed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The northern stairway was covered in almost two tons of leaves and soil that had accumulated over the years. All of the build-up was removed and the steps were cleared on both the northern and southern stone stairways. Multiple trees were cleared from the trail using a chainsaw, and the trail corridor was cleared using loppers and hand saws. Also, several water-bars were cleared so they will continue to function properly. Finally, trash was removed from the site and multiple, unauthorized fire rings were scattered.

Thanks to everyone who attended and volunteered! Your work has gone a long way in improving a beautiful trail that had been overlooked for many years. Working with volunteers continues to connect citizens to the land by revolutionizing effectiveness and efficiency.

The Steering Committee has spent the last few months building the organizational capacity of the CWPMA and developing partnerships. The Potomac Highlands CWPMA covers lands in Grant, Hardy, and Pendleton Counties in West Virginia and Augusta and Highland Counties Virginia. This area covers just over 670,000 acres, most of which is in private ownership. The Potomac Highlands CWPMA includes some of the most unique landscapes found in West Virginia, from the 11-mile long Smoke Hole Canyon along the South Branch of the Potomac River, to the dramatic, 4000+ feet peaks on North Fork Mountain. This landscape contains a diverse mix of hardwood forests and woodlands, limestone glades and barrens, cedar woodlands, high elevation pine/heath barrens, rocky summits, cliffs and balds, and subalpine coniferous forests. Over 120 rare animals, plants, and natural communities have been identified in this area, making it one of the richest concentrations of biological diversity in the East. The cedar glades support a number of species restricted to this part of the Appalachians, including Smoke Hole bergamot, and the high, dry crests of North Fork Mountain support the largest pine barrens of the Central Appalachians. The summits also support virgin red pine and spruce forests, dramatic tundra-like communities of boreal plants, and a wealth of rare Appalachian and boreal species.

Development of the Potomac Highlands CWPMA is a key step in helping land management organizations, conservation organizations, agricultural interests, and others address the growing threat from non-native invasive species in this landscape. In the short term, the desire is to establish a structure for coordination on all fronts. Long term, the objective is to build a broad constituency that supports and actively participates in accomplishing the goals of the CWPMA, which include the following:

1. Decrease the impacts of invasive species on native plant and animal communities, public and private forestland, agricultural lands, and local economies.

2. Develop and support partnerships among a diverse group of private land owners, concerned citizens, agencies, non-profit organizations, educational facilities, and local governments.

3. Increase public awareness of the invasive species problem through workshops, field tours, public meetings, and by sharing informational resources.

The Potomac Highlands CWPMA was recently notified that they had received over $44,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Pulling Together Initiative. The primary activities that will be employed through this grant will fall into three broad categories including:

1. Build the organizational capacity of the CWPMA by supporting a full-time coordinator who will focus on organizing public meetings, devising mapping protocols, assisting with the setting of project priorities, securing permanent funding sources, and sustaining public outreach and restoration activities.

2. Facilitate public meetings, outreach opportunities, and educational workshops focusing on NNIS identification and the requirements for acquiring an herbicide applicator license in the state of West Virginia, as well as providing kits that will be available for private landowners interested in controlling NNIS.

3. Develop demonstration areas on private lands within the CWPMA to help build support for NNIS control among private landowners.

"The Potomac Highlands CWPMA initiative will not only help prioritize management of invasive species in the eastern panhandle, it will also serve as a test landscape for a larger statewide initiative to develop a comprehensive NNIS management plan for the State of West Virginia," said Keith Fisher, Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy. While only a year old, this CWPMA is already showing a lot of success. And, the CWPMA Steering Committee will be taking this partnership to the public in the next few weeks.

Sarah says, "I wanted to work on this project because I've always had a love for science and the natural world. I'd jump at any opportunity to introduce kids to the excitement of learning about the natural world." The aspect she liked most about working on this project was sitting down and exploring the science materials herself and enjoyed having the freedom of creating her own educational worksheets whether or not she was drawing them herself, or creating the worksheets on the computer. She is eager to hear feedback about her creations and looks forward to similar volunteer opportunities for the White Mountain National Forest.

Sarah says, "I have so many dreams and aspirations for myself. I love working, living and teaching in the outdoors, and hope to one day have a career where I am teaching the importance and beauty of the natural world to others, while continually learning and exploring the environment myself. I also hope one day to be a published author and illustrator of my own children books." With talent and enthusiasm like hers we will no doubt be attending an author luncheon in the future honoring her great work! The Forest Service is fortunate to have top notch volunteers like Sarah Morrison helping them connect the public to their lands.

Wood lathe strips of Pine, Maple, Cherry, Oak, and Ash provide a natural backing for the interactive cultural history mural along a 26 ft wall. Historic photos present a visual mural that includes information about the economic, social, and ecologic impact on the area. The 36 photo montage includes pieces on early logging, devastation from a hurricane in 1938, grand hotels, wildland fires, tourism, present day research, and information about Forest Service efforts to manage the land for future generations.

Visitors are welcomed at the door with a smile by Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl. Trail signs direct them to the various rooms and areas of the center. One of these areas is an indoor forest - with animal and tree recreations - that reminds visitors of the world just outside the doors. A scavenger hunt through the forest teaches kids to be more observant.

A display on hikeSafe, a safety and outdoor education awareness program developed by the White Mountain National Forest and New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, advises adventurers to be prepared for whatever they encounter in the wilderness. Trail conditions, weather, camping, and other pertinent information and brochures are also available. A rare 1930's era Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) recreation map was recently restored by a local document conservation center. This map tells the story of the Forest in vivid color and has the unique style of the artists commissioned to create it.

All of the visitor center displays were created using local merchants and local materials where possible. These displays provide a rich tapestry of information and images to entice visitors to explore the past and present, safely and wisely. As visitors leave the building they are reminded of the Forest Service motto "Caring for the Land and Serving People."

Annually, the Hiawatha National Forest (HNF) regenerates 4,500 to 6,000 acres of new stands following timber harvests. This includes natural regeneration, planting and direct seeding. Direct seeding is artificial regeneration of stands by applying tree seed directly to the forest floor to supplement natural regeneration, usually after the area has been mechanically scarified. Direct seeding is normally accomplished by mounting a seed spreader to a snowmobile and applying the seed on the snow crust in late March. Approximately 0.25 pound of seed per acre is applied on areas to be regenerated to jack pine.

The Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District has completed 100-500 acres of direct seeding per year for the past 10 years to artificially regeneration new jack pine stands near Raco, Michigan. The District has never been able to accomplish more than 500 acres per year of direct seeding using snowmobiles.

The District had over 700 acres of direct seeding to be accomplished in 2010. However, the snowfall during the winter of 2009/2010 was very light, so direct seeding could not be accomplished with snowmobiles in late winter or early spring 2010.

But as the saying goes, "where there is a will, there is a way." The Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District accomplished 724 acres of aerial seeding on March 16, 2010, in conjunction with the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center (MIFC). MIFC provided Forest Service pilot Dean Lee and the aircraft (Beaver DHC-2) to spread the jack pine seed. The Hiawatha provided approximately 181 pounds of see. The following Forest employees contributed to the direct seeding project's logistics and ground support: Doug Born, Karen Waalen, Marjorie Allmaras, Sam Barnes and Mike Thibodeau.

The Duhring camp is believed to be one of only 25 CCC camps, out of the 4500 total CCC camps ever in existence, with extant structures (statistics from Camp Rabideau National Historic Landmark Nomination). The Duhring CCC camp is the only camp within the ANF region with extant structures, tangible features that bring CCC history to life.

Information on the camp's years of operation, its special significance as the first CCC camp in Pennsylvania and the second camp in the US, and specific projects conducted by the enrollees are now displayed on a large interpretive sign, similar to other CCC camp signs located across the Forest. In 2008, the 75th anniversary of the CCC program and the establishment of the Duhring CCC camp were celebrated. This important site is now commemorated for the CCC alumni who are very proud of one of the most profound experiences of their lives. Their story is now shared with their descendants and the general public, many of whom have no familiarity with the CCC efforts. The sign is located at a safe pull-off along a busy Forest Road, so that visitors, whether in vehicles or on snowmobiles or horseback, can stop and learn about the history and legacy of the Duhring CCC camp.

The River Road Project funded the reconstruction and resurfacing of 2.9 miles of Township Route 301. The reconstruction included: drainage improvements, signage and safety improvements, and widening of the road by an average of two feet. The roadway was then re-surfaced with four inches of asphalt.

Construction began July 14, 2009, and was completed on November 10, 2009. This project created four jobs using Economic Recovery calculations, primarily in the categories of Asphalt Construction and Trucking and Transport. In addition to the $357,870.78 in Economic Recovery funds, Millstone Township contributed $71,585.51, for a project total of $427,456.29. To accomplish this work the Forest Service entered into an agreement with Millstone Township.

The improvement to public infrastructure within the Clarion National Wild & Scenic River corridor provides an immediate benefit to both Forest visitors and local residents. Millstone Township will also benefit from reduced annual maintenance costs. Township Supervisor Eric Patton noted, "This project will reduce our annual highway maintenance costs by an average of ten percent over the next ten years. This is a big savings for a rural township like ours."

The ANF entered into an agreement with Howe Township in Forest County (PA) to complete work on a section of their Township road system on one of the first Economic Recovery projects completed on the Forest. Included was a road maintenance project that had been too large to include in either the Forest's or the Township's annual maintenance budget. To accomplish the work, the Township awarded a contract to Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc., of State College, PA, in the amount of $437,663. Work on the project was completed in late summer of 2009.

The project replaced the entire surface of a heavily-travelled township road servicing the Cornell Abraxas Foundation and improved drainage. The rehabilitation facility located on this road houses over 260 juvenile residents and employs over 300 local residents. The road is also heavily used by companies drilling for oil and gas and performing logging operations on national forest lands. Additionally, Abraxas Road provides access to several thousand acres of Forest land for hunting, hiking, and recreating.

According to Howe Township Supervisors, "This is the largest project (money-wise) the Township has ever undertaken." Cornell Abraxas is one of the largest employers in the county and this project "has helped improve relations between Abraxas and the Township." A letter recently received by the township from Cornell Abraxas not only thanked them for paving and fixing the road for all the employees and visitors, but also asked if the township would "please consider letting us adopt this piece of highway. Our staff and clients would like to keep this area clean."

Brad Lidell, Engineering Program Manager said the amount of work these employees have accomplished was phenomenal. "The reflectivity standards have changed. So one of their tasks was to inventory the 255 gates on the Forest and replace the signage on these gates. It's easy to underestimate the scope of that job which entailed a total of 1,350 signs!" Lidell explained there were 600 of the diagonal safety marking signs, 600 yellow reflectors, and 150 'Do Not Block Gate' signs involved with these 225 gates.

Another task was replacing the transportation signs on Forest roads including speed limit, curves ahead, warning signs, and road number signs. Lidell noted there were 115 road signs in the Hoosier's Recreation Areas alone. Road Level 1 and 2 (roads usually gated to the pubic) are also receiving numbers - a total of 921 road numbers will be installed. These correlate to the Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map which should help Forest visitors orient themselves to where they are and help contractors and others better locate access points on the Forest. These numbers will be on the Forest soon and installed this summer.

"We also received funding from Federal Highways to replace our road signs to meet the 2013 reflectivity standards for Forest Highways. This includes county roads through the Hoosier National Forest," said Lidell. A total of 645 road signs on county roads will receive new signs which are upgraded to the new standards. Lidell noted that the signs the crews take down are returned to the counties to be reused (recoated) or recycled.

The crew was hired last June and worked through September when many of them returned to college. Crew members who lived locally continued to work weekends and over the Christmas holidays. Many will return this summer and work through September 2010.

One of the students commented that although in the end he and his fellow crew members will have replaced almost 3,000 signs on Hoosier roadways there were intangible benefits to the project as well. "I saw how a Forest Service district office is run, and had a chance to understand career opportunities within the agency," said Michael Shaw, a junior at Indiana University. He said his knowledge of resource management skyrocketed during his work on the Forest. Shaw was appreciative of the financial benefits of his job, but also looks forward to working for the Forest Service in the future.

In 2009, the Wayne National Forest and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources signed a Challenge Cost Share Agreement to have Heritage Program Botanist Rick Gardner conduct surveys of Special Interest Areas on the Ironton Ranger District. Gardner discovered a new plant species for Ohio, the large sedge (Carex gigantea). Large sedge is a wetland species found mostly in the southeastern U.S., but it also occurs in Indiana and Illinois where it is listed as endangered by both states.

The 2009 inventory by Gardener overall resulted in: 10 new rare plant species for the Forest, 136 new rare plant records, 36 updated records and 14 new plant community records. The written report for the surveys contained locations of rare plants, animals, and communities along with locations of non-native invasive plant species, land acquisition suggestions to extend the protection of high quality plant communities, and land management suggestions (e.g. burning of barren communities degraded by woody succession).

A continuation of the agreement in 2010 allows for Gardener to survey the Special Interest Areas of the Athens Ranger District. Stay tuned for more exciting Ohio plant finds!

Western New England College

The summer of 1995, I was selected to take part in a five-week summer internship program sponsored by the Shawnee National Forest and the Student Conservation Association on a National Conservation Crew. My group was assigned to work in the Lusk Creek Wilderness, more specifically, the Indian Kitchen State Nature Preserve and Lusk Creek Canyon area. As a high school student from a small town in Michigan, I had very little idea of that a wilderness trip would entail. I was excited by the thought of striking out and serving nature! Needless to say, the five weeks I spent on the Shawnee touched my life and taught me many important lessons about nature. After the summer was over I vowed to definitely come back.

Fifteen years later, now a professor of psychology at Western New England College (WNEC), my thoughts still regularly focus on the Shawnee and my experiences here. As luck would have it, I was asked to take part in organizing an environmentally-focused service trip as part of WNEC's Alternative Spring Break program. A self-motivated student, Christopher Nuhfor, and I decided the Shawnee National Forest would be the best place for this trip. As a result, in March of 2010, Chris and I, along with eight students flew from Massachusetts to southern Illinois. For most of the students, this was their first trip into the wilderness and I was excited to share the Shawnee with them!

As I write this, I am on my final day in the Shawnee and have watched a new generation of individuals learn and grow immensely in their forest experience. The Shawnee has inspired them to give their all and to work for the benefit of those who call the forest home. The most inspiring moments for me this week, 15 years after my own first experience, have been to hear several of my own students declare that they will definitely be coming back!

There is not a better way to protect ecosystems across boundaries than to provide on-site, first-hand experience in educating a new generation.

This project focuses on four roads and one parking lot on the Montpelier Ranger District. It includes resurfacing the St. Charles Canyon Road, increasing the size of the Montpelier Reservoir parking lot, and creating a gravel pit and resurfacing roads alongside Georgetown Creek and Deer Creek. Maintenance on the roads will improve access to the forest.

The St. Charles Canyon Road had developed cracks, allowing vegetation to grow up through the shoulders of the road. The road had not been repaired in 10 years. Improvements included sealing the cracks and a surface treatment on the road. The work should defer road maintenance for another 10 years.

The Montpelier Reservoir parking lot was widened by removing some of the adjacent hillside.

Roads parallel to the Georgetown and Deer Creeks were impacting the fish habitats below. Both creeks suffer from run -off sediment from the roads. Georgetown Creek is a historic Bonneville Cutthroat Trout habitat and Deer Creek is a Yellowstone Cutthroat trout stronghold. Resurfacing these roads and creating a gravel pit at the summit between the two watersheds will improve the habitat for the trout in both creeks.

Approximately $459,000 has been allocated towards the project. Bear Lake County used contractors to accomplish a portion of the work. The County reported the creation of about five full time jobs for the duration of the projects.

About 50 percent of the work was completed in 2009 and crews will continue work on the projects when weather allows in 2010. This project is one of eight projects on the Caribou-Targhee totaling $6.5 million to improve roads on the forest.

Hillyard Canyon Road provides access through the Forest between Utah and Idaho. The road needed to be maintained because only high clearance vehicles could travel on it. Also, spring run-off on the road had caused significant erosion and required extensive annual maintenance. Resurfacing and improving the drainage on the road has nearly eliminated the surface erosion.

The Sugar Creek Trailhead is used by ATV, horseback riders, hunters, and permitted livestock grazers. The parking lot had previously been realigned by Franklin County and needed surfacing in order to reduce its impact on a nearby stream.

Wes Stumbo, Caribou-Targhee National Forest Engineer said, "The projects provided the opportunity to work collaboratively with local government agencies to create better access for all of our Forest users."

Nearly all of the work was completed in 2009 by Franklin County road maintenance crews. When weather conditions allows, the Forest Service will finish the final inspections. About $50,000 has been allocated towards the project. The county reported saving one job for four months as a result of the work.

This project is one of eight projects on the Caribou-Targhee totaling $6.5 million that will improve roads on the forest. The work on these roads will increase access to the National Forest for the public and reduce costs for future maintenance.

Maintenance includes work on the following roads: Cow Fork, Morgan Meadows, Diamond, Sulphur Canyon, Cheatbeck, and Flat Valley.

* The Cow Fork is a main access road to the north end of the Montpelier District. It has contributed a significant amount of sediment run-off into Eightmile Creek, which has a negative impact on the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in the creek. The Cow Fork Road needed to be reshaped and resurfaced with gravel.

* The Morgan Meadows Road was closed due to a landslide that occurred in the summer of 2008. It is the only road that provides motorized access to the Morgan Meadows trail head, where a famous 1870's wagon road begins. The wagon road was used to deliver supplies to an old gold mining community on Caribou Mountain.

* Diamond Creek Road provides access to popular camping areas. The road had extensive sediment issues due to high motor vehicle use. Surface hardening was used to reduce sediment erosion. Barrier rock was installed to prevent vehicles from driving into a nearby stream.

* Sulphur Canyon Road had drainage issues that caused sediment to fall into Sulphur Creek. The run-off was reduced by the addition of a new culvert and reshaping and graveling a portion of the road.

* Flat Valley Road had pot holes, a wash-boarded surface, poor drainage from the original surfacing, and one mile of the road needed additional gravel.

The projects created four full time jobs. Approximately 65 percent of the project was completed in 2009. The crews will continue work on the projects in 2010, as weather permits.

Caribou-Targhee National Forest Engineer Wes Stumbo said, "These projects increase the ability for the public to access the National Forest and reduce costs for future maintenance."

Tell City Ranger District employee Travis Swaim helped tie the bundles and cinder blocks together while Jeff Fischer and Amanda Kunzmann placed the trees from the boat. Approximately 40 trees were submerged in various locations in each of the two lakes.

Once submerged, the recycled Christmas trees will offer habitat to enhance feeding and cover for a variety of fish species including largemouth bass and bluegill. Creating more underwater habitat for bass and bluegill fisheries is one way to increase the number of these game fish, and increase the size and quantity of fish available to anglers.

There were an estimated 820 trout in the spring branch that day - most were stocked the day before the derby while the rest were left over from the park's Fish-For-Fun season. The kids caught 420 trout during the three hour event. Approximately 55% of the participants caught at least one trout, giving the derby its second highest success percentage to date! Additionally, 25% managed to catch the derby limit of four trout.

Altogether a record $2,200 in food, prizes, and gifts was given away. Seven of 18 prize fish with special tags were caught, garnering $150 in prize money. Other prizes and gifts included door prizes for every child and a gift bag with fishing-related materials to the 180 new anglers. These contributions were made by derby hosts Department of Public Works (DPW) - Natural Resource Branch, Moral/Welfare and Recreation (MWR), the Forest Service, and Missouri Chapter of American Fisheries Society. A free lunch was served by the MWR Outdoor Adventure Center along with its sponsors, Pepsi and Wal-Mart. The Outdoor Adventure Center also provided canopies, a large propane grill, and a shuttle bus. Tables, chairs, and trash receptacles were provided by the Natural Resource Branch.

The derby was staffed by volunteers from the Environmental Division of DPW, MWR, the Forest Service, and the U.S. Air Force (336 TRS/Det 7). Fort Leonard Wood Fisheries Bilogist Mark Zurbrick commented, "While dozens of items can be pointed to as reasons for the success of this event, if I had only one to choose as the best example, it would inter- and intra-agency cooperation."

Since the first Kids' Trout Fishing Derby in 2001, Stone Mill Spring Trout Branch has hosted 2,206 young anglers, who have harvested more than 2,095 trout and received more than $12,000 in giveaways.

As EAB discoveries increase in both number and geographical extent in North America, it becomes even more critical that pertinent, timely information is available for the many audiences affected by EAB. Traditionally, this has involved face-to-face meetings, educational conferences, press conferences, Extension programs, and other events.

Although these communication vehicles work well, they are often time and labor intensive. Those involved must spend money on travel, accommodations, and meals.

The Solution - EAB educators from three universities-Michigan State University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University-approached the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, about helping them use an innovative format to spread EAB information to a much larger and broader audience. Their proposal-the EAB University-uses free Webinars to deliver EAB information easily and inexpensively with a minimum of travel and expense to participants.

The Forest Service agreed to award a grant to fund this virtual institution. Northeastern Area Forest Health Protection staff worked closely with the organizers to create a 2-year curriculum. The Webinars became a success from the beginning-more than 100 people registered for the first Webinar. The lessons are also posted online for those who may have missed them. Both presenters and participants can take part in the Webinar from anywhere in the world where high-speed Internet access is available. Participants can download and view presentation materials during the Webinar, or make comments and ask questions, either verbally or by typing questions or responses using the program's chat feature.

Resulting Benefits - More than 100 people signed up for the first EAB University Webinar, "Introduction to EAB," held on November 5, 2009. Since then, three other classes have had a total of 348 registrants. Participants have come from many States in the U.S. as well as Canada.

* The EAB University brings timely, accurate, and consistent information to a broad spectrum of individuals concerned about the EAB but who, due to time constraints, limited budgets, and uncertainty about where to find a concentrated source of high-quality material, would otherwise not be reached.

* In the near future, live sessions will need to be added to accommodate the large numbers of registered participants.

* Since the EAB University is inherently flexible, curricula could be added to meet the specific needs of a variety of groups. This format can serve as a template for other forest health issues where risk communication and learning are key factors in detecting and managing pests.

* Classes will be offered throughout 2010. To register for future Webinars or to view previous classes, visit http://www.emeraldashborer.info/eab_university.cfm.

The Solution - The U. S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry worked with Davey Tree Experts, the University of Georgia, and the Society of Municipal Arborists to develop the I-PED-Integrated Pest Detection-data collection system. This tool helps urban foresters, arboriculture professionals, and interested citizens detect potentially harmful pests and diseases in urban trees.

The I-PED Pest Protocol is a set of "rules" for recording pest signs and symptoms in the field, and is the basis for detecting known and unknown pests in the urban forest. It has been tested in six cities throughout the Northeast and South (Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, and New York). This protocol is part of i-Tree (http://itreetools.org), a free inventory and assessment software program. The I-PED data collection system can also be adapted for other types of inventories.

The I-PED protocol provides: A standardized way to observe a tree for possible insect or disease problems; An easy-to-use pest detection system that can be integrated into a variety of tree inventory methods; User support through online resources, training, and integration with established networks for identifying and reporting pests.

Resulting Benefits - The use of I-PED:

* Increases the effectiveness of detecting exotic pests.

* Increases awareness of the need for routine tree health assessments.

* Provides a standardized way to integrate pest detection with urban forest management.

* Provides opportunities to control pests while infestations are still manageable.

* Reduces unchecked movement of pests across geographic and political boundaries.

* Reduces costs for long-term tree management, removal, and replacement.

* Provides a way to integrate pest detection with innovative, technologically advanced tree inventory and assessment tools.

Sharing Success

Training-The team is developing a multifaceted approach to training that includes face-to-face classroom sessions; online documents and short, informal videos.

Workshops-In June 2009, the team provided training to three city arborists in New York. Several i-Tree workshops have incorporated training for I-PED.

National Plant Diagnostic Network-In August 2009, the First Detector Network News (Vol. 6, No. 7) featured an article about I-PED. (http://www.sepdn.org/desktopmodules/viewdocument.aspx?documentid=3199)

Community residents need tools to quickly exchange information and ideas with each other, especially when they are geographically dispersed. To promote the growth of Indiana's sustainable forest industry, it is essential that key institutions, industry, government, and academic entities in the State share information and collaborate with each other.

The Solution - Purdue University's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources developed an innovative, online directory of the primary, secondary, and related wood products companies in Indiana. To do this, they used funds from the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Wood Education and Resource Center.

The directory effectively created a Web-based community of manufacturers, suppliers, and sources of wood products information that is connecting Indiana's communities and helping develop its wood products economic sector. This interactive network increases marketing opportunities for small rural companies and large companies alike. It allows Indiana's forest products industries to reduce overlap and be more cost effective. The Web site also gives Indiana's forest products industries a global competitive advantage over similar companies by making them more visible.

Resulting Benefits - Creates and strengthens relationships among wood products companies in Indiana; Improves marketing and stimulates Indiana's forest agriculture economy; Promotes "Made in Indiana" products and services; Lists more than 1,600 companies statewide in the directory

Sharing Success

* Made promotion presentations at the Wood Summit in October 2006 and the Supply Chain workshop in November 2006

* Presented information about the Indiana Forest Products Web Community at 12 extension events

* Published an article in the Journal of Extension

* Produced a Purdue University news release in April 2009

* The Indiana Forest Products Web Community was launched in February 2009 and is available at http://www.indianaforestproducts.com. Nearly 150 participants attended presentations of the web site at four seminars around Indiana. It was enthusiastically received at the Indiana Hardwood Lumberman Association's Annual meeting and won the President's Award in 2008. The popular Web site has given businesses statewide the opportunity to promote themselves and their products.

Invasive species pose a major threat to these delicate and diverse ecosystems. Native plants often cannot compete with invasive plants that displace them after becoming established. Invasive species change habitats and make them undesirable to native wildlife.

These important ecosystems within New Hampshire's coastal watershed provide a myriad of natural resources. As such, they need to be monitored, managed, and protected. Doing so effectively requires the resources of not just one individual, group, organization, or agency, but many land managers working together.

The Solution - Nearly a dozen agencies and organizations have collaborated to protect the ecology of the New Hampshire coastal watershed from destructive invasive plants. An agreement was signed on May 20, 2008, to form the New Hampshire Coastal Watershed Invasive Plant Partnership (CWIPP), the first of its kind in New England.

Eleven entities make up the partnership, including the U.S. Forest Service; New Hampshire Departments of Agriculture, Environmental Services, Fish and Game, Resources and Economic Development, and Transportation; Rockingham County Conservation District; Natural Resources Conservation Service; The Nature Conservancy; Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve; and the University of New Hampshire.

The group decided to focus its efforts on controlling invasive plants within the watershed through prevention, restoration and control, assessment and monitoring, cooperation and collaboration, and outreach and education.

Resulting Benefits - CWIPP partners are working cooperatively to inventory, monitor, control, and prevent the spread of invasive plants across jurisdictional boundaries. This cooperative effort will result in better management of invasive plants and improve working relationships between the partnership's members and the public.

Projects are underway with funding from several sources, including a U.S. Forest Service grant. A survey, management, and control project is in progress at a State park that is a prime invasion area. Many land managers and volunteers have joined together to carry out the task. Other efforts are directed at controlling specific species such as perennial pepperweed, which is invading salt marshes, and working with the Department of Transportation to limit the spread of Japanese knotweed along highways.

Sharing Success - CWIPP is based on the organizational model used for a cooperative weed management area. This model is popular in the West, but is now gaining momentum in the East. It incorporates a defined geographic area, stakeholder involvement and representation, steering committee governance, commitment to cooperation, and guidance by a management plan. The CWIPP serves as a model for other partnerships in the Northeast. Through an additional Forest Service grant, workshops are being planned to provide further assistance and promote new partnerships in the region.

Recently, several of the Forest Native Plant & Pollinator Gardens were added to the People's Garden Initiative database (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/?navid=PEOPLES_GARDEN). The Eastern Region has also initiated its Butterfly Checklist with the posting of the Chippewa National Forest (Minnesota) list at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wildlife/plants_botany. Lists for the butterflies of other Region 9's forests will follow.

Continued focus and growth of our native gardens will raise awareness of the plight of native plants and their pollinators. The gardens are designed to serve as convenient areas for education and outreach to people of all ages, reduce carbon footprints (via a decrease in mowing, watering, fertilizers, and pesticides), make our locally native plant seed more available in restoration efforts, as well as much more. Please join this endeavor.

Individual reports and Success Stories about these native gardens, by unit, can be located at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wildlife/plants_botany.

The first phase of this project began in December 2009, after the project agreement was formalized between SWP, USDA-FS Northern Research from Burlington, Vermont, and the Hiawatha National Forest (HNF). Due to the size and complexity of the project, preparation began early. The seed needed for the propagation of more than 25,000 native plants was prepared by volunteers who have been vital to the HNF greenhouse over the past few years. This included the stratification and packaging of seed.

In January 2010, SWP hired nine unemployed people from Marquette, Michigan who had volunteered at the HNF greenhouse for a number of years. The SWP crew worked with HNF contractor Sue Rabitaille and West Unit Plant Ecologist Deb Le Blanc organizing and cleaning seed, completing additional stratification methods, lining more than 12,000 plant cells with paper and getting the soil mixture ready for the cells. The HNF greenhouse staff makes the soil mixture using composted soil, lime, sand, and pro-mix sterilizing potting soil.

Also in January Anne Avery from the Huron Manistee National Forest joined the project as the procurement person. She is responsible for purchasing the supplies needed for this project such as more than 20,000 planting cells and 20 bales of pro-mix soil.

By February 11, 12,000 cells with soil were ready. That day, HNF hosted its first large volunteer event in support of this project. Eight volunteers from the community of Marquette, four Northern Michigan University students, the SWP crew, and Forest Service staff from the West Unit helped seed the cells. All 12,000 cells were seeded and work began that was originally planned for the second planting in mid-March.

On February 19, a Smooth Aster seed planted by veteran volunteer Linda Thomasma and the Munising District Ranger was germinated. It was the greenhouse's first germination of 2010! The second seed to germinate was from a Black-eyed Susan plant.

Between February 11 and March 11, the HNF plant program hosted two more volunteer events in which the SWP staff filled an additional 11,000 cells with the soil mixture. The March 11 event had nine new volunteers, along with three returning volunteers, and one new NMU student who chose the project for his internship. Shortly after 2pm that day, all cells were seeded with a mixture of native wildflower seed. Also, approximately 1,000 cells were seeded with native beach grasses.

In just four short weeks, the goal of raising at least 25,000 native wildflowers and 1,000 native dune grasses is near completion. In addition to the native wildflowers for this Recovery Act project, the HNF greenhouse will raise approximately 10,000 more plants. Those plants are slated for restoration work on the Forest including 5,000 plugs for the Life of Lake Superior project on Grand Island. This could not have been achieved without the support from key partner SWP, Anne Avery, and the HNF native plant program volunteers.

Due to the various phases of implementation of this Recovery Act project, follow up articles will be written throughout the completion of each phase.

As a result of this MOU the Eastern Region developed butterfly checklists with images for each national forest. The Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota is the first recipient of the butterfly checklist brochure, which can be viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wildlife/plants_botany/. Everyone is encouraged to look for ways to help preserve these wonderful creatures, such as partnering with citizen science, cataloging and monitoring butterflies, and considering best management practices. Watch for additional Eastern Region National Forest Butterfly Checklists on the above web site.

A lot of prep work was done prior to building the cribs. All three partners were actively involved in gathering and transporting the supplies and materials to the lake. A logger delivered 250 hard maple pulp logs, along with 36 hardwood (maple) tree tops of trees. Members of the Lake Association helped pre-drill holes in each of the logs, through which a 1/2 inch diameter piece of nylon rope would be run through to secure all four corners of the cribs together once built.

The hardwood tree tops helped "stuff" the cribs with brush along with small conifer (pine and spruce) trees. Stuffing the cribs is one of the most important keys to holding fish in and protecting them. The brush provides small voids within the cribs so that small fish can escape their predators. Larger fish hang around the cribs, awaiting their prey and hiding from their own predators.

Members of the Lake Association volunteered 28 days to this project. A couple of them donated the use of their equipment, allowing the project to be completed in record time. The cribs, built to WDNR specifications, have an expected usable life span of over 60 years. The cribs will increase numbers and size of fish in the lake, which equates to better fishing opportunities for anglers.

This is another example of the Eastern Region's Courageous Conservation goal of "Protecting Ecosystems across Boundaries."

Until the mid-1990s, most aerial surveys in the Lake States were made following known insect, disease, or weather events to document the extent and severity of damage they caused for management purposes. Because the people that made these surveys had different skill levels and experience, the quality of the data they collected varied greatly. This lack of consistency in data collection made it difficult to compare results from year to year or even within areas flown by different surveyors in the same year.

The Solution - Since the mid-1990s, there has been an ongoing effort both in the Lake States and nationally to standardize how State and Federal entities collect and report aerial survey data. The goal: promote consistent and comprehensive data collection and reporting by the Forest Service's aerial surveyors and its many State cooperators. The National Forest Health Monitoring Program and the National Aerial Survey Working Group are coordinating this effort. They are standardizing reporting methods as well as training and mentoring programs for surveyors from both Federal and State agencies.

Personnel from the St. Paul Field Office of Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry have been contributing to this effort. Their contributions include:

* Providing funding to State agencies through Off Plot Monitoring grants to help defray the expense of conducting aerial surveys on State and private lands.

* Providing the latest digital aerial sketchmapping technology and training to State cooperators.

* Outlining expectations and coordinating the timing and areas of responsibility for aerial surveys with State cooperators.

* Holding post-season meetings to compare data and coordinate reporting.

Resulting Benefits - Aerial sketchmapping is, and always will be, a combination of art and science. Sketchmapping survey results depend on the skill and experience of the mapper, as well as many other factors. Because of the many efforts to improve and standardize the quality of the aerial survey data collected and reported, aerial survey data have many more applications than in the past.

Sharing Success - Recent technological innovations in displaying and sharing the results of sketchmapping data help to improve communication between and among responding forest health managers. These include:

* Providing a historical record of the progression of forest damage caused by insects and diseases such as oak wilt.

* Recording the advance of invasive insect and disease infestations such as gypsy moth and beech bark disease.

* Illustrating trends in native insect infestations, such as the forest tent caterpillar and other hardwood defoliators,spruce budworm, and jack pine budworm.

* Detecting and monitoring biotic and abiotic events.

* Tracking and reporting regional and national trends that can be reliably compared from year to year and State to State.

The Solution - State forestry agencies can obtain excess Federal equipment and materials through the Federal Excess Personal Property program (FEPP), managed by the Fire and Aviation Group of the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry. Using the FEPP Program, the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands obtained a 30-foot travel trailer for the New Hampshire Department of Safety. This trailer was among those used for temporary housing after Hurricane Katrina.

The Department of Safety retrofitted the trailer to transform it into a fire sprinkler demonstration trailer. In the rear of the trailer, people can watch videos about using and installing fire sprinklers on a large screen television. The center of the trailer is used for demonstrating how home fire kitchen hoods can extinguish a stove top fire. Live fire demonstrations take place at the front of the trailer.

Resulting Benefits - The total cost of retrofitting the trailer, after accounting for donations from several local companies, was just under $30,000. This project saved thousands of dollars for the residents of New Hampshire. This demonstration trailer is being used numerous times to educate government officials, firefighters, homeowners, building officials, and other groups about the tremendous effect that home fire sprinklers have in saving lives.

Sharing Success - State forestry agencies can use the FEPP program to provide equipment and materials to communities if they understand the needs of State and local public safety agencies and volunteer fire departments.

Challenge Alaska, a well-recognized adaptive recreation organization based in Anchorage, and the Chugach National Forest have partnered to bring a group of intrepid adventurers with physical disabilities into this maritime wilderness for four days of camping, kayaking, skill building, and camaraderie each summer since 2004.

In the summer of 2009, Challenge Alaska's certified therapeutic recreation specialists and employees from the Chugach National Forest planned their fifth annual trip to the Sound. They consulted tide tables, compared conditions in the strait to what the numbers on the tide chart showed, and determined the best time to enter the lagoon when the current would be manageable and safe.

Their first challenge was to get a paralyzed young man named Skyler down to the shore and secured in a customized triple kayak. Using a combination of Therm-a-rest® loungers, closed cell foam pads, duct tape, zip ties, wire, and rope, they managed to create a comfortable, supportive base from which he could paddle. After an inspirational group effort, they transported the entire triple kayak with him aboard over 50 yards of slippery, cantaloupe-sized rocks and into the water.

With Skyler settled in, the organizers turned their attention to other adventures, including a single leg amputee, a paraplegic, a young woman with cerebral palsy, and a young blind man. As it turned out, little assistance was needed. The passengers managed to make it over the difficult terrain on their own.

Soon, the paddlers cast off, traveling in a tight group. They entered a narrow, river-like channel and immediately felt the surging power of moving water at their sterns. They marveled at seals that surfaced, slapping the water with their hind flippers as they dove beneath the surface. The kayakers paddled steadily, pulling against the gathering force of wind issuing from a nearby glacier. Finally, they made it to a point where the glacier's icy creases, broken ridges, gaping holes and twisted formations indicated a visage distorted by extreme pressure - the result of a timeless battle between the forces of ice, rock and sea. After some time, they reluctantly headed back to camp; if they missed the outgoing tide, they would be caught in the lagoon for another six hours.

That night around the campfire there was an aura of accomplishment among the group. They learned to rely on one another to overcome challenges that would have been insurmountable as an individual. They also learned that the wilderness can provide the inspiration to bring people together to achieve a common goal. The Challenge participants found that where the desire is strong enough, wild places can be visited by people with disabilities.

Condensed from an article by David Sanders, Backcountry Ranger, Girdwood Ranger District.

The Forest Service is a member of the Interagency Dusky Subcommittee within the Pacific Flyway Council, a group dedicated to the management and conservation of this species. Other members include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Together, these agencies address the dusky conservation concerns across state and international boundaries. In response to the population decreasing below the 10,000 bird threshold, the agencies have ramped up conservation efforts including increased habitat management and tighter restrictions for hunting geese in Alaska and the continental United States.

The decline in the Dusky Canada Goose population has been attributed to the changes in habitat on the Copper River Delta (the major nesting area for these birds) in the Chugach National Forest (Alaska). An earthquake in 1964 lifted the Copper River Delta six to nine feet, which played an indirect role in the decline. This caused an altered hydrology which promoted rapid growth of shrubs and trees. Land that was sedge meadow for hundreds of years quickly grew into these new vegetation types, giving predators undetected access. Nest success dropped from 80% to 20% in 10 years. The population followed in suit. These losses prompted the creation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges in their Oregon wintering grounds and strict hunting regulations.

The Forest Service along with interagency partners, such as Ducks Unlimited, have attempted to provide safer nesting habitat on the Copper River Delta by installing artificial nest islands in ponds across this vast wetland. Geese nesting on the artificial nest islands have had twice as many successful nests as geese with nests on shore. Recently, the interagency partners, along with Ducks Unlimited and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, funded the building and installation of 50 new nest islands to replace nest islands that are worn down or no longer available for use. The new nest islands will be installed this summer by Ducks Unlimited volunteers with the Forest Service providing logistical support.

The subcommittee partners continue to investigate and research ways to turnaround this population decline. As agencies, the effectiveness in solving the Dusky Canada Goose dilemma is not through individual strengths, but in the skills and resources brought together as a group.

For more information contact Erin Cooper, Wildlife Biologist, Cordova Ranger District, Chugach National Forest.

While assessing the road during a site visit, Bolander gave a demonstration of geotechnical exploration using a tool called the drive probe. The relative density probe is a simple exploratory device used to determine the distribution and estimated strength of the subsurface soil units and decomposed rock units. The drive probe penetrates the subsurface and measures blows-per-foot of an 11-pound circular hammer freely falling 39 inches. The drive probe method is relatively inexpensive, quicker than hand augering, and most effective when used in conjunction with conventional geotechnical soil exploration to extend the conditions revealed by conventional drilling.

Chugach Civil Engineers Ben Dreier and Amy Klein joined Bolander at the site. They learned a great deal from his extensive geotechnical experience using the relative density probe and classifying soils. Bolander has 28 years of experience working on Forest Service roads. He is one of the lead instructors for Forest Service Sampling and Testing classes, which aids Forest Service employees taking National Construction Certification Program exams. Passing NCCP exams is one of the requirements for certification to administer Forest Service construction projects.

For more information contact Marie Messing, Alaska Region Transportation Engineer.

The main focus has been to develop a reliable and energy-efficient system to remotely monitor fish escapement. Why have people camp out 24 hours a day for five weeks counting fish when they could use cameras instead? The overall result has been a savings in time and money.

The equipment has evolved over the last nine years from the original laptop computer configuration to its current state; the heart of which revolves around a small, but very capable piece of equipment: the mDVR. Sound familiar? Full-size DVRs are steadily replacing VCRs and DVD players in homes across the country. This little device is not much bigger than a deck of playing cards. Inside is a solid state operating system with motion detection capabilities and a card slot for data transfer. These three main ingredients make the device very useful indeed: solid state allows for durability and low power consumption, motion detection gives the device a "smart" edge, dramatically reducing data post-processing time, and the card slot allows for quick and simple data transfer between the field and office. In addition, the complete system also employs two underwater cameras, an aluminum isosceles-shaped video chute with built-in LED lights, water-proof connectors and cases for the mDVRs, and day/night sensors for the lights. Rounding out the list is the all-important power generation equipment that includes solar panels, propane generators, and a set of large-capacity batteries. All together, the complete package is manageable in both weight and size, making it fairly simple to transport into remote locations. In fact, all the components easily fit into the rear of a DeHavilland Beaver aircraft.

All throughout the design process, their goal was to create a flexible system to use at fish passes or with a variety of weir types (traditional fixed or floating net-style). Along with a set of instructions, a stand-alone system is just about "plug and play" ready. In addition to a system currently being used at the Bakewell fish pass on the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District, there are plans to build three more complete monitoring sets to loan out across the Tongass.

Planned improvements for 2010 include:

* Designing a larger video chute with additional lighting;

* Extending the "roof" over the openings to block sunlight effects (shimmering lights cause the motion-detection to capture false frames); and,

* Experimenting with infrared cameras and lights to improve image resolution and minimize trap-avoidance behavior by fish.

Of course, applications for this technology are varied and certainly not limited to fisheries. Remote monitoring is rapidly establishing itself as a fixture in natural resource work and is a valuable tool for education as well.

For more information, contact: Pete Schneider, Fisheries Biologist, Juneau Ranger District, Tongass National Forest.

A six person youth trail crew, under agreement with the Student Conservation Association (SCA), spent four weeks working on 20 miles of trails. Access to popular high mountain lakes near McCall, Idaho is provided by the trails. These improvements will make hiking and mountain biking along the trails easier and more pleasant. The crews also completed work on trails in Hells Canyon along the Snake River.

Jane Cropp, Payette National Forest Recreation Program Manager said, "This project put youth crews to work and accomplished much needed deferred trail maintenance within the Payette National Forest, benefiting both motorized and non-motorized trail users."

Approximately $32,000 was allocated towards the project. The crew completed heavy maintenance consisting of clearing logs, rocks, boulders, and brush from the trail, as well as digging drainages. The crew also built two short bridges across the drainages which will make crossing easier in the spring. The trails serve two-wheel motorized users as well as hiker, stock users, and mountain bikers.

The stream exiting Windfall Lake hosts an abundance of sockeye salmon. Trail improvements have provided greater access for fishermen, helping to transform this destination into the most popular roadside fishery in Juneau.

A recent visitor from Washington State appreciated the cabin upgrades and trail improvements. She particularly admired the accessibility improvements, which allowed her to bring a special needs child that she previously had to leave behind. Other features garnered her approval as well, including the solar assisted vault toilet, high standard of maintenance, and the fact that fees have not been raised in the last few years.

Charter aircraft companies are pleased to have the new dock to tie to, minimizing risk to their clients and aircrafts. They also acknowledge that it will likely increase their business.

Rob Morgenthaller, and his assistants Collin Wigfield-Gorka and Dave Leggitt completed the final section of the Windfall Lake Cabin ramp in Summer 2009. Peter Cross and his assistants Matt Adams, Nicole Boettcher, Adam Kackstetter, Dale McFarlin, Bill Muir, Sarah Roop, and Aaron Yeaton then repaired one of the most problematic trail sections near the cabin with on-site materials, which addressed safety concerns and protected a sensitive habitat.

For more information contact Ed Grossman, Recreation Program Manager, Juneau Ranger District.

In October 2009, Tongass Deputy Forest Supervisor Rebecca Nourse presented awards to Custom and Border Protection Officers John Whittaker and Adam Hoffman during the Alaska Invasive Species Conference in Ketchikan, Alaska. The plaques were engraved with the Forest Service shield and Forest Health Protection logo, and included the words, "The U.S. Forest Service appreciates your conscientiousness and dedication to protecting Alaska's forests."

Whittaker and Hoffman found an Asian Gypsy Moth egg mass on a Japanese ship that arrived north of Ketchikan to load logs. They collected it, identified it by DNA, and boarded the ship the next day to spray the area with pest control oil. The Asian Gypsy Moth could cause serious harm the Tongass National Forest if it were established in Alaska.

The upper Mendenhall Valley in Juneau, Alaska has become an excellent beaver habitat. Over the last 50 years the famous Mendenhall Glacier has retreated, allowing vegetation to grow where there was once only ice and rock. It also exposed a landscape that is now varied with kettle ponds, sloughs, and channels - all of which beavers enjoy. Man-made ditches and ponds, which led to the naming of the area as Dredge Lakes, have also benefitted beavers.

Beavers are renowned for their ability to modify their habitat to their own benefit. They build dams to create ponds within streams or increase the depths of existing ponds, which provide enhanced protection from winter elements and predators. However, this is where beavers come into conflict with humans. Blocked streams often lead to the flooding of roads and trails and the prevention of fish passage. Their logging activities for food and construction materials can also dramatically alter the landscape.

Marc Scholten, who oversees the Juneau Ranger District's Developed Recreation and Trails Programs, has battled beavers most of his career. He has had a lot of help attempting to keep culverts clear, trails dry, and fish moving. Everyone, including Scholten, will attest to the tenacity of these rodents. Crews have spent hours removing obstructions only to find their efforts were completely undone by next morning.

Lethal trapping of beavers in specific areas of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area was proposed as a tool to reclaim some of the recreation area, but this proposal faced great local opposition. Even the governor stepped in to protect "nature's little loggers." A group of volunteers approached District Ranger Pete Griffin, and asked to take on the daily task of clearing culverts. Pete agreed as long as objectives were met. The volunteers have since admitted that they underestimated the scope of the task, but have managed to evolve and improve the efficiency of their efforts.

With their hardened experience, the volunteers came to the Forest Service Recreation and fishery staff members with their concerns regarding two problem culverts that were bottlenecking the Dredge Lakes drainage. Fishery workers noted that one culvert was completely plugged, and the other was undersized - making it an easy spot for beavers to flood the trail and prevent adult salmon passage. It was determined that a bottomless arch culvert would dramatically improve this location, and alleviate many system problems.

Fishery personnel Pete Schneider, Thor Eide, Chad Hood, and Carol Mahara worked on design, permits for in-stream work, silt fencing, and clearing the construction site of fish. Recreation trail crew members Peter Cross, Matt Adams, Adam Kackstetter, Dale McFarlin, Bill Muir, Sarah Roop, and Aaron Yeaton staged materials, ran the machinery, and completed the installation. Fire crew members Andy Vanderheuel and Matthew Thompson also lent a hand. Re-vegetation efforts around the new culvert are scheduled for Spring 2010. Thanks to a lot of team work between volunteers and the Forest Service, the war has subsided to battles as recreationalists and fish can now better reclaim and hold their ground. All are pleased with the success of the joint effort, that is, with the exception of the beavers.

Scholten continues to thwart the beavers' efforts in other parts of the recreation area, amid teasing from his colleagues. One left him an "Ode to the Beaver" poem which reads, "Wood chopper, tree dropper, tail flopper, stream stopper," and they added a few lines for his benefit that read, "culvert topper, mud slopper, and vein popper."

In 2009, two volunteers, Mary Willson and Bob Armstrong, published a book called, "Beavers by the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska." It is a great resource if you wish to learn more about these industrious critters.

The girls were divided into teams and given specific tasks, including delicately removing all the plants, constructing a rock wall around the plant bed, adding a second tier to the back half of the bed, and filling the different tiers with soil. The soil on the upper tier was added to improve the drainage and position the slope away from the building, while soil on the lower tier raised the grade level.

Later, the plants were re-bedded by employee Betty Charnon and her ecology crew. The plants were carefully positioned with an emphasis on plant size, color of the flowers, and timing of the bloom: allowing them to bloom at different times throughout the growing season.

By teaching the girls about the plants' unique characteristics and why we favor them over non-native and invasive species, their understanding of the importance of native Alaskan vegetation was enhanced. The majority of the work was done by the girls with support from parents and troop leaders. Amazingly enough, all of the work was completed in four hours - including the lesson briefing and safety session.

Glacier Ranger District plans to erect a plaque commending the Girl Scouts for their efforts.

For more information contact Nick Racine, Lead Interpreter for the Glacier Ranger District, Chugach National Forest.

In August 2009, Summit Forestry was contracted to thin out small trees and brush on 67 acres of National Forest System land. The $28,000 project employed 30 people. The resulting piles of trees and brush were burned by Forest Service personnel in January and February 2010 using non-Recovery Act funds.

West Washoe Valley - located between Reno and Carson City, Nevada - was previously identified as a high risk community for wildfires. Fires along the east slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range are fueled by strong down slope winds that "drive" the fires into communities at the base of the range. In 2004, the Waterfall Fire burned on the southern end of the West Washoe Valley community destroying 17 houses.

Leaving dead and damaged trees standing is not an option because of the danger they pose. Apart from the economic costs, the social and environmental damage to communities is very real. With budgets stretched to the breaking point, many cities and towns can't afford replanting and restoration in the aftermath of an invasive insect infestation.

The Solution - In late September 2009, a conference was held in Chicago-Coping with the Costs: the Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Invasive Insects on our Communities. It introduced community managers to potential resources for managing the economic impacts of invasive insects, minimizing further tree losses, and moving their community toward tree restoration in innovative ways. The conference featured presentations and panel discussions by regional and national experts, networking opportunities, and a field trip to emerald ash borer-affected communities in Chicago and its suburbs.

Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry personnel brought together the conference's organizers, including the Morton Arboretum, which hosted the event and handled its logistics; Purdue University; APHIS; and The Nature Conservancy.

This conference was of particular interest to community managers who are actively involved with invasive pest issues and groups that could provide potential resources to address these issues. The conference offered tools and networking opportunities to public, private, corporate, and institutional land managers to help them with the impacts on an invasive insect infestation.

Resulting Benefits - Over 100 people attended this conference from several Midwestern States, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois taped a video message to attendees that was well received and offered insight into options for affected communities. Networking sessions addressed topics such as cost factors in tree removal decisions, replanting, and the role of Federal agencies.

According to a conference evaluation, most participants viewed their experience as very positive and useful. The ability to network face to face with peers from other States was also frequently mentioned as a highlight.

Sharing Success - Presentations and other conference materials will be archived at www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/.

The Solution - The Forest Legacy Program has several Forest Legacy Areas in Maryland's I- 95 Corridor that can conserve important natural areas. The Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation in the Deer Creek Forest Legacy Area is the largest privately owned forest parcel in Harford County, covering approximately 1,629 acres with almost 90% forest cover. The State used Forest Legacy funding to purchase a conservation easement on 376 acres. The Harford County Agricultural Preservation Program purchased a conservation easement on another 391 acres of the property. The remaining acreage is expected to be placed in an easement funded by Maryland's Program Open Space before the end of 2010.

Resulting Benefits - The Broad Creek conservation easement helped protect a large and very popular forest parcel. The reservation is owned by the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BAC BSA). The property is used by 25,000+ campers every year and is home to a number of rare, threatened and endangered species and unique habitats. On the property, forestry is introduced to camp youth though the implementation of a Forest Stewardship Plan with practices such as periodic timber harvests.

The BAC BSA has a 60+ year tradition of providing Scout camping facilities, instilling character, citizenship and physical fitness to Scouting youth. The current and prospective conservation easements on the property remove development pressure and allow for the continuation of forest uses.

Highlights of Maryland's Forest Legacy Program:

* Eight conservation easements totaling 2,014 acres have been protected.

* Maryland is working with a lower Eastern Shore's landowner to protect almost 2,700 forested acres. This project is under 2011 funding review.

* Maryland Forest Legacy conservation easements valued at $7,844,164 have used only $4,613,000 in Federal funds, well below the required program cost-share.

* The Assessment of Need revision is nearly complete and will be included in the State Assessment and Response Plan.

Sharing Success

* The Forest Legacy Program inspired the Maryland Rural Legacy Program, successfully protecting over 62,000 acres of farm and forest properties from development.

* The program's success has generated interest from western Maryland partners who are actively seeking the potential for the future funding projects.

Forest health managers frequently search for invasive pests by baiting insect traps in the forest with pheromones that attract certain kinds of insects. Unfortunately, many pheromones are relatively generic and attract a wide variety of insects. In turn, these same managers spend a great deal of their limited time sifting through piles of similar-looking insects searching for invasive species.

Some of the most destructive invasive insects include the emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle. The latter, for example, looks very similar to the white spotted sawyer. While these two species might appear to be the same at a casual glance, their destructive potential in native ecosystems is anything but similar. While the white spotted sawyer is relatively harmless, the Asian longhorned beetle is the subject of a massive, multimillion dollar eradication project in Massachusetts and other locations. Knowing how to spot the differences in appearance between the two is critical to forest health.

The Solution - The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, and the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, jointly sponsored and organized free training in Massachusetts for State and Federal forest partners in 2009. Leading entomologists offered methods to help forest managers improve their ability to identify invasive species. In all, 30 cooperators from New England and New York, as well as others from as far away as Canada and Louisiana, took part in the low-cost, yet highly effective, training sessions.

Resulting Benefits - The training helped cooperators to more accurately and quickly distinguish native bark beetles and wood borers from exotic ones. The attendees' improved insect identification skills can help them detect invasive species infestations earlier. This should improve the effectiveness of invasive insect eradication and control efforts across the region.

Sharing Success - The organizers surveyed students to gauge their opinions about the quality and effectiveness of the instruction. The feedback was very positive. Students also pointed out opportunities for organizers to make future training sessions even more effective. Working together, the instructors and students are continuously improving the students' invasive insect identification skills to better protect forest health.

While aerial surveys cover much more area than ground surveys, the results are less accurate and dependent on the experience of the surveyor and his or her awareness of what's happening on the ground. Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry works with State agencies in the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic to conduct annual aerial surveys that provide a landscape-level view of forest health.

In traditional aerial surveys, trained observers fly in small aircraft over forested areas, looking for signs of forest health problems. These surveyors sketch the damage they see on a paper map while airborne, marking potential areas of concern in a process known as aerial sketchmapping. Once the aerial maps are complete, the surveyor converts the information to a digital format so the findings can be displayed on a computerized map.

The Solution - To reduce the time, labor, and potential for errors inherent in aerial sketchmapping, the U.S. Forest Service guided development of a digital aerial sketchmapping system, or DASM. The new system uses a pen-based tablet computer, software, and a GPS unit. The system automatically digitizes forest damage attributes being recorded by the surveyor while keeping constant track of the aircraft's position via GPS. The Northeastern Area has been using this system for about 8 years and has developed a detailed program to train State forest health managers how to use it. The system has been updated several times based on user feedback.

Resulting Benefits - This DASM system allows aerial surveyors to quickly, accurately, and efficiently map and record forest health information directly into a digital record that can be displayed in a GIS format. It also eliminates the need for the aerial surveyor to keep track of the plane's position at all times. This helps reduce surveyor fatigue and greatly improves the accuracy of the data. Widespread use of the same DASM system means the collected data will be more standardized and processed more efficiently. This in turn helps forest health managers quickly prioritize those areas needing the most attention.

Sharing Success - The Northeastern Area has been providing hands-on DASM training for State forest health managers throughout the Northeast for several years. Training has been provided not only in New England and New York, but in Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Minnesota, and Indiana as well. Training participants review the software, become familiar with the system, and review troubleshooting steps. Trainers also cover how to process the data after it is collected to make sure that State personnel summarize the data in the correct format, which will save time by reducing reporting errors. The Northeastern Area has also provided funds to purchase and set up DASM systems for most of the 20 Northeastern States. The Forest Service will continue to provide training and followup technical support.

Oak wilt is a significant killer of red oaks that has been found in the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic States as well as Texas. Oak wilt can kill trees within 3 months after infection. According to Cornell researchers, all native oak species in New York State are susceptible to oak wilt. However, northern red oak, black oak, and pin oak are much more likely to die soon after contracting the disease. Oaks throughout New England are at similar risk if this disease spreads.

The Solution - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) joined the U.S. Forest Service to treat oak wilt infection centers in the town of Glenville, NY. This area included the Glen Oaks residential neighborhood and surrounding forest lands. The goal of the effort was to completely eradicate oak wilt from the community.

The State requested Federal assistance to meet the shortfall in resources needed to control the disease and eradicate it from New York. The Forest Health Protection Program within the U.S. Forest Service's Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry provided a cooperative matching grant for the NY DEC to help bridge the funding shortfall.

Based on extensive oak wilt surveys, responders concentrated their efforts on three active infection centers within the Glen Oaks neighborhood. The NY DEC contacted all affected landowners to advise them that the Department intended to eradicate oak wilt by removing and chipping infected trees, following U.S. Forest Service-approved treatment methods. Afterward, the NY DEC would treat the remaining stumps with herbicide.

The NY DEC held a public meeting in fall 2009 to discuss the project with homeowners and share information about diseases. NY DEC staff kept the media, including newspaper and television outlets as far away as Albany, up to date on the plans. Before and after photos were also taken to document the condition of the homeowners' yards.

Resulting Benefits - Forest health managers carried out their eradication plan in spring 2009 and halted the spread of this disease. Tree cutting and chipping that was completed by a contractor immediately afterward received high marks from both the State and the U.S. Forest Service.

Sharing Success - Eradicating oak wilt in Glenville showed that a cooperative State and Federal effort to halt the expansion of a devastating forest disease can be successful. Ongoing surveillance for oak wilt infestations, followed by successful eradication such as this, reduces the health risk to oaks across the Northeast and protects a valuable forest resource.

Since EAB was first discovered in the United States, infestations have been detected in locations far removed from the original detection point. So far, EAB has killed or caused the removal of tens of millions of ash trees in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic States, and Southern Canada.

Managing EAB depends in part on successfully detecting and monitoring this insect. Finding EAB early helps reduce the beetle's spread via the movement of firewood and other wood products. However, no efficient, reliable method of early detection exists for EAB or other beetles of the Buprestidae family. Current EAB detection methods, including visual surveys and traps, are labor intensive, expensive, and sometimes kill trees.

The Solution- Researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario recently discovered that a native ground-dwelling wasp, Cerceris fumipennis, stocks its nests with a variety of buprestid beetles, including EAB, if the borer is present. Field experiments were made to find out if this wasp could be used for biosurveillance-the process of monitoring one species to search for another species. This technique proved to be superior to other detection methods.

Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry entomologists from the Durham Field Office recently teamed with Canadian Food Inspection Agency Researcher Philip Careless and Maine Forest Service entomologist Colleen Teerling. Their goal was to help interested State and Federal partners use C. fumipennis to search for and detect EAB.

This international team worked to:

* Transfer C. fumipennis biosurveillance methods to regional forest health specialists and surveyors.

* Locate C. fumipennis colonies in areas of high risk for EAB in New England and New York.

* Observe selected C. fumipennis nests, collect buprestid prey items, and monitor them for the presence of EAB.

Resulting Benefits

* Instructors held biosurveillance training in Lincoln, MA, in July 2008 and 2009. State forest health staff from New York and New England attended as did U.S. Forest Service and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service employees.

* Cooperators detected 242 active C. fumipennis colonies in New York and New England States.

* Fifty-five species in 11 different genera of Buprestidae were recorded from colony collections, with at least five new State Buprestidae records.

Sharing Success

* The Maine Forest Service initiated an "adopt-a-colony" biosurveillance program using volunteers, including Girl Scout troops and entomology clubs.

* The U.S. Forest Service is now providing additional resources and training to expand biosurveillance operations.

We offer this course to give students a more balanced curriculum. Having this training gives the student a skill set that is valuable when applying for entry level natural resource jobs. Giving the students this opportunity helps them be competitive and also serves their potential employer. Wildland Power Saws S-212 is a nationally recognized course. This training crosses agency boundaries (Forest Service, BLM, NPS, USFWS, State and Private) and raises confidence when hiring trained individuals.

The students are very receptive to the course and the field portion. They gain understanding of the importance of safety and the fundamentals about operating power saws.

Safety is our number one concern while operating in the field, and Chippewa Fire Dispatch serves as our safety contact. The field portion is held on a Chippewa NF Chainsaw training site that has been specifically set up as a controlled environment for training/certifying beginner sawyers. Blackduck District employees Mike Mackey (Fire) and Lisa Arbucci (Timber) worked on the site selection, purpose and resource benefits for stand improvement. The trees to be felled have been marked and students perform the work as they receive on-the-job instruction.

In February 2010. about 15 to 20 students are enrolled in the Natural Resource curriculum from NTC. Chippewa saw instructors also guest-instruct at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids MN, and have hosted chainsaw training for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Temporary Employment Program.

Class C fallers Chris Kottke and Ray Burpo will be instructing this year. Its more than enjoyable and satisfying to help others. Teaching safety ethics along with chainsaw use in a local economy dependent on forest products and logging businesses could also mean protecting a life and livelihood. And that's powerful.

To do something different for Valentine's Day and not just remind employees to turn off the lights and computers, the Shawnee Green Team (SGT) started Operation Warm Heart. During a team meeting in January, 2010, the SGT was brainstorming ideas for sponsoring something to help other people. Last year, it was a coat drive to raise awareness of recycling gently used winter outerwear. As ideas were being discussed, someone said, "How about our troops overseas?" One SGT member knew about a local church that was serving as a collection point for items to send to troops stationed in Northern Afghanistan. From there, the ideas came fast and furious.

The team contacted the church and got a list of items needed that might make being away from home a little more bearable. Nonperishable items such as hand warmers, cheese and crackers, gum, candy and hygiene items were just a few suggestions. Flyers were posted at the Supervisor's Office and sent to the Hidden Springs and Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District offices for display. A due date was set. Throughout the collection phase, offices compared what and how much they had donated. Soon a competition emerged. If one office started closing in on another's donations, the office losing ground would send out a bulletin to rally their staff and they would retake the lead. The true winners were not the offices but the troops.

Finally, the due date arrived and six huge boxes with a wide variety of food, hygiene and fun items piled high had been donated. The church was extremely grateful for everything the Forest had collected. The Forest was even recognized in their church bulletin. In addition, an e-mail was sent from the chaplain stationed with the troops in Afghanistan to share with contributing offices. In it he mentioned receiving over 100 boxes in December, 2009, and how appreciative the troops were to get them. Items are sent to local soldiers first and the remaining items are then shared with others in their unit.

The project was aptly named because it truly did warm the hearts of a lot of people. This is a way the Forest is helping to keep our deployed troops connected to the lands to which they will be returning.

The first day's setting was an "indoor" classroom which involved safety of chainsaws; hands on maintenance and sharpening of chainsaws; and proper cutting techniques.

On the second day, rain held off long enough for the class to do the "outdoor" classroom in eautiful Mark Twain National Forest. This day was really hands on as each student was evaluated by each instructor on safety and their cutting procedure and techinques.

This training is beneficial to both Mark Twain National Forest ranger districtions and Show-Me Backcounty Horsemen.

"We have an opportunity to have volunteers assist the Forest Service in projects where chainsaws are a needed tool and where Show-Me Back Country Horsemen have the training to help with those projects that they have a vested interest in," said Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs Ranger Jenny Farenbaugh. "This is one way the Forest Service can connect citizens to the land by having them work on projects that are important to both partners."

One student commented, "I've ran a chainsaw all my life and I still learned a lot".

The Work Center is used by recreation, range and fire personnel stationed in Swan Valley during the summer. The site, which consists of 12 buildings on 36 acres, is a unique part of CTNF's history and an integral part of the Swan Valley community. It is the only historic guard station compound left on the Forest that remains intact.

The contract for $272,000 in Economic Recovery funding was awarded to J.L. Hardy Construction. Approximately 15 people will be employed through this project, including subcontractors. Restoration work has begun and is expected to be completed by the end of September 2010.

This project continues restoration of six remaining historic buildings on the Swan Valley site. Work includes:

* lead abatement, disposal, or repainting of all painted wooden surfaces

* construction and installation of a historic wooden flagpole replica

* installation of post and rail fencing

* concrete ramp construction

* porch reconstruction

* repair and consolidation of wooden doors and windows

* construction of historic replicas of wooden doors

* replacement of the shingle roof

* installation of new roof sheathing and trim

* soil contamination cleanup

* re-grading the site.

The Swan Valley Work Center was established in 1922 in Swan Valley, Idaho. The Forest has worked closely with Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on the restoration effort of these buildings as part of the heritage mitigation for conveyance of other under-utilized sites on the Forest. In 2005, the Swan Valley Dwelling was restored using funds collected from the conveyance of other facilities. When the site was evaluated in 2006, eight of the 12 buildings were deemed eligible of historical building status.

Hoosier Forest's need for assistance became acute mid-way through Fiscal Year 2009 when the Forest's timber sale specialist and Forest Service represenative retired. The retirement left a hole in the Indiana National Forest's sale program, a program that was rebuilding after years of litigation.

Hoosier National Forest also lost many years of timber sale accounting expertise and needed timely and experienced assistant to meet timber targets, train new personnel and rebuild the sale program.

Mark Twain National Forest's timber sale support enabled Hoosier National Forest to exceed its Fiscal Year 2009 timber sale targets. Current contracts were maintained, and new contracts prepared, advertised, and awarded.

Because of on-the-job training Mark Twain Forest staff provided, Hoosier National Forest now has a part time timber sale accounting clerk with a solid foundation and understanding of timber sale accounting.

In addition to helping Hoosier Forest meet its timber sale target, Mark Twain Forest's support will have long-term positive impacts on Hoosier Forest's timber program.

Mark Twain timber sale personnel have mentored and provided on-the-job training to Hoosier National Forest's timber sale administrator trainee and timber management assistant. These positions are critical for Hoosier Forest to meet timber program targets, achieve land management goals and protect forest resources.

During Fiscal Year 2009, Mark Twain personnel also assisted Hoosier National Forest with a potential timber sale contract litigation case. The case was dropped due to Mark Twain Forest's guidance in thoroughly documenting and following timber sale administration procedures, coupled with many meetings with the purchaser.

Thanks to Mark Twain National Forest's assistance, Hoosier National Forest has a core timber sale preparation and administration team in place to meet current and future needs of its growing timber sale program.

Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests Hydrologist Bill Hansen has dedicated 35 years to forest hydrology and watershed management. In 2009 he received the USDA Forest Service's National Wagon Wheel Gap Award for excellence in hydrology for his outstanding level of achievement in the protection, improvement and restoration of surface and groundwater resources in national forest watersheds.

The award, named for the location of the first watershed experiment performed in the U.S. from 1910-1926 at the Wagon Wheel Gap Experimental Forest in Colorado, honors a Hydrologist of the Year from a field of USFS hydrologists and technicians nominated by national forests and grasslands across the United States. Hansen became familiar with the Wagon Wheel Gap Experiment, as it was sometimes called, while conducting experimental watershed research at the University of Missouri.

As the national forest hydrologist in South Carolina, Hansen has authored some 40 technical papers and publications over the course of his career. His workshop on gully control was presented twice at the International Erosion Control Association annual conference. He provided peer review to the NRCS National Engineering Handbook Part 654 on Stream Restoration Design, contributing portions on gully control.

An innovative leader in the Southern Region (Region 8) of the US Forest Service, Hansen identified and documented specific and emerging issues during the devastation of Hurricane Hugo that helped serve other forests facing similar disasters, such as hurricanes Andrew and Katrina. His contributions concerning the extent of small headwater streams have provided internal tools for both field and planning level identification and delineation.

Because of his contributions addressing the effects of wildfires during Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER), the Southern Region included Hansen in the training cadre for its 2009 BAER Team Leader and Member Workshop.

His efforts at the regional and national scales have included membership on the National BMP Road and Trail Team, and contributions to the National Water Strategy and to "Water, Climate Change and the Forest Service."

Additionally, Hansen's comments relative to national watershed condition assessment led to the selection of the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests as the Region 8 pilot to test the Performance Accomplishment Rating Tool for Watershed Condition (PART).

In his nomination, Hansen was noted for his strong ties and accomplishments in South Carolina with soil scientist and co-worker, Dennis Law. Referred to by peers as "Mud and Flood," they managed one of the largest soil and water improvement programs in the nation for over 25 years. Their work helped transform a severely eroded and locally gullied landscape, once referred to as "the lands that no one wanted," into a healthier and productive forest.

His contributions to the region in sharing ideas and transferring technology continue to exceed expectations. Receiving the award from Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief and Anne, Zimmerman, Director of Wildlife, Plants and Fish, Hansen thanked the many others at the district, forest, region and national levels who played an integral role in his success.

"Above all I'm grateful to my wife and family, who have endured living with someone passionate about his work," said Hansen. "My early outdoor interests and service to others I credit to my dad and Boy Scout activities in Omaha, Nebraska. Without those, I might never have realized my dream career with the US Forest Service."

His exceptional understanding of hydrologic, forest and ecosystem processes makes Bill Hansen an invaluable part of the forest and a key contributor to the agency effort. He has maintained a determination not only to leave a legacy, but especially, to give something back to the relatively young science.

Recently, the Shawnee National Forest accepted the donation of an eight-acre parcel of land in Johnson County, Illinois from American Land Conservancy (ALC). The parcel was acquired by ALC from TE Products Pipeline Company (TEPPCO), who purchased the property in satisfaction of wetland mitigation requirements imposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for wetland impacts associated with TEPPCO's operations in nearby Williamson County.

This new addition to the Shawnee National Forest consists of a high quality cypress-tupelo swamp and will become part of the Grantsburg Swamp Ecological Area. The parcel will provide potential habitat for many rare wetland plants and animal species, including five animals designated as Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS) - northern copperbelly watersnake, bird-voiced treefrog, bantam sunfish, southeastern myotis and Rafinesque big-eared bat. RFSS plant species known to occur in the Grantsburg Swamp Ecological Area include: Carex gigantea (giant sedge), Carex socialis (low woodland sedge), Chelone obliqua var. speciosa (red turtlehead), Dichanthelium joorii (variable panicgrass), Hydrolea uniflora (oneflowered false fiddleleaf), Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), and Stenanthium gramineum (eastern featherbells). The property also supports a wide variety of more common species, including excellent habitat for resident and migratory waterfowl.

According to Jenny Frazier, ALC's Mississippi River Program Director, "This is a classic example of how government, private landowners, non-governmental organizations and corporate partners can work together for conservation success and ALC is proud to be a part of it. The success of this project opens up a new direction for conservation for the Mississippi River Program. We look forward to continuing these partnerships as we work to conserve the ecologically sensitive lands along the Mississippi River."

"Collaborative efforts with groups like American Land Conservancy are critical to accomplishing our natural resource conservation and public lands mission," stated Ron Scott, Lands Program Manager for the Shawnee National Forest. "ALC's relationships with the private commercial sector and their capacity to quickly and nimbly respond to conservation opportunities make them indispensable partners."

Founded in 1990, American Land Conservancy is a national non-profit land conservation organization that conserves land for the benefit of people and wildlife. ALC works in partnership with communities, landowners, non-profit organizations, corporations and public resource agencies to protect land and water resources through acquisition, conservation easements, restoration and stewardship. These joint efforts go a long way towards protecting ecosystems across boundaries.

For the first time since the 1930's, young men and women are making Camp Rabideau their workplace and high school classroom.

Thorough a partnership between the Chippewa National Forest, Camp Rabideau Conservation Academy and Learning Center, Cass Lake Bena School District and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (CEP), 15 youth are participating in the Rabideau Conservation Corps (RCC).

Youth are transported to the camp four days a week to work on camp renovation, conservation projects and to earn their high school diploma or GED.

Just like the 1930's keeping warm, dry is a necessity. The classroom for the youth was put together in the fall of 2009, in the recently stabilized Recreation Building.

Styrofoam insulation, heavy plastic sheeting, old desks from the CCC days and two temporary electric heaters make half of the building a pretty warm place.

Recently, Paul Nordeen a Chippewa Law Enforcement Officer and Mike Mackey, a District Fire Operations Specialist conducted a snowmobile safety and operation training for the RCC participants.

Nine RCC members participated in the Snowmobile Course. The first step was to complete the Minnesota Deparment of Natural Resources Snomobile Certification Course on-line. The day at Rabideau was a review of the Certification Course and a "mittens-on" opportunity to ride a snowmobile and learn how to operate the machine safely.

Mark Anderson, RCC leader thought the course was a success, particulary because Paul and Mike spent the first hour talking to the youth about their jobs and their career path.

In March, three more Chippewa employees will be spending a week at Rabideau teaching RCC participants about basic forestry practices and telling them about their careers. Linda Burke, District Silviculturist; Cory Beliveau, Timber Operations Technician and Gary Swanson, Forest Silviculturist will provide hands on training with forestry instruments, equipment and technology.

Randy Finn, Rabideau Conservation Academy and Learning Center President believes that exposing youth to a variety of experiences and careers will be a valuable asset for the youth when they pursue their future plans.

Success can be measured in many ways. At Camp Rabideau, success is creating pathways for young adults that sparks excitement, teaches underprivileged youth from local communities about the great outdoors and to connect them to careers and higher educational opportunities.

Shawnee Volunteer Corps/SIU Intern

For three straight weekends, the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District and Shawnee Volunteer Corps offered certifications to local volunteers. These volunteers mainly made up of participants in the Master Trail Stewards Program and Back Country Horsemen, attended the training sessions. Their goal is to continue building their skills as valuable assets to the trail maintenance programs and volunteer work days. The certifications offered were First Aid/CPR, crosscut saw and chainsaw.

The initial weekend focused on First Aid/CPR training. This training is required training when you are working in the field. Accidents happen, always unexpectedly, having the basic knowledge of First Aid/CPR is just being prepared. Participants in this training learned proper ways to treat cuts, burns, choking, drowning and heart attacks. They also learned the correct method of administering CPR, how to assess emergency situations and checking the area for safety hazards.

During the second weekend crosscut training participants learned about proper handling of crosscut saws and axes. They also learned how to properly sharpen both the saw and ax and how to "hang" an ax with safety in mind. Participants were shown personal protective equipment (PPE) and use, and the importance of situational awareness. Lastly, the group learned about proper techniques and how to read and analyze pressure points on logs and limbs. Fourteen participants left the weekend with certifications for crosscut bucking.

Chainsaw training was the last weekend with ten participants. These individuals went over PPE, proper technique, safety and saw maintenance. Participants showed their new skills in the field with bucking, limbing and brushing a blow down area. They sharpened their chainsaw and did field maintenance while under supervision of sawyers who can certify their skills. Participants received "A-Sawyer" training certificate for bucking and limbing.

The Shawnee Volunteer Cops extends a big "Thank You" to all the instructors: Chris Georgantas, of John A. Logan College, for instructing the First Aid/CPR Course Tom Yankowiak of the Superior National Forest for instructing Crosscut Saw Training; and Scott Crist, Jon Tuetrine, and Tyler VanOrmer, of the Shawnee National Forest, for instructing the Chainsaw Course.

Providing training for skills to complete Forest tasks is a working example of what it means to be an employer of choice by providing the groundwork to get the job done.

Back in 1999 a new employee started at the district and brought with her the tradition of getting hats and mittens for school children. Soon the Deer River Ranger District bought hats and mittens for the school children at North and King Elementary Schools. Eventually this evolved into getting all the outdoor wear needed by children whose families could not afford to buy what was needed. Each year the teachers of the schools are tasked with providing a list of winter garments needed by their students. The list is given to us listing the needed items by gender, size, and grade of the student. This information is written on paper mittens and hung on our Christmas tree, which has now been named our mitten tree. People then come and take as many mittens as they feel they can supply and bring back the clothing to be given to the schools just before Christmas break. All the mittens were filled for the school children and dropped at the school for distribution just before Christmas vacation.

Along with this tradition we raise money for needy families or organizations in the area. The families could include someone whose house has burned down to a family who is in need of money due to an accident in the family. We also donate to local organizations like the food shelf or the Community Café. Information on needy families and/or organizations is requested of the employees of the District. At the beginning of December the list of organizations and families in need are discussed and voted on by the employees.

Each year we start Goodie Days in November. We put out a calendar and if people choose to participate they write down their name on a day and bring in goodies to share with the district. People pay whatever amount they choose to donate to have one or more goodies of the day. They could donate 5 cents or 20 dollars.

We also raise money with a silent and live auction at our office Christmas party. The items we auction off come from any employee who would like to get rid of a treasure they no longer need or want. The silent auction starts a few days before our Christmas Party and ends at 10:00 a.m. the morning of the party. During our potluck lunch we hold a live auction for the remaining items. One or two employees are auctioneers while another employee keeps track of what is owed by each employee.

In 2009, we had two families that were excellent candidates to receive our donation. One family lost their house and all their belongings in a house fire and the other family's father was injured when his semi-truck fell and pinned him, injuring his chest and arms. So instead of deciding to donate to one family the district voted to split the money raised and give to both families.

We also did a food drive. We donated a box filled with food and $75.00 to the Deer River Food Shelf.

Overall, the Deer River district raised $900.00 for the needy families, $75.00 and a box filled wtih food for the Food Shelf, and we received approximately $2,000.00 worth of clothing to fill the mittens from the mitten tree. In the face of an economic crunch the Deer River Ranger District pulled together to help needy children, families, and organizations in our community. Giving back to the community is something that is near and dear to our hearts!

Staff from the Walker Ranger District, Forest Supervisor's Office and the Walker Community Education program partnered to put together the community event. "It's the perfect place for a winter celebration-with the old CCC chalet and the great history as a downhill ski area." said Kelly Felton, coordinator for the Working Together Coalition. "This was an event with the goal of offering healthy activities for families and teens. "

A few families started the frosty day by hitting the groomed Shingobee ski trail. By afternoon, the temps and hill conditions were perfect for sledding. Generally, there were 30-40 people on the hill each hour. By late afternoon, the sledders needed an energy boost after walking up the big hill all day. Walker Community Education donated food for the event, and visitors were lured in to the chalet with the scent of tacos and the promise of valentine cupcakes.

The other energy boost appreciated by the sledders was the addition of music on the hill. The local high school band director loaned out the music system, which included two big speakers pointed up the hill from the chalet. The attending teen-agers picked the (appropriate) music via their I-pods to get sledders motivated for that up-hill climb.

Activities were planned throughout the afternoon, including an Olympic-style two-man luge race and even a medallion hunt using tree identification and trail clues. Prizes were donated by Community Education and awarded to winners in each category. The largest prize of the day went to the one teenager who signed up for the snowboard competition. Most snowboarders stick to hills with chair lifts or rope tows, so we were thrilled to see this high-school student on the hill, showing his 'Board style and tricks.

Walker Ranger District employees hope to make this an Annual event-introducing more families to great winter activities. While we didn't get the large number of teens we had hoped, we did see lots of families with younger kids on the hill. "Maybe we can make this the family tradition that sticks around through their high school years!" said Mary Nordeen, event coordinator. Thanks to Mitch Bouchonville, Loree Albright, Paul Nordeen, Tom Schackman, Tasha Woodwick, Carolyn Upton and Ray Burpo from the Walker Ranger District for being a part of the event. Thanks to community partners Gina and Jeff Moore(Walker Community Ed), Kelly and John Felton (Working Together Coalition), Deb Fischer (WHA Elementary School), Sutton Stewart (WHA High School Band Director), Aaron Pfeiffer (WHA Student Council), Frank Bowstring (Leech Lake Conservation Officer) and Kelcie Bouchonville and Sam (Leech Lake Boys and Girls Club) for their support. Community events like Shingobee Winter Jam are successful because of these great partnerships---and a bright sunny winter day on an amazing sledding hill doesn't hurt either!

Attendees included employees from the Monongahela, Allegheny, Green Mountain/Finger Lakes and Ottawa National Forests and the Fernow Experimental Forest. In addition to presentations by staff from the attending Forests, there were guest speakers from the R9 regional office, the Albuquerque Service Center, the Washington office of the Forest Service, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The tasks of the administrative group span a wide range of topics so the sessions included AQM 2011, Paycheck 8, the correspondence database, Lincpass, purchase cards, Gov Trip, point of sale overview, FOIA, media topics, forest products permits, personal property, fleet, time management, and safety topics.

Because the administrative group must respond to a wide variety of needs, it is important for them to stay current with ever-changing programs to be able to respond quickly and professionally to their internal and external customers. The Monongahela National Forest has hosted three similar workshops since 2004 and the Forest leadership team has been fully supportive of all administrative employees participating in a venue that allows for training and networking without interruptions.

In the absence of the administrative staff from many Forest Service offices field employees, leadership team members, and resource specialists performed the frontliner and other essential duties. This undoubtedly led to a greater appreciation for, and better understanding of, some of the work normally performed by administrative folks!

The session concluded with a recognition ceremony on the third day and attendees headed back to their separate units with new skills. Beyond those skills, the interwoven theme of 'Living the Dream' brought motivation to the group and left employees with the incentive to strive for a healthy balance between work and life.

Timber personnel from across the forest started marking timber near Fredericktown, in Mark Twain National Forest's Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District in January 2010. They will complete marking timber salvage there, and on the Salem Ranger District, by the end of April 2010.

"We needed to shift our personnel across our districts to handle not only our regular spring planned fire workload but the additional salvage sales we'll have this year," said Potosi/Fredericktown District Ranger Mike Weber.

Most of the timber offered for sale will be in Dent, Shannon, Iron, Reynolds, Washington, Crawford and Madison counties. The majority of the timber salvage work covers about one fourth of Mark Twain National Forest.

It is estimated 35-40 million board feet of salvage timber will be available for purchase, which is approximately the same amount of timber the forest offers from other restoration projects for the whole year. The first salvage sales will be offered around the beginning of April.

"Those storms did a lot of damage," said Salem District Ranger Thomas Haines. "We already had oak mortality affecting part of our district. The storms just compounded everything."

The May 2009 wind event, following several other storms that preceeded it, continues to affect Mark Twain National Forest's routine program of work. Preparing timber sales in storm areas where trees were blown down is slower, more expensive and potentially more dangerous. Shifting timber sale preparation employees from other units to work at Salem and Potosi/Frederickton will affect the amount of timber Mark Twain National Forest can prepare from districts sharing personnel.

"Shifting priorities and moving personnel around has affected the forest's ability to plan and implement work," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "I continue to be impressed and am proud of employees who take it in stride and continue to work safely and productively."

This project in Utah County is one of five agreements in an $11.6 million project on the UWC to improve 165 miles of National Forest System roads. More than 120 miles of roads were enhanced on the UWC in 2009 due to ARRA funding.

Utah County road crew members and sub-contractors laid asphalt, installed drains and culverts for improved water run-off, and removed roadside vegetation on 24 miles of forest roads and ten miles of campground roads. The project included work on Hobble Fork Canyon Road (NFSR# 70058) and Santaquin Canyon Road (NFSR#70014).

These roads have safer sight distances due to vegetation removal and improved travel-way widths due to reshaping and paving roadways. New French drains and culverts will allow for water and fish to safely pass under the roadways and provide for reducing erosion into nearby streams.

"Local forest visitors have responded positively to the improvements," said Civil Engineer and project manager for the Forest, Doug Anderson. "On a recent trip to see project accomplishments, a visitor told me how nice the road improvements were and they were glad to see them fixed."

The work was accomplished through an agreement with Utah County's road crew and private contractors. The county reported that approximately ten jobs were created or saved to complete this project. Large quantities of asphalt, aggregate, and other materials were purchased from local suppliers to work on the project.

"Maintaining access routes will continue to attract visitors to the area and renew customer satisfaction," stated Glen Tanner, engineer for Utah County. "The result from projects like this one will maintain business for food, lodging, travel supplies and other services in local communities."

The counties who have entered into an agreement with the Forest Service to accomplish the work include Utah, Cache, Box Elder, Juab, and Wasatch. These projects are expected to have created approximately 215 jobs. Cache County has received $3 million, Box Elder - $500,000, Wasatch - $3.2 million, Utah - $3.1 million and Juab - $1.8 million. All funding was used to reduce the backlog of deferred road maintenance.

At the winter retreat, they learned about how trees and wildlife prepare themselves to survive the winter, they went tracking and found a beaver dam, and they visited the site of a timber sale and talked with two foresters there about the economics of timber harvesting. At night, they shared techniques about teaching with other participants. One teacher demonstrated how you can tell whether tracks in the snow were from loping, running, waddling animals and had a delightful demonstration of how she has her kids get down on all fours and mimic the gaits. Another teachers showed an art project her students had completed.

In the coming year, the partners of A Forest For Every Classroom will concentrate on doing three reunions for all 119 teachers who have completed the workshop. At the runions, there will be plenty of sharing and additional training in natural, cultural and/or historical resources. The partners will also host a "Promise of Place" conference in October.

In May of 2008, the summit and upper ledges of Rattlesnake Mountain in Rumney, NH on the Pemigewassett Ranger District was the site of another wildfire. Once the fire was extinguished and the concerns for public and firefighter safety were quelled, the ecological benefits of this fire could be considered. From the base of the mountain it was clear that much of the understory and some of the overstory woody vegetation had been burned off or killed. USFS botanists conducted surveys of the burned area in 2009, and expected to find populations of the fire adapted species increased, but the degree of the increase was startling.

Piled-up sedge was found in multiple locations throughout the burned area and in many previously shaded locations where it had not been documented. Population numbers were up dramatically. A survey in 2006 located only 30 plants, but the 2009 survey found well over 1,000 plants with multiple flowering culms on each. The benefit was not limited to this species. Another plant, fern-leaved false foxglove (Aureolaria pedicularia var. intercedens), with its bright yellow flowers was clearly visible throughout the burned area. Prior to the wildfire it occurred only in the most exposed ledge-top locations, but was now found in many previously forested sites. The greatest botanical discovery during the post fire surveys was multiple sub-populations of Douglas' knotweed. Whether these plants grew in response to the fire or were simply 'daylighted' by removal of competing vegetation is unclear, but a total over 600 individual stems were counted.

From an ecological perspective the wildfire was a great success. In the absence of fire disturbance, a few individuals hang on at only the most suitable locations. After a fire they rely on significant seed reserves in the soil that allow them to effectively re-colonize previously inhospitable locations. In the years following the fire when the populations are large, massive amounts of seed are produced and deposited into the soil. Some of these seeds will continue to germinate and grow while conditions are suitable. Some seed will not immediate germinate, but will be naturally sotred in the soil seed bank and await the next wildfire event. Most of this seed will lie dormant in the soil until the next fire occurs.

When the next wildfire event at Rattlesnake Mountain will occur is unknown. In an effort to ensure the future presence of these species on Rattlesnake Mountain, the New England Wild Flower Society will be collecting seed of these disturbance dependent species over the next two to three years. These seeds will be cleaned, dried and stored in the New England Plant Conservation Program regional seed bank. The presevation of the seeds in this manner lengthens the viability of the collected seed. It is unclear how long seed of each of these species remains viable in the soil. The stored seeds are an insurance policy in case the interval between this fire and the next is too great for the soil seed bank to produce the next generation of plants.

In 2009, forest botanists and district staff utilized the existing native plant species framework to remove non-native plants. They planted over 250 plugs and pots of native grasses, sedges, herbs, and shrubs. Some native wildflowers, such as Canada goldenrod that had spread since the original installation were relocated to an adjacent unmowed area to create the meadow native plant pollinator garden. The central gardens at the entrance of the Ranger Station focus on native shrubs and wildlife plantings, as well as native grasses and wildflowers including beaked hazelnut, highbush and lowbush blueberry, stiff aster and bearberry. A small woodland native plant pollinator garden was also added adjacent to the ranger station entrance and included such species as purple flowering raspeberry, red trillium and false Solomon's seal.

Large interpretive (24" x 30") panels to help teach visitors about woodland wildflowers and pollinators, and meadow plants and pollinators have been installed. Individual plant labels listing the common and scientific name, common pollinators, and native range have been installed to inform visitors of the species that were planted. Two additional temporary signs inform visitors of the conversion of the gardens to native species. Approximately 75% of the garden area has been converted to locally native species.

The work completed in 2009 utilized a limited number of shrub and spreading species to create a low maintenance landscape. As a result, district staff will experience simplified maintenance and watering requirements. During 2010, the final 30% of the garden will be renovated and additional plantings as well as an irrigation system will be added.

The $500,000 road maintenance project in Box Elder County included reshaping roadways, vegetation removal, and the completion of major repairs on 12 miles of road on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache (UWC). Also, the parking area at the end of the Willard Mountain Road was leveled off and a safety cable fence was installed around the perimeter.

The project generated approximately 20 jobs. The county subcontracted the majority of the road work to private construction companies, but county road crews were on hand for quality control and inspection.

"Safety concerns have been a main focus for these particular forest road projects," Brian Ferebee, UWC Forest Supervisor said. "We have addressed those issues with road crews applying more than 8,000 tons of gravel to resurface these popular roads."

The smooth running surface reduces the risk of vehicular damage, while the removal of vegetation provides more visibility around corners and on straight-aways. Culverts and French drains were also installed to allow rain and snow to safely drain under the roadway.

This project was one of five agreements totaling $11.6 million designed to improve 165 miles of National Forest System roads. Additional counties that entered into agreements with the Forest Service include Utah, Cache, Juab, and Wasatch. Utah received $3.1 million, Cache - $3 million, Juab - $1.8 million, and Wasatch - $3.2 million. So far, more than 120 miles of roads on the UWC have been improved due to ARRA funding.

During the summer of 2008 and 2009, the garden area was reclaimed and converted from lawn by removing sod, stumps, roots, and rocks, the soils appropriately amended, and an automatic irrigation system installed. Over 1,000 pots of ninety two species were planted. Species planted were of native New England genotype and included examples of native grasses, forbs, ferns, shrubs, and trees.

In addition to the plantings three interpretive signs, one each on woodland wildflowers, ferns, and meadow wildflowers were procured and installed. Each sign highlights roughly twenty species and their pollinators, and provides an overview of that habitat type. A large sugar maple was installed to replace an invasive Norway maple removed in 2008. The Norway maple provided a great deal of structure and shade to the former landscape, and although the sugar maple will take a few years to acquire the stature of the removed tree, it will provide the necessary shade for the developing woodland garden planting. Individual plant identification signs were installed containing each species common and scientific name, native range, and potential pollinators.

In 2009, a cooperative relationship with the Mountain Garden Club also flourished with the Club taking over a great deal of the routine weeding of the site. As anticipated, the garden in its first full year attracted a great deal of positive attention from visitors and the local pollinators. Prior to installation visitors made quick trips from their cars into the building to use the facilities and gather needed information. Since the garden has been installed, District Visitor Information Staff have observed that visitors move more slowly taking time to read the interpretive signs and observe the plants and pollinators.

ARRA funds for trail maintenance across the Superior National Forest (SNF) were approved in March 2009. Conservation Corps Minnesota crews began working in June. By the end of the summer they cleared brush from 279 miles of trail, rebuilt 3,811 feet of trail tread, installed 164 water bars, constructed 40 cairns, and removed 2,581 trees. Crews logged in more than 25,000 hours of work on the project.

Beyond the numbers was the significant impact the experience had on the participants. "The challenges have turned into lessons and the lessons have become invaluable to me. Working outdoors can be extremely challenging but that's why it's so rewarding. The more work you put into something the more you're going to get out of it," crew member Ashley Peters commented, "I don't see myself as an isolated individual anymore. I realize how much of an impact I can have on others and their impacts. I've become a shareholder in the future of our public lands." Another crew member, Mary Hammes, echoed Peters' feelings, "It's encouraged me to think in a more complex way about the relationship between humans and their natural world."

SNF received additional ARRA funds to expand its partnership with Conservation Corps Minnesota on trail maintenance work. The funds will allow the forest to nearly double the amount of trail improvements over the next three years. Trail improvements enhance visitor experiences and provide the opportunity for crew members to learn about forest resources, natural resources in general, and natural resource careers.

The Conservation Corps Minnesota's projects are among 23 projects on SNF that will receive approximately $13 million in ARRA funds. In addition to completing work on public lands, projects funded by ARRA help provide jobs and long-term skill development opportunities, enhance local resources, and add economic value to communities, counties, and partners.

The Land Between the Lakes (LBL) National Recreation Area's Environmental Education department developed an interpretive panel display for use at various prescribed fire locations and they wanted to get some feedback. Current research suggests that these types of displays be written at a fifth grade level, thus LBL reached out to a fifth grade teacher at Murray Middle School (Murray, KY). She was thrilled to be a part of the project and received a full size print of the draft display including text and graphics. The teacher had students in two of her classes review it and answer the following questions as their journal exercise for that day: what did you learn, did you understand it, and what would you change. The next day she followed up by asking what they remembered about the display.

The comments that the students gave were fascinating glimpses into their minds. Sharon Waltrip, LBL Environmental Education Specialist, said "As a result, we edited some text, added more graphics, and clarified several points. We think we now have a much more effective display than we would have without this unique review."

The teacher was presented with a laminated copy of the display and was commended by the school board at a recent meeting. On February 10, this experience was communicated at the National Association for Interpretation's Regional Workshop in Asheville, NC in the hopes of encouraging others to interact with their local schools in this fashion.

As a result of this process the display is more effective in conveying its message to the public, and the students were able to improve their writing skills while working on a real-world problem.

In 1899, the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railroad built the Mexican Canyon Trestle in order to access forest timber. Located in southern New Mexico just west of Cloudcroft, a small mountain community on US Highway 82, this icon has welcomed visitors and residents to the area for 111 years. Abandoned in 1947, the trestle has stood-frozen in time-with few changes and no maintenance.

About 15 years ago, the Lincoln National Forest and New Mexico Rails-to-Trails members began expressing concern about the Trestle's condition. This treasured tourist draw had suffered the effects of weather and time. To ensure the slowly deteriorating structure would not be lost to the history books, community members and interest groups came together to create a stabilization plan and procure funding so that future generations could share in this glimpse of railroad history.

Initial funds to reconstruct the Trestle were procured through a partnership that included the State of New Mexico, Village of Cloudcroft, New Mexico Rails-to-Trails, and the US Forest Service. In 2008, a contract was awarded to Osmose Railroad Service, a company specializing in railroad bridge rehabilitation.

An additional $2.5 million in funding became available in 2009, through ARRA, the New Mexico State Highway Department, and the Forest Service. Dan Miles, Project Manager on this project for Osmose said approximately 5-10 full-time jobs are expected to be created from ARRA dollars for this project. Many of the men working on this project have traveled from Wisconsin and other states. The worker's appreciate the economic stability this work provides, as well as extended time they get to spend in the Cloudcroft and surrounding communities.

Interest in the Trestle's past and future is evident in the myriad of volunteer hours supporting its preservation and celebration. Groups such as the Alamogordo Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scout Troop 147, Holloman Air Force Base First Sergeant's Association, and the El Paso Ridge Walkers have helped remove vegetation around the work site. Additionally, two public workshops were held to solicit ideas for design of a highway pullout, interpretive plan, and possible trail connections. The response received demonstrates a shared vision for a safer, more attractive, and informative Trestle experience.

A common thought expressed when people visit the Trestle is "it's like taking a step back into time." Wesley Lane, a local resident who sits on the board of directors for the Sacramento Mountains Historical Museum and Pioneer Village, said, "For over 50 years I have watched the Mexican Canyon Trestle deteriorate. It is good to see it restored and made more accessible for the public to continue to view. It's so good to see so many people involved in this effort and the Trestle is a great tourist draw for the Cloudcroft community."

The final phase of the construction work will be the Trestle's scenic overlook scheduled to be completed in 2011.

During the past two summers (2008-2009), 23 at-risk teens from Michigan's UP: planted or distributed over 26,000 native plants seeds; helped transplant hundreds of native plant seedlings; hiked through remote forests with Zaagkii Project Native American college interns to learn importance and uses for native species plants; and built and painted 36 mason bee houses and 18 butterfly houses. One of each of the houses was placed by the USFS in the USDA "People's Garden" near the National Mall in Washington, DC. The at-risk teens put in 1,786 hours of community service working on the Zaagkii Project.

In 2010, the youths will help the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the USFS build a native plants greenhouse near the shores of Lake Superior. This year, the Zaagkii youth volunteers will continue other activities including learning about regional American Indian heritage, culture and language with Leora and Levi Tadgerson, who are Zaagkii Project interns from the NMU Department of Native American Studies (NMU CNAS). The brother/sister team are members of the Bay Mills Indian Community. Also this year, the Tadgersons are creating an ethnobotany project for the USFs Celebrating Wildflowers Website integrating traditional Anishinaabe (aka Ojibwa, Chippewa) language in identifying native plants and their cultural uses. Leora Tadgerson will discuss the Zaagkii Project while making a presentation on "Engaging Students through Community Action and Service" on May 20-22, 2010 at the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) 2010 National Conference in Tucson, AZ.

In 2008, KBIC youth helped build butterfly houses and in 2009 helped restore native species plants to 2.5 miles along Sand Point on Lake Superior, a tribal beach that was the first Native American Brownfield site in the Midwest after being contaminated 90 years ago by a copper refinery. Also in 2009, the Zaagkii Project teens: visited with three beekeepers in Marquette County MI; helped plant and harvest native plants at three organic farms along the Lake Superior basin; studied pollinators at the Peter White Public Library; and learned about annual Monarch migrations and its dependence on milkweed from "The Butterfly Lady" Susan Payant. The Zaagkii Project has been featured in local and regional news articles, several Native American and non-native national newspaper stories, has a large internet presence and has begun posting the first of more than a dozen high definition videos in Youtube, bliptv and other popular online sites. Zaagkii Project contributors include the M.E. Davenport Foundation, the Kaufman Foundation and the Phyllis and Max Reynolds Foundation.

The Zaagkii Project is sponsored by the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), the Eastern Region of the Forest Service (USFS) and Marquette County Juvenile Court. KBIC "is happy to be partnering with the Cedar Tree Institute and the U.S. Forest Service in trying to protect native plants and bring them back home," said KBIC Tribal President Chris Swartz Jr. "One day we hope (KBIC) will be regarded as pioneers to bring these native plants back here," he said. "So it's only fitting that the (KBIC) become involved in helping save those native plants."

American woodcock populations have been on a steady decline in the Lake States since the late 1960's. This decline is due in part to the reduction in young riparian forests and shrublands. On the Chippewa National Forest, woodcock habitat consists of a combination of speckled alder, young aspen, and forest openings near wetlands or riparian areas.

In 2008, the Blackduck Ranger District began an effort to improve woodcock habitat. District staff sheared strips in about 20 acres of mature speckled alder stands in the Webster and Carter Lake areas. Shearing mature alder removes the overstory alder which allows the alder to resprout. This young alder will grow into preferred habitat for woodcock in about 5 years and will remain good habitat for about 20 years.

In 2009, this effort was further expanded to look more precisely at woodcock habitat where speckled alder transitions into aspen. About 35 acres of alder/aspen mixed habitat were identified in the Kitchi Creek area and are expected to be sheared in the late winter of 2010. In coordination with several organizations and agencies including: The Wildlife Management Institute, The Ruffed Grouse Society, and the Minnesota DNR, the Blackduck Ranger District is currently looking at future woodcock habitat improvement projects. We hope to increase the amount of habitat that is treated on an annual basis.

The future of woodcock on the Blackduck Ranger District is looking bright!

Juab County road crew members laid asphalt, reshaped roadways, installed culverts, and treated noxious weeds on various sections of 10 miles of forest roads. Sections of roads included Pole Canyon Road (NFSR# 70016), roads around Bear Canyon Campground, and roads around Ponderosa Campground.

Thanks to reshaping road widths and paving roadways, these roads are provide a safer travel route for vehicles. New culverts will allow water to drain safely under the roadways and provide increased erosion control. In addition, funding contributed to an effort to stop the spread of invasive weeds that have invaded Juab County via the roads.

"We have been able to accomplish work that would not have happened otherwise," said Doug Anderson, Civil Engineer and project manager for the Forest.

The work was accomplished through an agreement with Juab County. The county reported creating or saving approximately 76 jobs. The asphalt and some of the materials were purchased under contract.

The counties who have entered into agreement with the Forest Service to accomplish the work include Utah, Cache, Box Elder, Juab, and Wasatch. These projects are expected to have created approximately 215 jobs. Cache County has received $3 million, Box Elder - $500,000, Wasatch - $3.2 million, Utah - $3.1 million and Juab - $1.8 million. All funding was used to reduce the backlog of deferred road maintenance.

Doing so provides "teachable moments," one of the 11 expectations Whittekiend has for incident commanders getting ready for the 2010 fire season.

"The biggest thing is safety," Whittekiend said. "Injuries and vehicle accidents are not part of the job. Get everyone there safely and return home safely. We don't do anything that can't be done safely."

Due to the Thirtymile fire, where several firefighters were killed or injured while working on a wildfire, National Forests have annual meetings where line officers, supervisors and incident commanders meet to discuss roles, responsibility and safety on all risk incidents.

Firefighters meet early every year to refresh themselves on procedures and to get ready for the very busy stretches where forest prescribed fire goals are met, according to Jody Eberly, Mark Twain National Forest fire officer.

"Every day last year we had prescribed fires we also had wild fires, so we basically run two different fire programs at the same time."

Whittekiend said he also expects employees to give thorough briefings; encourage questions and ideas from all firefighters at the appropriate time; make thoughtful decisions; spend money wisely; use authority with discretion; document fires in a new data base system, and focus on being an incident commander.

"Incident commanders need to focus on their assignments," Whittekiend said. "Be an incident commander, don't let other things get in your way."

Mark Twain National Forest's six district rangers also shared some of their expectations of the 2010 fire season including take nothing for granted; work with neighbors; use radio communication when possible but make cell phone calls in the event of an emergency and lack of radio communications.

"Enjoy working with each other and get to know one another," said Ava/Cassville Range District Ranger Jenny Farenbaugh." Work together, don't exceed your capabilities."

"Working with one another across districts means you get to know the capabilities of your colleagues," said Doug Oliver, Poplar Bluff Ranger District Ranger. "Then the next time you work together you know what to expect and can get more done."

"I know how to operate a drip torch so I'm ready to go wherever," said Eleven Pt. Ranger Tim Bond.

Since Mark Twain Forest will also be focusing on salvaging storm-downed timber on Salem and Potosi Ranger Districts this year, incident commanders were reminded to coordinate with timber sale administrators so resources and personnel can be shared and focused at the right time.

"I know we have limited resources but if we work together we can make this work," Eberly said.

Mark Twain National Forest will also be using Mingo Job Corps crews, Midewin Tall Grass Prairie Hotshot Crew (trained wildland firefighters,) and possibly resources from the agency's southern region.

"Go back, check your fire gear and fire pack so when it's time you're ready to go," Eberly said. "Have your equipment ready but also be physically and mentally ready."

"One more thing," Whittekiend said. Don't forget to have fun."

This project in Wasatch County is one of five agreements in an $11.6 million project on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (UWC) to improve 165 miles of National Forest System roads. More than 120 miles of roads were enhanced on the UWC in 2009 due to ARRA funding.

Wasatch County road crew members and sub-contractors laid asphalt, installed drains and culverts for improved water run-off on 40 miles of forest roads. The project included work on Lake Creek Road (NFSR# 70083), Mill Hollow Road (NFSR# 70054), Strawberry River Road (NFSR# 70049) and Co-Op Creek Road (NFSR# 70082).

These roads are safer with improved widths and resurfaced roadways. Replacing the culverts will allow for water to pass under the roadway and provide for increased erosion control.

"The condition of the roads has improved greatly. It is a great project and has improved the life of the roads for maybe the next 20 years," said Kent Berg, Public Works Director for Wasatch County.

The work was accomplished through an agreement with Wasatch County's road crew and private contractors. The county reported that approximately 76 jobs were created or saved to complete this project. Large quantities of materials were purchased to complete the work.

The counties who have entered into agreement with the Forest Service to accomplish the work include Utah, Cache, Box Elder, Juab, and Wasatch. These projects are expected to have created approximately 215 jobs. Cache County has received $3 million, Box Elder - $500,000, Wasatch - $3.2 million, Utah - $3.1 million and Juab - $1.8 million. All funding was used to reduce the backlog of deferred road maintenance.

This project included work on Franklin Basin Road (NFSR# 20006), Rock Creek Road (NFSR# 20060), Sinks Road (NFSR#20055), Tony Grove Lake Road (NFSR# 20003), and Temple Fork Road (NFSR#20007). It is one of five agreements in the Uinta Wasatch Cache National Forest (UWC) Deferred Maintenance project totaling $11.6 million to improve 165 miles of National Forest System roads. More than 120 miles of roads were enhanced on the UWC in 2009 due to ARRA funding.

Cache County road crews were available for quality control and inspection, the county sub-contracted a majority of road work to private construction companies. Project work on more than 40 miles of forest roads included new gravel, roadway shaping, vegetation removal, and culvert and drain installation. The County also purchased bridge components and contracted out the installation of two bridges.

The asphalt overlay on portions of roads repaired and rejuvenated sections that were worn from years of traffic use. The smooth running surface will reduce the risk of vehicular damage, and removal of vegetation provides for safe sight distance around corners and on straight a-ways. The new culverts and French drains allow water from rain and snow to safely cross under roadways and reduce soil erosion. The bridges were also starting to fail, and would no longer have the ability to hold large vehicle loads.

More than 33 jobs were created or saved to complete this project during the summer and fall of 2009.

The counties that entered into agreement with the Forest Service to accomplish the work included Utah, Cache, Box Elder, Juab, and Wasatch. These projects created approximately 215 jobs. Cache County has received $3 million, Box Elder - $500,000, Wasatch - $3.2 million, Utah - $3.1 million and Juab - $1.8 million. All funding was used to reduce the backlog of deferred road maintenance.

One example of how the Green Mountain and it's partners are utilizing this tool is the Apple Orchard Timber Sale within the Nordic Project, Peru and Winhall, Vermont. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) solicited bids from local contractors for the Apple Orchard Integrated Resource Timber Contract (IRTC). The IRTC consisted of 22 acres of conversion to permanently managed openings, 8 acres of aspen clearcutting, and 17 acres of selection cutting with a merchantable volume of 1041 Ccf or 600 M board feet. Green Mountain IRTC's will have high quality sawtimber, pulpwood, and biomass products to be sold under contract. A 17 acre stand proposed as a permanent opening had extensive service work done such as, removing stumps, raking, seeding, and eventual mowing connected with the harvesting. By acting as the IRTC contractor, NWTF was able to make more money available to pay for service work. 11 acres of the 17 acre opening was paid for with the bid premiums generated from the IRTC. The other 6 acres will be completed through a grant from the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI). Without the use of stewardship contracting, we would not have been able to complete all of the service work needed within the Apple Orchard project.

GMNF currently has 4 other active stewardship contracts, and 9 additional stewardship contract IRTS's are planned for 2010-11. Stewardship contracting in the form of an ITRC has been used to complete road maintenance work where the town of Peru, Vt. was the contractor. Road maintenance and improvements were completed, as well as wildlife habitat enhancements.

Stewardship contracting is an excellent tool to achieve land management goals that have been developed in collaboration with local commuinities. In lieu of income from contracts, services are provided at the local level allowing the Green Mountain to implement objectives including heritage site protection, improving wildlife and fish habitat, road restoration, protecting rare plant populations, NNIS removal and removing hazardous fuels. Partnering with the National Wild Turkey Federation and using local sub-contractors has also provided training and job opportunities locally.

It's exactly what we hoped for the 1st Annual Antique Sled day at Shingobee Hills. Remembering that history, and giving the kids on the hill today some stories of their own. The local football coach brought his daughters, all clad in pink, for their first ever run down Shingobee. It was an exciting moment as the 5-year old decided to start at the steep part, something her dad, in a diving catch, quickly put a stop to. They started instead at the milder lower slope. I'm guessing dad will remember that save. Hopefully the girls will remember their run on the old wooden toboggan with their dad.

Forest staff working at the hill on January 30th began the morning with -14 below temps and no one on the hill. But the sun was shining, and by afternoon, people began to come outside. Families, teenagers, church groups, seasonal cabin owners……all sliding in for an afternoon of winter fun. Cross-country skiers were taking in the Shingobee Trails, stopping for a short break at the chalet for cold water, hot cider and a rest by the campfire.

Despite the slow cold start, by the end of the day, the count was up to about 70 sledders, the temps had hit 7 degrees above and the chalet was now warmer than sunny outdoors. There were four sleds in the "Antique Sled" show, including three old runners and that beautiful 8-foot wooden toboggan. We did notice some unusual sleds that we'll add to the Shingobee archives, including a mini-snowmobile-styled sled with skis and, a first time sighting of an old couch cushion, wrapped up in plastic sheeting and tape. It seated 4 junior high school kids comfortably. They had a blast, and I have a feeling they'll be telling that story for years to come. Share your favorite sled memories with a friend today…..and join us this winter at Shingobee Hills.

District Ranger Carolyn Upton and her staff are currently working with the Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce to finalize an agreement to co-locate in the information center. This is an exciting partnership opportunity for both the Forest Service and the Leech Lake Chamber to better serve the community and the visiting public. The information center will include a conference room capable of hosting 30-40 people and will provide both the Chamber and the Forest Service with adequate space for providing information to the public.

Walker District staffs are also working closely with the City of Walker and the Shingobee Trail Taskforce. The new district office, along with a co-located Leech Lake Chamber office, could serve as a trailhead and/or contact point for the planned Shingobee Connection paved trail. These three entities continue in their efforts to secure funding for a proposed highway underpass connection between the new office and the paved trail and adjacent City Park. The underpass would connect the Leech Lake Chamber and co-located Walker Ranger District to over 160 miles of state and federal paved trails. Recent discussions have also identified a possible connection from the trail underpass to the Walker/Hackensack Akeley Public School and possibly up to the Walker Community Center. While still in the exploratory stages, these connection trails could provide a safe and convenient link for the school and the community center to access the newly constructed paved trail and Walker City Park.

We look forward to sharing our new office with you soon! You can expect to see considerable construction activity at the Walker Ranger District compound this summer. More information is available at the Walker Ranger District Office, 218-547-1044.

The purpose of the meeting was to share information about current and planned studies, and discuss the critical research needs of the two Forests.

Over 22 researchers from the Northern Research Station (NRS) shared information about ongoing and planned research. Topics covered a broad range of disciplines including: tree physiology, ecosystem processes, soils, fish and bird ecology, entomology, silviculture, and special forest products. In addition, they provided overviews of Bartlett and Hubbard Brook Experimental Forests located on National Forest lands in New England, and the Northern Research Station analytical laboratory in Durham, NH.

The two National Forests, represented by both District and Supervisor's Office staff, had an opportunity to talk with the NRS researchers about how important best available science is to everyday management challenges on the two units. During the afternoon session 48 different research issues were raised by Forest specialists in a free-flowing brainstorming session. These issues included acid deposition, air quality, aquatic habitat improvement, climate change, FIA, fire, forestry operations, information transfer, NNIS, recreation, remote sensing, research methods, silviculture, soils, water quality and wildlife. Notes from this session were shared with all participants as a way to keep the dialogue moving forward.

"This meeting strengthened direct communication between those conducting the research and those using the research to implement sound management on-the-ground," said Research Unit Leader, John Brissette. "The power of this relationship in expanding our thinking between these branches of the USDA Forest Service is outstanding."

The questions and discussion raised during this interchange between managers and researcher benefited both groups by increasing the understanding between mission areas. It enhanced ongoing relationships and created some new ones that will continue the legacy of cooperation helping to keep research relevant, and providing managers the best available science upon which to make decisions. Several follow up meetings were scheduled to look at the possibility of pairing management actions with research interests.

The participants agreed this was a worthwhile session and proposed biannual meetings as a way to achieve mutual goals.

What is a food drive, without a slogan or catch phrase? Not much, so next Donna Rann and Wendy Cowsert started bouncing around ideas that resulted in the birth of "Feed Needy Area Families, Fill a Truck". A news release was prepared and after personal contacts from Lisa, the local newspaper and the radio station spread the word.

Not to be left out of the excitement, employees planned and decorated the government truck and with encouragement from the Forest Supervisor, made a thermometer to measure success and had a banner made to welcome all to participate.

A goal to collect 500 pounds of food items was set, and in just two weeks the glimmer of an idea resulted in donating nearly 600 pounds of non-perishable food items to a local food pantry. This was all accomplished during the final two weeks before the holiday when most people are already done shopping. What a wonderful feeling, realizing that people from all walks of life are willing to share the holiday spirit in such a giving fashion to make the days better for those less fortunate. This was one project that made us proud to work for our employer of choice.

The reduction of open grassland and prairie habitats has resulted in significant population reductions of wildlife species that depend upon open grasslands for their survival. Grassland birds are experiencing some of the greatest population declines of any group of North American birds. This decline has been evidenced by population trend data from the annual US Fish and Wildlife Service Breeding Bird Survey, a continent-wide survey that has been conducted since 1966. Nine out of fourteen grassland bird species that occur east of the Mississippi River declined more than 2 percent per year from the mid to late 1990's. Vertebrate and invertebrate species associated with openlands and grasslands that are showing population declines includes Henslow's sparrow. The Forest is working with partners to make certain the Henslow's sparrow and other native species have the required open grassland habitats to prosper.

The Henslow's sparrow is one of the most rapidly declining grassland bird species in North America, with an adjusted annual rate of decline of -3.84 percent from 1966-2007. Their population has decreased by an estimated 91 percent since 1966. Henslow's sparrow still exists on the Shawnee National Forest in scattered disconnected patches of grown up grasslands and ungrazed fescue pastures.

While we generally think that national forest lands in southern Illinois have always having been covered by trees, we have come to understand that not all of the national forest was historically covered by trees. Historically, forests in southern Illinois were much more open, with scattered areas of open grasslands. Many valued species, such as the protected Henslow's sparrow and the northern bobwhite quail, eastern cottontail rabbit, white-tailed deer, and wild turkey require open grassy and shrub habitats at least during some part of their life cycle. With assistance provided by the National Wild Turkey Federation, Quail Unlimited and Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever, over 200 acres of grown up fields have been restored to native grasses and forbs this year. This improves the habitat for species requiring open grassland, while expanding public opportunities to enjoy wildlife in their natural habitats on the Shawnee National Forest. This project further connects citizens to the land, while walking the talk for sustainability.

Kudzu was one of the first plants in the Southeast to supply a ready visual in the minds of a public new to the idea of invasive species.

But it's not alone. Non-native invasive species (NNIS) abound across the nation, many of them innocently introduced for their attractive garden qualities, benefits to wildlife or soil stabilization. Not all non-native plants are invasive, but those that are can escape cultivation and multiply to unmanageable levels, causing ecological or economic damage by dramatically changing the natural landscape. In turn, vegetation that historically sustained local wildlife and native ecosystems disappears -the wildlife and other desirable natural resources soon follow.

Across the nation, invasives such as yellow starthistle threaten not only forest resources, but also outcompete valuable agricultural crops and rangelands and choke the water sources that supply them.

How did we get to this point? It's certainly important to choose carefully the plants you grow in your own garden, but the success of many agressive invasive plants is the result of more than just the occasional seed carried by a bird from your backyard.

"Factors such as fragmented land ownership patterns and old homesites contribute to the spread of NNIS,"said Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests (FMS) Botanist and Ecologist Robin Mackie. "So mapping their distribution is a critical first step towards implementing more effective controls."

In South Carolina, invasive species and the problems associated with them are growing and spreading vigorously. Now, with dollars supplied to FMS by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the agency can actively seek out pockets of NNIS and take steps to slow their spread before they further thier foothold on coastal and inland forested environments.

Contracted crews have surveyed more than 6,400 acres of forest land on the Sumter National Forest and mapped NNIS on a quarter of them. NNIS found and mapped included Chinese privet, Autumn olive, Chinese stiltgrass and Japanese honeysuckle, in addition to kudzu, Chinese wisteria, Chinaberry, mimosa, tree-of-heaven, multiflora rose, tirfoliate orange, sericea lespedeza, periwinkle and English ivy.

On the Francis Marion National Forest, nearly 1,300 acres surveyed resulted in 125 infested acres. Japanese climbing fern was found in 213 of 217 polygons mapped. It is a species that spreads rapidly by spores that can travel by wind, water, clothing or fur. Like kudzu, it can occupy and threaten forested areas, and has done just that on tens of thousands of acres in Florida.

To date, the four districts on the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests have prepared just over 1,100 acres for two annual invasive species treatments, prioritizing control of non-native invasive plants within areas of special Forest Service interest and concern: floodplain canebrakes; open woodlands; longleaf ecosystems; the wild and scenic river corridors; and contiguous tracks of Forest Service ownership.

Working with Missouri's Department of Natural Resources, forest employees January 5-7, 2010 worked through record cold temperatures to collect more than 900 tires in Poplar Bluff and more than 1300 tires from Eleven Point.

This was the first scrap tire cleanup across two Mark Twain National Forest ranger districts.

The tires will be cleaned by Missouri Department of Correction's Missouri Vocational Enterprises, paid for by the state's 50-cents-per-tire scrap tire fee collected by retailers when a new tire is purchased.

Scrap tires not disposed of properly pose serious threats to human health and the environment.

"Thanks to everyone who participated in Operation When Rubber Meets the Road," said Doug Oliver, Poplar Bluff District ranger. "Weather conditions weren't the best but we made a nice collection."

"Unfortunately we find a number of dumps in the forest with discarded items like scrap tires," said Eleven Point Ranger District Ranger Tim Bond. "It was a good opportunity to work with a state partner to get some of these dumps cleaned up and tires recycled."

Scrap tires properly disposed have several uses, including as an alternate source of fuel for power plants, rubberized asphalt, playgrounds, running tracks, walking trails and other recycled rubber products.

Newly hired executive director Pat Neu set the tone for the conference by stating the theme early and often, "Commit to Your Future." He also congratulated the rapidly growing ranks of supporting partners, now at 23, up from 14 a year ago. Among those partners were the Eastern Region of the Forest Service represented by Fish and Aquatic Ecology Program Leader, Dr. Nick Schmal; Wildlife Forever represented by President and CEO, Doug Grann and Grants Coordinator, Pat Conzemius; and North American Fishing Club and professional fisherman Steve Pennaz.

Schmal and partners set up and staffed a display and handed out Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) education and outreach materials. The University of Minnesota Sea Grant program supplied several boxes of AIS handouts for the conference. Schmal also shared a 20 minute presentation created by himself and Dr. John Rothlisberger. The presentation highlighted the importance of boat washing and cleaning to prevent the spread of invasives from one waterbody to another. NPAA and several Eastern Region forests are planning to cooperate during 2010 fishing tours and tournaments to educate youth and their parents on the probelms invasive species can have on recreational boating and angling.

The NPAA is a non-profit organization focused on growing the sport of fishing and increasing the professionalism of its members. Its Supporting Partners include: Northland Fishing Tackle, Navionics, Mercury Marine, Evinrude Outboards, Lund Boats, Ranger Boats, Worldwide Marine Underwriters Off-Shore Tackle, Fin-Tech Tackle, Berkley, AIM , Masters Walleye Circuit, FLW Outdoors, Frabill, , Liddle Marketing, FPS Financial Planning Services, Do-it Corp., Optima Batteries, John Butts Outdoors, Pasha Lake Cabins, Oahe Wings and Walleyes Guide Service, and OutdoorFirst Media.

More NPAA member and association news can be viewed on thier website at: www.npaa.net.

In difficult and tight financial times, national forests must seek out creative ways to continue to accomplish important ecosystem restoration activities. One such example that has paid substantial resource benefits took place in 2007 involving wildlife personnel from the Shawnee National Forest (Shawnee) and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests (GWJEFF) in Virginia.

Equality Cave, or what some locals refer to as "Cavehill Cave", is located at the extreme northeastern end of the Forest in Saline County. The cave has always been open to unrestricted public access, subsequently resulting in unanticipated resource damage by the public to the cave ranging from spray painting graffiti on the cave walls, leaving tremendous amounts of trash in the cave, heavy traffic in springs, and damage to geological structures within the cave. Equality Cave is located in the Cavehill Natural Area. Each year local cave groups have hauled 12-20 large garbage bags of trash from the cave.

In the early summer of 2006, the Shawnee was called by a member of the Illinois Speological Society (ISS), which had been mapping the cave for the Forest Service, indicating they observed several small clusters of "little brown colored bats" roosting in the cave. Rod immediately followed up on the report but could not locate any clusters of bats. Again, in late summer of 2006, the ISS called about seeing clusters of bats, and this time two clusters, for a total of eight, of what turned out to be southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius), which is categorized as "state endangered" in Illinois, and on the Forest Service Region 9 Sensitive Wildlife Species list were found. In early October 2006, at the entrance to Equality Cave and around 18 southeastern myotis were harp trapped and captured, indicating that this rare bat species was using the cave year-round for summer and winter roosting. In an attempt to reduce disturbance to winter roosting bats, the Forest posted signs at the trailhead to the area, as well as at the cave itself, seeking help from the public in refraining from entering the cave during the winter hibernation period. The posting of signs was unsuccessful, as some members of the public tore down signs, and continued to unlawfully enter the cave. In 2007, District Ranger Jeff Seefeldt made a decision to construct a steel cave gate across the entrance to Equality Cave to protect this state endangered bat population from continued disturbance. Several CO2 cartridges were found in the cave, strongly suggesting that some members of the public were shooting bats with pellet guns.

The Shawnee did not have the resources to design and construct this gate, due in part to the complexity of the gate. In order to hold down the costs of gate construction, the Shawnee reached out the GWJEFF in Region 8. Rod McClanahan was previously stationed there, and had worked with two wildlife biologists proficient in designing and constructing complex cave gates. In May of 2007, Wildlife biologists Ed Haverlack and Mike Donahue from the GWJEFF spent seven days, and with assistance provided by personnel on the Shawnee National Forest, successfully constructed a "cupola" cave gate across the entrance to Equality Cave. A "cupola gate", which is more complex than normal cave gates, was required due to the unique entrance to Equality Cave. The assistance provided by personnel from the GWJEFF enabled the Shawnee to construct this cave gate at a substantially reduced cost.

The benefits of constructing this cave gate were quickly forthcoming. In order to track the response of the bats from the reduced disturbance, wildlife biologists have been conducting cave surveys and fall harp trapping each year. When surveys first began, anywhere from 18 to 27 southeastern myotis had been documented using Equality Cave as a winter roost site. However, surveys conducted in January of 2010 documented 123 southeastern myotis, in addition to 220 bats of three other more common bat species. The federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) had never been documented at Equality Cave prior to the fall of 2009. Fall harp trapping resulted in the capture of one adult male Indiana bat in 2008, and three in 2009. While no Indiana bats have been found using Equality Cave as a winter roost site yet, the capturing of males during the fall swarming period, and suitable winter roosting within the cave, strongly suggest that it is only a matter of time before the cave becomes used by Indiana bat as a winter hibernacula. The significance of Equality Cave is immense, in that this cave represents the most northern location as a year-round roost site for southeastern myotis. Southern Illinois is situated along the northern limit of this rare bat species range.

The success derived in the partnership forged between the Shawnee National Forest and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest has had longer lasting benefits. In 2010, biologists from the GWJEFF will again be designing and constructing cave gates for three caves on the Shawnee National Forest, two of which are hibernacula for either Indiana bats and/or southeastern myotis. Restricting unauthorized public access has become a paramount tool in the reducing the risks associated with the spread of white-nosed syndrome from caves and mines in the Northeast and East into the Midwest. These two forests worked together to protect ecosystems across boundaries.

Just in time for the temperature drop, came a visit from Regional Forester, Kent Connaughton, and a cadre of Regional Office staff to spend some quality time in the North Woods with employees of the Forest.

Arriving on Monday afternoon the Team proceeded, in the span of a week, to visit the five District offices, the JW Toumey Nursery, and the Supervisor's Office. As the Team made their way across the Forest, the temperatures progressed downward on the thermometer, into the below zeros with copious amounts of snow and blowing snow. Wind chills dipped down into the minus 20 degree range. Welcome to the north woods! Glad to have you here! Bundle up, stay close and keep warm! Hope you brought some woollies!

Despite the cold temperature outside, the various offices were warm and hospitable. The Regional Forester and his staff were welcomed and briefed on the workings of each unit, their operations and activities. Each office also provided a potluck for our guests. If our visitors weren't well fed when they got here, they were well fed when they left. You can't have too many calories when temperatures plummet into the minus numbers.

The public, as well as Forest employees had the opportunity to visit with the Regional Forester and staff, share concerns and observations, and ask questions over the course of the week and in numerous meetings. A highlight of the visit was an interactive phone call with an Ottawa National Forest employee currently serving in Iraq, during an all employee Length of Service ceremony. It was a moment that will remain in all our hearts for a long time.

Evening Star White successfully completed her internship on the Blackduck Ranger District. The internship was in Public Affairs and Business Management. As a front-liner Evening Star was exposed to many functions including meeting and greeting the public, directing walk-ins and responding to phone inquiries, and retail functions. Front-liners are generally the first employees that the public comes into contact with. Evening Star did an exceptional job at learning this important role in rather short order.

Brenda Fairbanks returned for a second year, working with Norway Beach Visitor Center. In 2008, Brenda teamed up with the Forest's environmental education programs and presented activities to kids at the Cass Lake Boys and Girls Clubs and the Early Childhood Center. In 2009, Brenda worked alongside the Visitor Center naturalist to assist with over 80 programs and also put together Ojibwe Language lessons. Each Thursday, campers could stop in to learn words for weather, plants, and even campfire foods. It was a fantastic addition to our summer naturalist programs. Brenda had a wonderful teaching style that visitors really enjoyed....plus a great sense of humor. Her last program was "Ojibwe Breakfast". Visitor Center staff served over 35 visitors camp breakfast, providing they could tell us the Ojibwe words for bacon, eggs and blueberry pancakes!

Mary Jo Frazer, another Leech Lake Tribal College STEM student, helped the Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) crew at the Walker Ranger District during the 2009 summer The crew went against poison ivy and biting insects, heat and difficult weather conditions, but performed safely and efficiently. They were able to attend safety and situational awareness training, a Boat and Water Safety Course, First Aid and CPR training. This helped with tasks such as white pine pruning, road side brush clearing, sign restoration on National Forest trails, work on the North Country Trail and campsite maintenance. Mary Jo and the YCC crew also worked with invasive plant species removal, archaeological digs, garbage pick-up and maintaining the elm tree planting site. Mary Jo did a great job this summer, and also helped with Stony Point campground and Walker District office support.

Neil Peterson, Forest Administrative Officer/Tribal Liaison stated that outreach and recruitment to the local bands is a high priority on the Chippewa N.F. "We are very fortunate to have the Leech Lake Tribal College to work with", Peterson said. "Our goal through the STEM partnership is to provide a critical link between academics and work experience, help foster a good work ethic and improve students marketability for jobs once they have graduated," stated Peterson.

The winter weather gave us the variety…..from -20 degrees on the morning of January 9th to 45 degrees above by the afternoon of January 16th. Visitors to Shingobee ranged from extremely hardy snowshoers in full arctic gear to a more lightly-fleeced and enthused crowd sledding the hill in the warm sunshine.

Together, the two days highlighted the great winter activities available on the Forest. Over 200 people visited the famed sledding hill and historic Shingobee chalet. Forest staff had a warm fire going on in the fireplace and hot chocolate ready for families. Snowshoes were available to use, and about 20 people came in to try snowshoes out for the first time. Skiers stopped by as they smelled the wood smoke from the outside campfire, and kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows by the fire.

On the hill, visitors glided down in everything from old toboggans to snowboards, and everyone still seemed to be smiling even as they climbed the big hill back to the top. The sun was out and that bright blue winter sky made an incredible backdrop to all the colors of winter gear and sleds.

Inside the chalet, people sat back and reminisced about the old Shingobee Hills downhill ski days. Sweatshirts and tees with the old Shingobee Ski Hill logo were also on sale at the chalet, thanks to our partners at Jefferson National Parks Association. For a number of people, it was a pleasant surprise to see the old logo again. It brought back good memories of winters past.

And that's the hope….to take a look at past events at Shingobee and bring people back for a fun and safe winter experience. More families outdoors, sledding and sliding their way through what is turning out to be our favorite season of the year. Coming up in late January and February, the District will continue the Shingobee traditions with an Antique Sled Show at the Chalet, Family Days and, new this year, the Shingobee Winter Jam for teenagers. Many of the Shingobee events are hosted in partnership with Walker Community Education and the "Working Together Coalition" in Walker, Pine River and Remer.

The logo for National Winter Trails Day is "Winter Feels Good" and Minnesotans have once again shown that the highs and lows of winter are the perfect reasons for getting out and enjoying the day on a snowy hill in northern Minnesota..

In 2003, educators at White Oak approached the Forest Service about the collection. Would the Forest be able to utilize the collection with their wider themed programs? The Forest agreed to take over responsibility for the collection. White Oak took out a number of mounts that fit well with their programs, and the remaining animals moved to the Deer River Ranger District.

Immediately, some of the more outstanding northwoods mounts went to the National Forest Visitor Centers at Cut Foot Sioux and Norway Beach to be a part of the summer naturalist program series. Work was done with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to catalog or note the species in the collection. Visitors appreciated the up close look at the winter loon, buntings and goshawks.

Still, storage with the collection of 224 continued to be a concern. How would we best utilize these wildlife mounts? The answer was to spread the wealth to other education partners. In 2005, the Forest contacted a retired biology teacher who runs the Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center. They were thrilled to utilize 76 of the mounts for the education programs and visitor center displays. They put together some beautiful dioramas showing habitat for various wildlife. (Take a look at their beautiful displays at www.beavercreekwildlife.org)

In the last few years, the mounts have been used for large events such as Walker Ranger District's "Howl O Ween Night Hike" at Shingobee Hills, raptor programs with school groups, and displays with songbirds and songs at the Visitor Centers. In 2009, the new Marcell Discovery Center was able to utilize the mounts of grouse, hawks and owls for their wildlife displays.

Still, there was the one last grouping of mounts that had not found a good home. What to do with the collection of beautiful Asian pheasants, the alligator and even the domestic chicken. It's a wider global program theme to be sure and a challenge for Forest naturalists. The answer came in 2010 as we once again worked to find a way to honor the collection. A local sportsmen's club agreed to take in some of the pheasant species as part of their youth education program and another biology teacher came to the rescue. The Forest Service has worked with the Walker Hackensack Akeley school district often throughout the years with a partnership called "Wolves in the Woods". That consistent communication helped to find another home for our exotic creatures.

Just today, Forest staff greeted the WHA high school mammalogy class who picked up the mounts for their classroom. We quizzed them about pheasants of the world, green parrots, and moose bones. You should have seen their faces! As we followed the procession of mounts and students into the school, there was already a large group of students circling the box, looking at the mounts. They were asking questions, pointing out the striking feather colors, and asking "Where did these come from". And the answer, we realize, is "from someone who really wanted kids to get excited about wildlife". It's been a long road for these critters, but the education tradition will continue. Direct from the White family to seven different education partners across two states, we bring you some great hands-on teachable moments!

In January 2009, the largest ice storm on record in Missouri hit the southeastern part of the state. "In terms of socioeconomic impact and disruption of lives, the Ice Storm of '09 was the weather event of the decade," according to National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky.

"The 2009 ice storm resulted in record power outages in western Kentucky, parts of southeast Missouri, and the southernmost counties of Illinois. Preliminary damage estimates were in the neighborhood of one-half billion dollars in the Paducah National Weather Service forecast area. There were 14 known fatalities either directly or indirectly related to the storm in western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. Heavy sleet accumulations across much of southern Illinois and parts of southeast Missouri caused dozens of roof collapses."

In May 2009, a straight-line wind and inland tornado blew through south-central Missouri, knocking over and damaging trees across hundreds of thousands of acres.

National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky described the May 2009 event as "an extremely damaging, mesoscale wind event known as a derecho tore a path of destruction from Perry and northern Bollinger Counties of Missouri east across the Marion/Carbondale area to near Harrisburg, IL. Frequent, widespread gusts from 80 to 110 mph damaged over 10,000 homes in Williamson County alone. One fatality and numerous injuries were reported."

Both incidents made the National Weather Services's Kentucky Office top 10 events of the decade, selected by 70 storm spotters, weather forecasts and emergency responders.

Many Mark Twain National Forest employees had just completed, and were still cleaning up and restoring roads and trails, recreation areas and administrative sites from natural disasters in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Two significant ice storms affected the northern part of Mark Twain National Forest in November 2006 and January 2007. Tornadoes touched down in March, July and September 2006. A "100-yr" flood occurred across much of Mark Twain National Forest March 2008, another event selected as one of the top 10 events of the decade, and smaller flood events occurred in the southwester part May 2009.

Last year, Mark Twain National Forest employees went back to many of the very same roads, trails, recreation sites and administrative facilities to once again begin to clean up.

Hundreds of road were impassable due to fallen trees; many were part of country road systems for school buses, mail carriers and emergency vehicles. Hundreds of miles of recreation trails, including several with national trail designation, were impassable from fallen trees and branches. Dozens of recreation areas were hard to access because of downed trees and limbs.

A general forest area assessment was completed in cooperation with Missouri Department of Conservation.

Using an Incident Command System, Mark Twain National Forest employees focused on public and employee safety, then getting public travel routes open. Administrative sites were addressed next, first to ensure safe working conditions and then to provide employees the capacity to address other resource areas.

Critical public roads were opened within days and weeks. Campgrounds, and other recreational facilities, were opened in time for the March recreation season. Concessionaires and outfitter guides experienced minimal effects. Trails were surveyed for damage, and clean up began on high priority segments, some of the work through long-time volunteer groups like Ozark Trail Association, AmeriCorps and Mingo Job Corps.

Administrative support was a key to the national forest's success. Existing partnerships and volunteer agreements were quickly modified to focus volunteer work on high priority areas. Work and budget plans were adjusted to support storm clean up. Up to date information materials were assembled and quickly distributed to internal and external audiences.

Approximately 4 person years, over 8,000 hrs of potentially dangerous work was completed without a serious incident or accident. Four minor injuries were reported.

"The storms of 2009 stretched us but employees took on storm recovery in a safe, energetic and dedicated fashion," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend. "Not only were employees safe, but we met our regular goals for the year as well. Thank you."

Researchers first noticed the disappearing duff layer at Lum Lake in the Marcell Experimental Forest area in the 1980's. A 14-year University of Minnesota study documented earthworm infestation of an aspen forest, but researchers viewed this as a curiosity with no far-reaching effects. Then in 1994, soil scientists from the Chippewa National Forest began a Terrestrial Ecological Unit Inventory near Ottertail Point. That area appeared to be burned, but in reality earthworms had invaded the site and eaten the duff from the forest floor. At this time, direct impacts from earthworms in maple-basswood forests were recognized.

In 2007, new questions about the earthworm's effect on soil chemistry were asked. In September 2009, Kyungsoo Yoo, an Assistant Professor of Plats and Soils from University of Delaware, along with crew Cindy Hale (U of MN) and Anthony Aufdenkampe (Stroud Water Research Center) sampled plots for invasive earthworms and installed equipment in 6 soil pits to collect soil air and water. Members of the Minnesota Conservation Corps joined the effort, digging the pits to help the researchers move to the next step.

They devised equipment to collect and measure soil air and water along a transect where earthworms were invading. One piece of equipment using PVC pipe and rubber tubing is called a lysimeter cup. Lysimeters collect soil water and were installed at different depths in the soil. Why would they do this? The researchers wanted to know if earthworms increase the rate of mineral chemical weathering as they mix the organic layer with the mineral layer below. Do these non-native species affect the carbon cycle in a hardwood forest? In other words, do earthworms affect the long-term sustainability of the forest?

It's not a fast answer. This was just the beginning of the 3-year study. The researchers will continue work with the Forest and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and hopefully find the clues to better understand the impacts of earthworms on northern hardwood forests.

The request for pollinator garden proposals has coincided with the development of early successional habitat restoration projects on the Hoosier. These projects planned to have intense stocking of native forbs for wildlife habitat improvement and for future seed collection for rehabilitation of disturbed areas on the Forest. The Hoosier now has over 120 acres of land managed as a pollinator "farm" and native seed source.

The first site, converted from an agricultural field, was planted through a partnership with the Patoka Hills Chapter of Quail Unlimited (QU). A no-till grassland drill, tractor, and operators were provided by QU as well as supplemental seed for the 100-acre project area. Mechanical weed control has been provided by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Forest Wildlife Project and from stewardship contractors. The timely mechanical treatments have yielded results by promoting growth of planted species such as partridge pea, purple coneflower, and orange coneflower.

The second large field was prepared and planted through IDIQ contracts. Non-native pasture grasses and woody species were pretreated by contractors prior to a dormant seeding in November. The Hoosier prescribed the chemical pretreatment and seeding method to improve establishment time compared to the first project.

The Hoosier plans to use its own seed harvesting and cleaning equipment to stock a seed supply for future use. With the assistance of partners, the Hoosier plans to use the seed to rehabilitate disturbed areas from prescribed and wildfire disturbance, and potentially timber sale skid trails and log landings.

Once the wood material, or biomass, is removed from the site, the contractor uses it for dimensional lumber, house logs, decorative landscaping bark, woodstove pellets, firewood, and even livestock bedding. Prescribed fire treatments will help dispose of the remaining slash.

Treasure Valley Forest Products was also awarded $500,000 in State and Private Forestry American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to expand a pellet plant operation in a nearby Mountain Home, Idaho. The owner, Dan Balbach, is passionate about creating local jobs. To that end, he has hired local workers for short-term projects, such as paving the plant parking area, and is working to begin a third shift at his biomass processing facility.

Treasure Valley Forest Products will use the funds to:

„« Expand a pellet plant operation in nearby Mountain Home, Idaho

„« Create about five new jobs by adding a pellet mill second shift.

„« Purchase additional logging equipment to improve his ability to hire more workers.

„« Keep current employees on the payroll because local vegetation treatment projects have offered a steady supply of woody biomass material.

„« Ensure a healthy forest ecosystem by removing trees and brush that are overgrown.

Between May and December of 2009, approximately $183,000 has been spent on the ARRA Carson River Program. The project has employed 25 people.

The Carson River, like many other rivers in the West, battles the invasion of noxious weeds. Noxious weeds are plants that have been identified by the State of Nevada as difficult to control, and cause harm by invading agricultural lands, areas along waterways and natural areas. Among the biggest invaders of the Carson River Watershed are perennial pepperweed (tall white top), Russian knapweed, and salt cedar or Tamarisk. These invasive weeds are non-native plants that are prolific and highly competitive. They invade and take over an area. One of the biggest threats to the Carson River is the thier tendency to invade riparian areas. This results in a decline of stream bank stability and an increase of soil erosion and stream sedimentation resulting in a decline in the rivers water quality and an increase in fire danger.

The Carson River Project focused on four areas along the river - Carson Valley (Davis County), Carson City, Dayton Valley (Lyon County), and Lahontan Valley (Churchill County). With the help of four crews, 527 acres were treated.

The Carson Valley (Douglas County) crew treated over 101 acres of noxious weeds. The Carson Valley Conservation District (CVCD) worked with local landowners, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and The Nature Conservancy. The CVCD also worked with Douglas County and the Town of Minden to clear and treat an abandoned property located at the gateway to the town of Minden that had become infested with weeds and was a fire hazard to the community.

The Carson City crews focused on clearing and treating noxious weeds on multiple properties throughout Carson City. Crews mapped and treated noxious weeds and removed dead/decadent materials on the properties, thus reducing the fire danger.

The Dayton Valley (Lyon County) crew cleared and treated over 200 acres of invasive weeds (perennial pepperwood) on the old Rolling A Ranch, which is adjacent to the Carson River. The Dayton Valley Conservation District (DVCD) worked with River Wranglers (a non-profit organization) to organize and plant willows along the river. The Lyon County Fire Department also assisted with burning some of the dead weeds.

The Lahontan Valley (Churchill County) crew worked with the Nevada Department of State Parks to treat 47 acres of perennial pepperweed, hoary cress, cocklebur and Tamarisk infestations on the lake bed at Lake Lahontan outside of Fallon, Nevada. Record low lake levels enabled the crews to work on multiple sites along and within the lake such as Fallon overlook, Blackbird pint, Six Mile Beach and Beaches 1-11.

Reducing the invasives weeds is lowering the fire risk to the Cottonwood gallery forest that are a critical wildlife habitat for this dry state.

Lisa Allen, Missouri's state forester, discussed the challenge of collaborating to achieve landscape scale objectives when 90% of the state's lands are in private ownership and ownership patterns are highly fragmented.

Missouri's Department of Conservation is currently joining with partners to take an "all wildlife" conservation approach through implementation of its Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy.

Allen said this framework of Conservation Opportunity Areas identifies the best places where partners can combine technology, expertise and resources.

Middle Meramec Conservation Opportunity Area was cited as a good example of state, federal, and private partners working together to improve watershed conditions and wildlife habitat.

Missouri's Department of Conservation plans by June 1, 2010 to complete a statewide Missouri Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy to identify high priority forest landscapes for focused conservation efforts. Mark Twain National Forest continues to participate in the development of the statewide planning effort, which will lead to further collaboration among agencies, organizations and private landowners.

Central Hardwoods Joint Venture Coordinator Dr. Jane Fitzgerald talked about ensuring the long-term viability of native bird populations through collaborative approaches. Mark Twain National Forest has been an official partner since 2000.

Central Hardwoods Joint Venture focuses in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region across 7 states, including Ozark Highlands, Boston Mountains and Interior Lowland Plateaus, a 75 million acre landscape of rolling hills covered primarily with hardwood forests interspersed with glades and woodlands crisscrossed by deep river valleys.

The science-based collaborative approach, in which national forest system lands play a large role, provides greater assurance that rare and declining species of birds will find improved conditions and that common, but important, birds do not lose ground. Mark Twain National Forest prescribed burning, forest management, and wildlife habitat improvement projects contribute to the joint venture's goals annually. http://www.chjv.org.

Dr. Hank Stelzer, University of Missouri forestry extension specialist, discussed the wide range of opportunities to harness woody biomass for energy generation.

Although American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's funding of 6 biomass-generated boilers for Missouri schools has not been announced yet, Stelzer said it will be projects like the boilers that will help Missourians start to think about biomass as viable energy producers.

"The future management of Mark Twain National Forest lands will increasingly be tied to cooperative conservation efforts at broad scales," said Mark Twain National Forest Supervisor David Whittekiend." It's exciting to hear about our ongoing projects and to identify where we can participate to even a greater degree."

The Siuslaw National Forest was one of only three Forests in the Pacific Northwest Region to receive Related Ecosystem Watershed Enhancement project dollars. As part of a larger restoration project proposal, the Snowy Plover Habitat Restoration was one of the first to make it though the grants and agreement process getting $7,680 into the hands of Oregon youth.

Introduced to the west coast around 1898, European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) was used to stabilize dunes and protect roads and jetties. Since then it has spread up and down the coast and is one of the most significant causes of habitat loss for coastal snowy plovers and other dune loving plants and animals. The dense grass has also provided excellent habitat for plover predators. In late September a crew from the Northwest Youth Corps spent a week pulling this nonnative plant from the Oregon Dunes.

"Though it rained for part of the project, the youth did enjoy the work; it was a nice change from working in the mountains," explained Cole Southworth, Northwest Youth Corps Field Director.

"There was one youth that had never seen the Pacific Ocean before and many hadn't been to the beach for years."

The crew was greeted by Cindy Burns, a wildlife biologist from the Siuslaw National Forest, who provided background information on why it is important to protect the Plovers and also why hand pulling beach grass is better than using machines.

"Hand pulling lets us be more specific about what we are removing from the dunes, lets us leave native plant species in place and causes far fewer disruptions for the wildlife" noted Burns.

"In areas that have previously been mechanically treated the beachgrass sprouts can be easily pulled and effects can last for 2 to 3 years. Dozers (the machine option) disturb everything in their path while removing the beachgrass."

According to the Northwest Youth Corps projects that come in the late season like this one help keep their program fully funded.

"What happens when we aren't able to find paid work for a week or two is that Northwest Youth Corps absorbs the loss," explained Southworth.

"This cuts into our recruitment budget, which directly supplies scholarships to participants to come into our program. So without this project, we wouldn't be able to serve as many youth during the 2010 year."

The Northwest Youth Corps Crew succeeded in removing over eight acres of European beachgrass and learned a bit about a little bird that lives on the dunes.

"This session I've learned about endangered species habitat preservation. I've also learned patience and how beautiful, and sometimes wet fall session can be," said Northwest Youth Corps crew member Araya Jensen.

Cindy Burns agreed.

"It was nice to see the youth involved with caring for our natural resources. They took ownership in the project," continued Burns. "It was pretty cool."

For more information contact the Siuslaw National Forest at (541) 750-7000 or visit our website at www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw or twitter.com/SiuslawNF.

The team traveled to the Republic of Congo (RC) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), navigating challenging infrastructure conditions visiting villages in the Savannah and gallery forest mosaic landscape where human-caused brush fires and fuel wood demand has resulted in increasing deforestation and forest degradation threatening wildlife populations and carrying capacity of the land.

According to Maercklein, wild fires are widespread in the areas the team visited within the RC and DRC. Lit by villagers for many reasons, including clearing the land for agriculture crops and facilitating hunting for bush meat, fires touch nearly every acre of the Savannah two to four times per year. This frequency reduces soil nutrients, degrades or eliminates forest and wildlife habitat, and extirpates species from the landscape. The fires prevent natural reforestation from occurring which results in increased grassland habitats which provide far less of the food and native materials villagers rely on every day.

"If the fire frequency could be reduced so that every acre burned every other year or two, the wooded Savannah and gallery forest could recover," said Maercklein.

The team came at the invitation of United States Agency of International Development (USAID), which is interested in promoting sustainable natural resource development and protecting biological diversity. USAID works in cooperation with developing countries governments and participating nongovernmental organizations on project proposals and seeks US Forest Service employees expertise as consultants for assessing the feasibility of these developmental proposals.

Maercklein, a mid-1970's Peace Corp volunteer in West Africa was selected for the detail because of his forestry and planning experience, previous experiences in Africa, and familiarity with French.  Other members of the detail team were Scott Posner, Wildlife Biologist, Washburn Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet NF providing fire management expertise and Ronald P. Overton, Area Regeneration Specialist, Northeastern Area, State & Private Forestry providing nursery and reforestation expertise.

The final product of the mission is a report with strategic recommendations on fire management and reforestation proposals for the Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo by participating nongovernmental organizations conducting natural resource management activities in the Congo basin at the request of the governments.

In addition to the interesting and challenging work, Maercklein expressed appreciation for the adventurous nature of the group's detail. "Every time I go to Africa, I leave with the same feeling -- that I love the people, cultural diversity, languages, food, and landscape.

Summing up his experience, Maercklein said, "It was a great experience. I continue to learn from Africa, and each experience reinforces the importance of sustainable natural resource management."

"We hope the program will increase students' knowledge of the natural world and their interest in stewardship at the local community level," said Pasqua Warstler, Education Director at William Bonifas Fine Arts Center.

Together, the partners are providing a schedule of programs throughout the seasons.

"We kicked off the sessions in October with a 'Falling for Trees' event where kids learned about trees' lifecycles, and then they created their own family trees," explained Mimi Klotz, Clear Lake Education Center program manager.

Upcoming programs will focus on the science and art of snow crystals, birds, and water conservation.

"We want kids to connect nature and art as they learn about both," said Mimi Klotz, program manager for Clear Lake Education Center.

For more information about the program, please contact Mimi Klotz at 906-280-5364.

The Forest Service Eastern Region Honor Awards are given annually within the Region to employees, volunteers, and partners. This award was in the category of "Protect Ecosystems across Boundaries."

It recognizes the efforts of the Western UP Cooperative Weed and Pest Management Area (WUPCWMPA)to prevent and control non-native invasive species. The efforts of this group include public education, prevention, monitoring and integrated control efforts. Their work takes place across Gogebic and Iron Counties and includes border lakes on the Michigan/Wisconsin border. Ottawa National Forest employees helped work to establish this group and continue to contribute to the leadership, which is key to the organization's success. The WUPCWMPA is recognized for their successes in preventing and controlling non-native invasive species and in serving as a network for information sharing.

The mission of the Upper Peninsula Cooperative Weed and Pest Management Association (the CWPMA) is the prevention and management of invasive species.

Working together over the past several years, members of the CWPMA have leveraged federal, state, county and private funds to combat aquatic invasives on multiple lakes in several western Upper Peninsula counties. Grants received have gone towards inventory and monitoring work, treatment of invasives, staffing at boat launches to raise public awareness about aquatic invasives, training for volunteers, creation of brochures and publications to promote "Clean Boats/Clean Waters," and purchase of boat washing equipment for use at local area boat landings.

Through this partnership, counties, lake-owner associations, concerned citizens, and employees of the Ottawa National Forest pool their knowledge and resources to help achieve better control of non-native invasive species.

That which cannot be accomplished by one individual can be accomplished by a team of dedicated, energized people.

The CWPMA continues to work together to expand their programs and membership. They are already busy planning for another year of significant accomplishments.

The Great Waters initiative, a program developed in the eastern half of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, promotes regional cooperation in order to enhance economic developemnt opportunities and environmental helath. Memebers include organizations related to tourism, business and environmental . Together, they created materials and a website promoting the entire region with an ecotoursim slant.

A three-year rural development grant secured by Northern Initiatives helped bring together the group, which developed three great lakes tour trails now marketed under The Great Waters brand.

Normally, individuals who construct illegal structures on NFS lands are required to remove and dispose of those structures. However, in this case the responsible party had no income or savings, nor the ability to remove and dispose of the structure.

Unable to secure funding or volunteers, the Forest came up with another solution. Employees of the Forest's east unit scheduled an all-employee field work day focused on removal of the structure. Ten employees participated, disassembling the structure and moving the material out to a road, where it could be loaded into a dump truck aimed for landfill disposal. Employees then rehabilitated the site to its natural condition.

District Ranger Steve Christiansen, "These 'district work days' offer a great opportunity for unit employees to spend a day working together in the field on a single project -- something that doesn't happen often given the varied duties of our employees and the sheer size of the Forest."

Also participating in the work day were John Maciok, Russ, Smith, Steve Christiansen, Steve Sjogren, Doug Born, Ken Guillard, Alex Wieczorek, Sam Barnes, Daryl Ulberg, and Patty Carrick.

On the same day, employees also completed preliminary field work to establish an interpretive/fitness trail at the St. Ignace District Office. All in all, a very productive, team building day!

That's where the Eastern Region of the Forest Service comes in. Working with Steve Pennaz from the North American Media Group Inc., the company that produces the North American Fisherman magazine and television show, Aquatic Ecologist John Rothlisberger from the Eastern Region's Renewable Resources staff, helped to get Shedd the big-ticket item they wanted. The item --- a flashy new Yamaha fishing boat, motor, and trailer donated for the duration of the show by Berwyn Marine of Chicago, IL.

Shedd used the boat, motor, and trailer to teach people how to inspect their equipment to clean off aquatic invasive species and prevent their spread. Asked for her thoughts on adding the donated boat to their educational display, Elizabeth Latenser, Public Relations Coordinator for Shedd's Great Lakes Conservation program, said, "I absolutely feel like the boat added an extra dimension of interactivity. We reached just about 3,000 people with messages of how to prevent the spread of invasive species. Our team was able to show people the exact spots on the boat where invasive species like to hide the most."

The Forest Service and all of our partners benefited from this opportunity to work together, as did the public. Most importantly though, aquatic resources will benefit as people apply what they learned from Shedd about how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species like zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and spiny waterflea.

The Chicago Boat and RV show is one of the largest and most important outdoor recreation shows in the Midwest. Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium is one of the premier sources for public education on aquatic conservation issues in the Great Lakes region. When you bring the two together, you get an incredible opportunity to share important conservation messages with thousands of hunters, anglers, and other people who recreate outdoors.

This work builds on five years of a successful partnership between the Eastern Region of the Forest Service and Shedd Aquarium on projects like Shedd's Invasive Species exhibit in the Local Waters Gallery, as well as their Great Lakes Playscape at Camp Shedd.

Few, if any of us, would argue that those whose mobility is compromised might find these same simple pleasures difficult or discouraging, and might therefore tend to leave the exploration of the great outdoors to others.

But that's not so. In South Carolina a growing number of mobility-impaired recreationists are taking to the forests with undaunted enthusiasm. Here, hunting is huge, and for years both the Francis Marion and Sumter national forests have provided popular dove, deer and turkey hunts as well as fishing opportunities specifically tailored to hunters who are wheelchair-bound or otherwise mobility-impaired.

Now for the first time, thanks to a valuable partnership, a whole new resource is opening for these avid outdoorsmen. And it's a resource of which the state has a gracious plenty: water.

The National Wild Turkey Foundation (NWTF) Wheelin' Sportsmen awarded $13,000 to the Sumter National Forest's Enoree Ranger District to fund the creation of floating duck blinds capable of handling wheelchair-bound or otherwise mobility-impaired hunters at its Duncan Creek Waterfowl Area.

The grant provided for materials and construction of the blinds by War Eagle Boats, who contributed generously to the project by discounting their rates. The Forest Service and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), which assists in cooperatively maintaining wetland habitats on the forest, provided additional funds to flood and plant the wetlands, and to complete the loading platform, handrails and parking lot.

"This is great news," said Francis Marion and Sumter Wildlife Biologist Gary Peters. "We held the first ever all-wheelchair-bound waterfowl hunts on public lands in the state of South Carolina in December." The hunts took place at Duncan Creek and nearby Clinton House, followed by another on December 17 at the Tyger River Waterfowl Area, said Peters, and were co-sponsored by Forest Service partners NWTF and Ducks Unlimited Green Wings.

The Forest Service worked with the SCDNR and local legislators to assure that the area was open exclusively to mobility-impaired hunters for each of these events. Each of the four blinds was prominently marked with an insignia to highlight the NWTF contribution.

Enoree District Ranger Beth LeMaster hopes these one-of-a-kind mobile hunting events will serve as an inspiration for others to create similar opportunities across the nation.

"We recognized that the four managed wetlands we have on the district were difficult to near impossible to access for mobility-impaired hunters," said LeMaster. A boardwalk constructed in 2007 by volunteers from the Crosby, North Dakota Chapter of Wheelin' Sportsmen provides basic access for wheelchair-bound visitors to a portion of the Duncan Creek area, she said, and is very well received. "But not only do the floating blinds actually allow for mobility during a hunt, they're portable, so they'll open access to other wetland areas in which no boardwalk is available."

And more to the point, said LeMaster, "actually being on the water is sure to be lot more fun."

For several years, Desy has led the district's safety committee and has been an active participant on the Forest safety committee. He demonstrates strong commitment to providing safety trainings for unit employees. He took a lead role in obtaining an automated external difibrillator (AED) for his district, which spurred the Forest to secure the equipment for all units.

Tom has received two Safety Owls for his safety leadership representing Rapid River/Manistique employees on the Forest Safety Team; for his enthusiastic pursuit of safety improvements; for his vigilance in improving the safety of our work design; and for being the "go-to guy" for safety training.

Tom is a forester stationed in Rapid River.

Lemolo Lake Resort owner, Scott Lamb, whose business suffered because of the advisories, removed 70,000 tui chub during 2009 to help curb the algae levels. The work was funded from the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. $43,436 of Title II funds from the Secure Rural Schools Act were allocated for this project.

The harmful algae blooms occur when tiny microscopic plants grow quickly in water, using up oxygen, and release toxins dangerous to animals and humans. Blue-green algae cause health advisories, because they can produce toxins that cause dizziness, skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea and fainting. The number of tui chub, a fish that eats algae's natural predator, had increased considerably when the advisories began.

The Rogue-Umpqua Resource Advisory Committee dedicated $43,436 of Title II funding for a project proposed by Lamb to net tui chub from Lemolo Lake in the hopes of helping restore water quality. The lake, in truth a reservoir because of the North Umpqua Hydroelectric project, is a popular fishing, waterskiing, and camping spot.

Lamb made trapping and removal of the tui chub the project's objective, successfully netting and removing nearly 20 tons of tui chub during 77-day period in 2009. The dead chubs were processed into fertilizer used on a decommissioned Forest Service road.

The jury is still out as to whether the chub removal directly affected algae levels. The algae concentration in Lemolo was around 300,000 cells per milliliter of water in July 2009 compared to numbering in the millions in previous years. Umpqua National Forest hydrologist Mikeal Jones thinks that comprehensive management, such as managing reservoir levels has also contributed to lower algae numbers. Jones points out that algae concentration must be less than 100,000 cells per milliliter to avert an advisory. "There are many lakes that have blue-green algae blooms and don't have tui chub," said Jones.

The Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers, a non-profit organization that develops and performs watershed improvement projects within the Umpqua Basin, served as the financial partner for the Title II portion of the project which included contracting with Lemolo Lake Resort for the grant work.

Lamb, his family and volunteers have worked beyond the scope of the Title II grant in trapping and removing tui chub. In 2008, they received funding from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove tui chub. Additional funds were contributed towards trapping tui chub through a hydroelectric mitigation fund.

To see photos of this project, visit http://tiny.cc/ZExzG. For more information about Title II, visit http://tiny.cc/zLsjA.

This year Assistant District Ranger, Tom Giles led a contingent of several Forest Service employees in a pickup truck carrying a lighted Christmas tree. District Ranger Molly Fuller as Smokey Bear, John Neeley, Jenny Burnett, Elizabeth Scuderi as Woodsy Owl, followed in the White Mountain National Forest Type 6 engine. Jim Hill, Chris Roukes, Candice Morrison, and Forest Service volunteer Giff Kriebel accompanied the vehicle on foot, handing out Smokey Bear pencils, rulers, and coloring books to appreciative youngsters in the crowd. Betty Wheet, riding in the lead vehicle, kept the walkers well supplied with goodies.

In spite of a raging snow storm, the crowd was even larger than last year. "I was surprised at how many in the crowd acknowledged the Forest Service", said Chris Roukes. We heard a lot of 'All right Forest Service!' and 'Hey, There's Smokey!' and 'All right Smokey!'

Very supportive Forest Service crowds have tended to be the norm over the years. The parade itself continues to grow in popularity, having become the kick-off for an evening of Christmas celebrations throughout the town of Plymouth, NH which includes a fireworks display and bonfire. White Mountain National Forest participation continues to be a simple, inexpensive, and enjoyable way to demonstrate Forest Service commitment to the community.

Stewardship Week earned an Honor Award in the Connecting Citizens to the Land category. Stephanie Brown from the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, Monica Neal representing the Shawnee National Forest and students from Golconda Job Corps Center were the recipients.

They were identified as key players in seeing that the 20th Anniversary of Stewardship Week occurred. This annual event would not have happened, but for the extraordinary measures taken by key individuals from the Shawnee National Forest and the Golconda Civilian Conservation Job Corps (GJCC). GJCC were responsible for clearing the wide-spread damage caused by the devastating ice storm during the early winter, 2009.

The Honor Award for Revolutionizing Effectiveness and Efficiency went to "The Engine Academy that Could" which included the following individuals of the 2009 Eastern Area Engine Academy: Chris Peterson, Jon Teutrine, Monica Neal, Tyler VanOrmer, Scott Crist, Forest Paukert and Jason Rose from the Shawnee National Forest; Ray Parrish from the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Fish and Wildlife Service; Alan Harrison (retired) and Eric Martin from the Chequemegon-Nicolet National Forest; Bob Little, Stephen Hatting, Micah Johnson and Ben Eby from the Huron-Manistee National Forest; James Whitenack from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, National Park Service; Peter To from the Allegheny National Forest; Kevin Wilson from the Hoosier National Forest; Jason Simms from the Wayne National Forest; and Jeremy Norris and Joe Hale from the Williamson County Fire Protection District in Illinois.

The Engine Academy consisted of a suite of required courses and was the first of its kind in the Eastern Area of the Forest Service. This was truly a Regional effort with a diverse group of agencies putting forth an immeasurable amount of work and making this complex training successful.

Congratulations to everyone who put forth the efforts and were recognized by being the recipient of a 2009 Regional Forester Honor Award.

The afternoon tour included four stops and highlighted waterfowl habitat. The first stop was to give the landowners an opportunity for a first-hand look at federal management practices on Forest Service lands. Additional stops were at a privately owned rice field, a private hunt club and a state refuge. Each stop included a presentation and a question and answer opportunity. The day culminated with a buffet at a local restaurant where everyone enjoyed a great meal and the invigorating company of those with similar interests.

The bus tour was an innovative way for private landowners to become familiar with sustainable land management which includes participation in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). A Forest Service tract managed under WRP was visited. The landowners also had an opportunity to see the work being done at the Union County Wildlife Refuge and how it benefits the public. The private lands rounded out the tour by showing how privately owned lands can be managed for sustainable wildlife habitat, one a field of rice used for hunting after harvest and one a private hunting club.

Several courageous conservation goals were met during this afternoon tour. The public was informed about land management practices, protecting ecosystems across boundaries, connecting citizens to the land and walking the talk of sustainability.

In 2009, Jane recognized an opportunity to link the objectives of the Conservative Anabaptist Service Program (CASP) volunteer training with Forest high priority work that had no other options for completion.

As Mark Twain Forest's Manpower Specialist, Jane also worked with Bethal Fellowship Group to link their need for meaningful service with Forest high priority work.

She also recognized and acted on an opportunity for three regional organizations to offer youth internships. The result was expanded program delivery capacity beyond appropriated funds and existing delivery methods.

CASP volunteers completed 3216 volunteer hours that equated to 1.6 person years and a savings to the Forest of $62,745. Work included stabilizing trails at Sinking Creek Guard Station; building accessible trails and erosion control at Markham Springs Recreation Area; rehabilitating accessible walkways, and installing picnic table, grills, and lantern post at Greer Campground; removal and reconstruction of a trail bridge, and completion of one mile of trail maintenance at Watercress Campground.

Jane met with the church group to establish time frames, logistics, and administrative requirements that satisfied the Forest Service and CASP organization.

Incidentally, CASP has also successfully completed an MOU with Forest Service's Washington Office to expand the scope of its work.

Jane also successfully worked with the Bethal Fellowship Group, which accomplished 1368 hours valued at $27,702, equaling 0.76 person years. Work included installation of vinyl siding on the warehouse, garage, and oil house at Poplar Bluff; installation of new roofing on all buildings, redesign and construction garage doors for larger bays for large vehicle use; pouring a new accessible walkway, and installation of new interior doors at the administrative building; painted the stairway and basement at the Winona office, and completion of sheet rock work at Sinking Creek Guard Station.

Jane arranged housing, completed agreement paper work, provided an orientation to the Forest Service, and arranged safety training.

Economic Recovery funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act received by the State of Missouri also provided opportunities for youth to get involved with Mark Twain National Forest.

Through Jane's extensive and effective networking activities, she recognized an opportunity to marry work opportunities for young people and Forest Service employee mentoring.

Jane pulled together three participating agreements for Central Ozarks Private Industry Council, Ozark Action, and South Central Missouri Community Action Agency. She attended various meeting in different counties and worked with agency district staff and Mark Twain Ranger Districts.

As a result, Mark Twain Forest hosted eleven youth, providing supervision and assignments to enable participants to be team members while developing professional skills and work habits.

Jane Mobley was also nominated in 2009 for a Region 9 Honor Award for developing more sustainable forest operations linking service organization needs with Forest Service work opportunities.

The cost effectiveness of making WPCs is reduced by high moisture content in some wood species, which makes them more susceptible to mold and rot. Wood discoloration during processing and corrosion of metal fasteners and fixtures also reduce the desirability of using some species.

Alternative wood species are needed that will not only lower production costs but increase the overall durability of products made with WPCs. Tree species that grow in the eastern hardwood region could potentially provide the raw materials used in WPCs and open new markets for hardwood producers.

The Solution - To promote more widespread use of eastern hardwood species in wood-plastic composites, the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry's Wood Education and Resource Center funded a study at the University of Tennessee. Researchers tested the long-term performance and durability of a variety of hardwood species in WPCs and their effects on the composite's properties.

Ten wood species that are native to the Southeastern United States were combined with polypropylene to make WPCs. Researchers studied the effect of these wood species on water sorption and durability of the resulting WPCs.

Of the species tested, eastern red cedar and Osage orange had lower moisture content and were more durable than the other species. Specific species characteristics, such as interesting coloration or natural resistance to fungi, also influenced the properties of the composite during processing and increased the value of the final products. More durable WPCs were produced because of the inherent properties of the wood filler material. The findings are being shared to increase awareness among manufacturers of the potential for developing other new and improved products.

Resulting Benefits - Produces high-value products from waste wood material;promotes the use of new wood species in the manufacturing of WPCs; provides environmental benefits by using recycled materials; and develops potential new market opportunities for eastern hardwood producers.

Sharing Success - A publication, "Wood Plastic Composites - A Primer," was published and distributed. This publication is available online at: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1779.pdf. Additionally, a series of scientific journal articles were written describing the results; a presentation was made at the 4th International Conference on Advanced Engineered Wood and Hybrid Composites; and a poster was presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Forest Products Society.

Funding for this Vendor School was from ARRA funds received by the Ohio Division of Forestry. Dave Apsley, a forester with the Ohio State University Extension office, coordinated the vendor school project.

Wayne National Forest employees: Cheryl Coon, Rachel Orwan and Nick Galentin participated in the training. They demonstrated both mechanical and chemical methods and equipment used to treat non-native invasive species on the Athens Ranger District. Some of the equipment the Forest Service brought to the training included: ATV, backpack and hand-held herbicide sprayers, herbicide injectors, mechanical tools for "popping" out woody plant crowns, personal safety equipment, emergency spill kits, and daily log sheets for record keeping. This was partnered with Hocking College instructor, Dale Hatfield, who demonstrated the safe use of brushsaws and chainsaws. Participants were able to try out equipment and ask questions on appropriate uses of equipment. Lots of discussion occurred about different methods of treatments for different species, comparing pros and cons.

The success of the 4-day school was an increase local timber vendor's knowledge about invasive plant control, and increasing the number of licensed vendors to do invasive plant control in southern Ohio. A win-win situation for all involved!

In June of 2009, forests in Region 9 were selected to receive stimulus funding for updating forest signs. The primary reasons for the funding were motor vehicle use map (MVUM) enforcement and new guidance on reflectivity standards.

All forests enforcing MVUM's are required to have proper identification on all roads. To aid in this, high clearance roads will have vertical markings placed on carsonite drivable markers. All passenger car suitable roads will be marked horizontally and mounted on 4"x4" posts. This will be providing a much better service to aid in the public's future travels on our forest roads.

The Federal Highway Department recommended that signs on all forest roads be updated to the new class 3 reflective sheeting by the year 2015. Forest Leadership decided that updating the signs all at one time would better serve the public by keeping signage uniform across the Forest. The engineering grade sheeting being replaced on the forest is fifty year old technology that needs upgraded. The new Class 3 sheeting is two to three times brighter than the engineering grade and will last from three to five years longer without degrading in brightness. All signs that aid the public in direction, warning and regulation are being upgraded.

Instead of bringing in a contractor the Forest hired two local people to inventory and install the new signs and road markers. While waiting for the sign shipments these two employees have been painting, replacing signs and inventorying forest gates, as well as helping with the preparation of ARRA trails contracts.

One more way to revolutionize effectiveness and efficiency

But funding the culvert replacement became an obstacle for the UNF much like the concrete box's tall channel was during low flows for coho salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout. Nothing short of a bottomless arch or bridge for the highway was suggested to be built in its place.

For three years, design work on the project and environmental analysis proceeded without an identified source of funding for bridge construction. Then in early 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included funding for fisheries restoration projects. The Forest applied for ARRA funding and was awarded nearly $2 million for a new highway bridge over Williams Creek.

"If it weren't for that bill, we wouldn't have the money to build the thing," said Gordon Hanek, project engineer for the Umpqua.

The UNF worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation on the project, who had already designed a bridge to complement the adjacent North Umpqua Rivr, a designated Wild and Scenic River.

Williams Creek drains into the North Umpqua River about 37 miles east of Roseburg, Ore. Identified as a corridor to some of the best fish habitat on the Umpqua forest, Williams Creek provides more than four miles of spawning grounds and cover to adult fish and juveniles.

But in late summer, when many streams are trickling, Williams Creek flows through the 10-foot wide highway culvert with just enough spring water to wet the concrete and trickle over the culvert's edge to the stream's mouth below. Three species of adult fish attempt to access Williams Creek during this time period,and are confronted with a small but challenging manmade wall. However, juvenile fish are affected the most, especially juvenile steelhead.

Juvenile steelhead spend up to two years in streams and creeks before migrating to the ocean. When they pass downstream through the Williams Creek culvert during low flows, they get stranded from their prime habitat for weeks at a time.

According to Elizabeth Stacey, the Department of Transportation's southwest regional project leader, a highway culvert replacement a couple of years ago for a very similar creek that empties into the North Umpqua River about 12 miles downstream had immediate success for fish passage.

The Department of Transportation had also designed the new bridge on Highway 138 East for Honey Creek, which drains on Bureau of Land Management land. Within one rainy season Honey Creek went from being devoid of fish to a spawning ground for salmon and steelhead.

At a cost of approximately $1.9 million, the Williams Creek project will include boulder- and log-placement upstream for additional habitat enhancement for fish. Stacey said the Department of Transportation also has designed the bridge with colored concrete and weathered guard railings so it will blend into its surroundings and not be noticeable to highway travelers and river users.

Construction on the Williams Creek bridge could begin in spring 2010; the project will go to bid this January. Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2010.

Over the past several years the Forest Service has completed about a dozen major culverts on the Umpqua for fish passage improvements, Gordon Hanek said, "but this is the biggest one in terms of the bridge."

By Adam Pearson, freelance writer residing in Roseburg, Oregon

This served as the fifth consecutive year that Forest Service Employees have helped in this event. The trees are distributed through the County Assistance Program (FiveCAP) by community volunteers to families in Newaygo, Lake, Manistee, Mason, and Oceana Counties.

District employees cut and drag the trees from the fields before preparing them for loading onto the trucks and trailers of the community volunteers. Through the efforts of Forest Service volunteers and the generosity of Blue Earth Tree Farm, FiveCAP has distributed 1,300 free Christmas trees to participating families since 2004.

The event was held in Santa Claus, Indiana. The administrators of each coordinating agency kicked it off with an evening poster and presentation session. That session highlighted historic, geologic, soil, and timber resources in southern Indiana. Presenters included college professors who discussed geologic and soil resources, a Benedictine monk who discussed historic land management and carbon credit exchange, and a local forestry entrepreneur who discussed forest stewardship and local product processing.

Gary Struben, NRCS Soil Scientist and committee chairman stated, "The strong support of many cooperating partners and much hard work from committee members made the 29th Annual Central States Forest Soils Workshop a big success despite some tough weather conditions."

Two field days included stops on State, private, and Federal forests; a forest product stop; and a historic site visit. The field visits included presentations and discussion regarding silvicultural practices and excavated soil pits to represent the landscape diversity in southern Indiana. The forestry topics included:

* best management practice planning,

* implementation and monitoring on State forests,

* oak regeneration research plots,

* non-native invasive plant control,

* reforestation of native species on the Hoosier,

* implementation of Federal timber contracts,

* reforestation of private agricultural land, and

* reforestation of carbon credit exchange.

The soils topics overlapped many of the forestry stops but also incorporated soil chemical changes related to vegetation change and landscape-scale water table monitoring.

"Although the technical stops were beneficial" said planning committee member Zach Rigg, "the industry stop was the biggest eye opener." This stop was at Bear Hollow Wood Carvers of St. Croix, Indiana. Bear Hollow is a division of Etienne Logging, a buyer of standing timber, sawmill operator, and direct marketer of hardwood products. Joann Etienne discussed the impacts to the local timber industry over the past decade and concerns for the future. "Knowing and understanding these issues is critical for those of us planning and designing projects to meet restoration goals. We need to be aware of industry limitations and goals in order to provide opportunities that promote stewardship while maintaining a responsible workforce."

Each "habitat block" was subdivided into four, two acre plots. Three plots from each "habitat block" were treated using one of three types of mechanical equipment: bulldozer with a blade and root rake, shear cutter mounted to a skid steer, or masticator mounted to a skid steer. The fourth plot from each "habitat block" was left untreated.

In addition to the creation of butterfly habitat, the project also served to reduce the threat of wildfire by the creation of a fuels treatment strategy known as "Finney Bricks." The fuels treatment was developed by Mark Finney, Ph.D. at the USDA Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, MT. The Finney strategy consists of removing hazardous fuels from designated blocks across the landscape in a pattern that will never allow a wildfire to gain momentum. The treated blocks are positioned much like a checker board and unlike traditional, linear fuel breaks are much more effective.

"Finney Bricks" created in the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area have been credited with the successful control of the 15,000 Cavity Lake Fire in July of 2006. Superior National Forest officials estimate the fire would have doubled in size without the Finney Brick treatments.

The habitat/fuels project was planned by an interdisciplinary team and implemented by fire personnel. The successful completion of the project is a result of interdisciplinary cooperation and creative resource management. Such integrated approaches are essential to protect sensitive resources, such as habitat for the Karner blue butterfly, from catastrophic wildfires.

On-the-ground activity began in early December on the ARRA-funded Hazardous Fuels Treatment (WFM-0900-01HFR) project. The project will remove 187 acres of hazardous fuels in the Stockyard area of the Rapid River/Manistique Ranger District.

"We are excited about this project," said Wildlife & Botany Program Manager Kirk Piehler, "because it benefits the community, the economy, and an endangered species.

The project will reduce hazardous fuels in the wildland/urban interface in the Stockyard area of the Stonington Peninsula, where fire-dependent jack pine habitat lies adjacent to homes, schools and businesses. In addition the project will, over time, improve habitat conditions for many wildlife species including the endangered Kirtland's Warbler.

Vegetation cutting has reduced the thick jack pine to chips and stubble. Although now covered in snow, vegetation cutting can continue through the winter provided snow cover doesn't get too deep.

Located in proximity to the US 2 corridor, the project area borders the primary east-west route in the U.P., providing a high visibility opportunity to show how fire risk can be lessened while improving habitat for wildlife. After a wildfire in 1988, the project area responded by developing into a very dense stand of jack pine. Kirtland's warbler, a federal endangered species, used the area in the mid-1990's. Predictably, the species only used the site for a few years before moving on. Since then, dry weather and insects have caused the jack pine to die, creating dry, continuous fuels - a situation with high risk of wildland fire.

Presently, the project employees one contract machine operator who, not being from the local area, is utilizing local lodging and restaurants, and procuring supplies and materials locally. Work is scheduled for completion by September 2010.

A few of the activities were undertaken to further Forest Plan 2009 objectives, including the use of biological and chemical control measures to combat invasive species on a 2,600 acre lake; placement of in-stream fish cover structures to enhance fish habitat; and the restoration of popular fishing sites with youth while instilling a sense of land stewardship and responsibility.

Fish population monitoring was conducted throughout the Huron-Manistee NF. Monitoring was completed within sections of eight creeks: Cedar, Mena, Bigelow, Pine, Poplar, Fairchild, Peterson, Sickle and Silver Creek in addition to the Middle Branch of the Pere Marquette River, Pere Marquette River, and Little Manistee River. Fishing opportunities were enhanced by stocking sunfish or trout in eight inland lakes and two impoundments.

Bank stabilization and erosion control measures were completed on stretches of the Big Sable River. Aquatic habitat restoration efforts were implemented in Allen, Blood, Carlton, Cedar, Freeman, Little Henna, Bear, Gurney, Cool, Peterson, Poplar, Tank, Hinton, and Fairchild Creeks; Little Manistee, Big Sable, Manistee, and Pine Rivers.

Roughly 350 people participated in the Kids Fishing Day event at Nichols Lake, which is held every year in June. On-site for kids and adults to enjoy and learn from were interpretive displays for the Karner Blue Butter, a threatened species whose habitat lies within the Manistee NF; turtle and fish identification; educational materials about non-native invasive species; guided hikes; and-of course-fishing.

The continued success of our fisheries program would not be possible without the financial contributions and tireless volunteer hours of our partners that include Conservation Resource Alliance, Michigan Department of Natural Resources - Fisheries Division, Pere Marquette Watershed Council, Inc., USDI Fish and Wildlife Service, Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council, Muskegon River Watershed Assembly, Muskegon Conservation District, Lake County Road Commission, Nichols Lake Association, National Wild Turkey Federation - Michigan, National Wild Turkey Federation - White River Longbeards Chapter, National Wild Turkey Federation - Pere Marquette, Bitely Better Conservation Club, Pheasants Forever, Trout Unlimited - Pine River, Wellston Boosters Association, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Pine River Association, Huron-Pines Resource Conservation and Development Council, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Ferris State University, Lake Mitchell Improvement Board, and Consumers Energy.

Since the beginning of this event, there has been an emphasis to bring home made items for the auction such as home grown canned items, like jams, jellies, fruits, vegetables, honey, and maple syrup. Hand made items included wood working, sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilting, candies, pies, and cookies. Additionally, people were encouraged to donate locally brewed and produced items from local orchards, wineries, and breweries. All of these items capture the talent and creativity of our District employees, and encourage sustainability of the local area. Proceeds of all of these wonderful products benefit the local community.

The District has annually collected between $150 - $400 for needs such as helping a family whose house burned down before Christmas, donating to the local food bank, and giving to The BRICK (helping the Ashland and Bayfield County Residents for assistance with basic needs including food, housing, winter clothing, utilities or medical expenses).

This year a new recipient came forth from the District's December Safety Meeting. The Sunshine Service Dogs, Inc. Search and Rescue K-9 Unit, came from Luck, Wisconsin to provide a demonstration of two trained dogs performing a search and rescue. The organization's mission is to assist wherever a need exists, including events involving national safety such as the tragedy of 9/11. They are a non-profit organization and readily accept tax-deductible donations to be able to keep this service active. For more information about this group, visit thier website at: http://www.sunshinekennelsk9training.com/

2009's event brought in a new total. According to Teresa Maday, "I just received the last check for the silent auction items. I just totaled everything up and the amount we are about to ship off to the Sunshine Service Dogs is $631. This is a record for our district funding raising efforts! Some folks gave extra towards this organization when they either mailed in their own checks or gave them to Karen and me. Thank you all for your generous bids and donations! These volunteers and dogs will be very grateful. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!"

This idea has now expanded to a number of employee's spouses' Holiday parties! For more information about setting up a silent auction, contact any of the above mentioned Washburn Ranger District Social Club members.

Contractors and Nevada Division of Forestry Conservation Camp hand crews removed pinyon and juniper trees that have been encroaching on Highway 93 and State Route 319 through the Cedars, Caliente Summit and Panaca, Nevada areas.

The project work was implemented first on the Cedars section with hand crews cutting and chipping the pinyon and juniper trees on nearly 440 acres.

Contractors and camp crews cut, chipped and hauled the materials from this project. A total of 16 new and three retained part time jobs were created by the private contracting companies in the ROW project.

Material chipped (estimating 2700 yards, 356 green tons) was hauled from the project area to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center's cogeneration facility in Carson City, Nevada as part of a wood-to-energy aspect in the project. The Correctional Center uses the cogeneration facility to generate energy to heat and cool the facility. The chips satisfied eight full days of plant operations and saved the prison $20,000 in electricity and natural gas costs. More than 15 tons of pinyon/ juniper chips were also donated to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) for BTU value studies; BTU is a measurement term used to describe energy content of fuels.

"There's quite a few partners involved in this project," Pete Anderson, Nevada State Forester said. "Nevada Department of Transportation, Nevada State Parks, Lincoln County, United States Forest Service, of course, is a foundational partner in the effort, and, of course, a lot of the public and private citizens in each of the communities."

Another 1,465 yards of cut material was chipped on site to add nutrients to the soil and control erosion. A donation of 85 cords of wood was given to local senior citizens who are either financially unable to purchase firewood or are physically unable to cut and haul it themselves.

Another 250 acres of pinyon/juniper were cut and chipped on the Caliente Summit for nutrient replenishing and erosion and weed control.

The final portion of the ROW project was the Panaca summit area. Due to a high density of historic and prehistoric sites in this area, the Nevada Division of Forestry is working with the State Historic Preservation Office to flag and avoid all areas that may be culturally sensitive. This portion is expected to see work begin in spring 2010.

The Nevada Division of Forestry anticipated treatment of 1,680 acres and creation of 24 jobs. Since the start of the Lincoln County project 37 positions have been funded to complete this project.

Work that took place included shade tree development, erosion control, fuel reduction, and the continuation of an herbicide spraying program. The projects included campground tree plantings, re-seeding of acquired property, and reducing hazardous fuels. Spraying the invasive weeds and removing overgrown brush and trees will create a healthy ecosystem for native plants while reducing the risk of wildfire.

Nevada Division of Forestry Conservation Camp hand crews, State Parks personnel and private contractors removed 145 diseased, dead and overgrown Russian Olive trees from a campground area within the park. Over 55 acres were replanted with Ponderosa Pine, Austrian Pine, and Rocky Mountain Juniper seedlings. The Nevada Division of Forestry's State Tree Nursery in Las Vegas is currently planting 150 deciduous seedlings and growing shrubs and plants that will be planted in the spring and fall of 2010 in the two State Parks.

A portion of work remains that includes seeding of native species on a newly traded property anticipated for the fall of 2010. The seeding will aid in erosion control and establish a native vegetative ground cover. A controlled burn planned for this winter 2009/2010, will be conducted on the new property prior to seeding.

The work in the two State Parks is part of a larger project called the Lincoln County Multi-Disciplinary Project funded through ARRA at $1,314,100. The purpose of the project is to provide jobs in Lincoln County, Nevada, while reducing hazardous fuel loads, increasing forest health, creating more natural ecosystems, and creating biomass for utilization as green energy. The U.S. Forest Service worked with Nevada State agencies to negotiate proposals for these projects.

The Nevada Division of Forestry anticipated treatment of 1,680 acres and creation of 24 jobs. Since the start of the Lincoln County project 37 positions have been funded to complete this project.

"We are combining forest health aspects and fuels reduction (in this project)," Chris Faehling, Nevada Division of Forestry Fire Protection Officer, said. "One of the main goals of this project is to protect endemic Ponderosa Pine stands." (Endemic species are species native to a particular area.)

In an effort to protect the Ponderosa Pine tree, 350 acres of infected juniper trees have been removed. The work was completed by contractor hand crews and Nevada Division of Forestry Conservation Camp hand crews, creating around 18 jobs on this portion of the project. Once the junipers were cut, three cords of firewood were donated to local senior citizens and the remainder was chipped on site as groundcover for nutrient cycling and to prevent erosion and weed growth.

Camp crews removed and applied herbicide to a total of 58 acres of Tamarisk. Tamarisk, also known as Salt Cedar, is a fast spreading shrub that typically grows along waterways. Tamarisk is a serious threat to native plants and is causing significant problems with water resources in Nevada.

Crews also cut and sprayed over ten acres of an invasive plant called Tree of Heaven, also known as Chinese Sumac.

"Basically we are making a healthier ecosystem by treating this area, by removing competition and treating for disease," Faehling said.

The work at Beaver Dam State Park is part of a larger project called the Lincoln County Multi-Disciplinary Project funded through ARRA at $1,314,100. The purpose of the project was to provide jobs in Lincoln County, Nevada, while reducing hazardous fuel loads, increasing forest health, creating more natural ecosystems, and creating biomass for utilization as green energy. The U.S. Forest Service worked with Nevada State agencies to negotiate proposals for these projects.

The Nevada Division of Forestry anticipated treatment of 1,680 acres and creation of 24 jobs. Since the start of the Lincoln County project 37 positions have been funded to complete this project.

The Chippewa National Forest Supervisor's Office is housed in a beautiful historic log building….but everyone's workspace doesn't comfortably fit into its open design. Satellite office buildings provide space, but kept our newest employees from easy interaction with their coworkers. Discussions and meetings also raised several other ongoing concerns from communications and recognition to efficiencies and processes. One solution was obvious: We must make changes together. And a Work Environment team took on the leadership role.

The WE Team is really about figuring out solutions to issues and facilitating change. The six appointed employees were positive and energized with the Forest Supervisor's support. They also recognized little would happen without everyone's contributions. The most important of all the issues to the workforce? Getting Help on IT/HR/Travel, exhibiting fairness, ensuring healthy people and healthy buildings, interactions with Leadership, and building better relationships.

Over the next four months, the WE team facilitated with a lot of people. But the results make a difference. The CIO Customer Service Representative came for personal visits to all Forest units. An AVUE workshop is being planned. Important information is now sent to everyone, every time. Workplace and fleet etiquette has been identified and shared clearly. A Wellness Room was created. Buildings now have portable air exchangers, and employees know where to borrow headphones and other tools to enhance their workday without interrupting others'. New employees met "old" ones at a social, and caught up fast about the unwritten culture as well as the established Forest Service culture at a new orientation session. We even got a good laugh over the admissions of who was a Vikings fan, who was a Packers fan, and who had the neutral office. And regularly, there are potlucks, newly established support groups, and brown bag lunch presentations on current topics.

But maybe the most important thing we recognized was that the ideas didn't have to be unusual. There is value in recognizing the effort many individuals take to make the ideas happen. And if we all contribute transparently and courteously to our work environment, WE can make the difference.

And really, who wouldn't want to work on the Chippewa ?

The Gunflint Trail bisects the eastern half of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the Superior National Forest. The Trail serves 22 resorts, canoe outfitters, campgrounds, several bed and breakfasts, and many private residents who make this area their home. The Gunflint Trail was first designated as a State Scenic Byway in May, 1999. Two months later, a large windstorm heavily impacted the area.

The "blowdown" windstorm of 1999 heavily impacted the Forest and scenery along the Trail. The blowdown was followed by the 1,300-acre Alpine Lake Fire in 2005 and the 32,000-acre Cavity Lake Fire in 2006. In 2007 the 75,000-acre Ham Lake Fire destroyed more than 100 buildings along the trail, including homes and businesses.

Over the past 10 years, outfitters, resorts, and homeowners have partnered with the Forest Service to re-build, re-forest, and make the area more attractive to visitors and recreationists. Several cooperative projects utilized grant monies, challenge cost-share agreements, and creative collaboration to improve, interpret, and promote resources and history of the area along the Trail.

The following list highlights efforts spearheaded by local groups and businesses in partnership with the Forest Service:

* Chik Wauk Lodge, a former resort, is being renovated into a museum to interpret the natural and human history of the area. The project is under a special use permit. A Passport in Time project and funding from a Scenic Byways grant helped accomplish this project.

* Gunflint Green-up is an annual cooperative campaign to reforest burned and blowdown areas with volunteer assistance. Efforts have been co-funded by a Scenic Byways grant.

* Becoming a Boundary Waters Family is an educational outreach program focused on making the BWCAW experience more accessible and welcoming to families. The project was accomplished through a cost share agreement between the Gunflint Trail Association and the Forest Service.

* A Corridor Vegetation Management Plan for forest stands along the Trail will help plan for reforestation and other activities. The Plan received co-funding through a Scenic Byways grant.

* The Gunflint Trail Corridor Management Plan will be updated to enhance and protect the byway's intrinsic qualities and character. The update will be accomplished through a cost-share agreement between the Forest Service and Gunflint Trail Association.

* Administration of the Corridor Management Plan is being funded through a cost-share agreement with Forest Service.

The innovation and hard work of businesses and individuals along the Gunflint Trail and District Ranger Dennis Neitzke and his staff benefit economic health of the community along the Gunflint Trail, the natural resources of the Superior National Forest, and enhance the experience of visitors to the area. The natural and historical importance of the area and value of this partnership in protecting and enhancing corridor resources were affirmed in October 2009 when the Gunflint Trail was designated as a National Scenic Byway.

For more information, contact Duane Lula, Recreation and Wilderness Program Manager, Superior National Forest.

"This project couldn't have been possible without the ARRA funds," said McCoy-Brown. "It was very difficult for people in wheelchairs to move around the campground on the gravel roads. Paving the parking lot, roads and walking paths will make Shoreline Campground safer and more enjoyable for forest visitors."

Valley Paving and Asphalt out of Cottonwood, Idaho was awarded the contract, and 16 of its employees completed the project in the fall of 2009.

"We were glad to be a part of this project and accomplish work that might not have gotten done," said Tom Reiner, Vice-President of Valley Paving and Asphalt. "The construction market was getting pretty tight and this was one more project that put our employees to work."

Reiner says the majority of the work is complete, except for some road striping that will be completed early 2010.

Resource specialists developed an acquisition strategy with the Ohio River Basin (ORB) Procurement Cluster at the beginning of FY09. The ORB determined current contracts could be combined and IDIQ contracting would be the best fit for the ecosystem projects. Workshops were held at multiple locations, where Mark Corse, ORB contracting officer, provided instruction to potential contractors on requirements for Federal contracting. In the end two, best value motivated, contracts were put on the open market and the proposals flooded in.

The first contracts were awarded on June 2, and then one of more than 50 task orders from FY09 was issued on June 4. The ecosystems staffing was down by nearly half for most of the project implementation season. Traditionally, partners such as the Indiana Department of Natural Resources-Forest Wildlife Project have been a key player in accomplishing watershed, wildlife, and vegetation resource targets, but were unable to participate at their normal levels with the Hoosier in FY09.

The best value motivation has been very successful. Contractors are providing detailed proposals and considering how their activities may integrate into other resources to increase value with their services. As task orders were issued, contractors also improved quality assurance which has relieved the Government from many risks and reduced inspection and administrative time. Contractors are recognizing elements of importance to the Forest Service, such as safety, and have gone as far as hiring consultants to train and certify sawyers for felling on wildlife projects.

"Contractors are really taking ownership in projects when awarded task orders based on best value rather than low price. Most have shown an improved multiple resource awareness and integration, which is reflected in their proposals and on the ground," stated Steve Harriss when asked about the Hoosier IDIQ contracts.

Having flexibility and many tools available in the contracts allowed Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives (COTR) the ability to cooperate with other resources to assist in integrated target accomplishments. Poor weather conditions prevented many planned prescribed burns for fuel reduction from occurring on the Hoosier this year, but fuels personnel were able to work with district biologist Steve Harriss and botanist Kirk Larson to fund and design projects that provided NNIS control and wildlife benefits through fuels reduction. The ecosystems staff also used this contract to integrate accomplishments with trail and road improvement while performing soil and water resource improvement projects.

"A shared workload with competitive contractors has improved our finished product," affirmed Zach Rigg COTR for Wildlife and Watershed IDIQ.

Several local contractors--V-Mountain Construction (Lakeside); Highland Trucking and Excavation (Springerville); and Sug Rogers Construction (Nutrioso)--were hired with the ARRA funds to completely revamp the roads system within the campground. Existing asphalt roads were riddled with cracks and pot-holes, so they were reconfigured for accessibility and replaced with a stabilized gravel surface.

In addition, another local contractor, Conco Concrete Specialists (Show Low), was hired to replace the existing 30-year-old flush toilet restrooms with new vault toilet models that meet accessibility requirements. Both of these improvements--the gravel roads system and vault toilets--will help reduce future maintenance costs.

The campground also earned $800,000 in a second round of ARRA funding for other much needed improvements, including constructing a new RV dump station; replacing the existing walkways, picnic tables, fire rings, and shower facility with ones that meet accessibility requirements; reconstructing the existing 40-year-old water system that will provide water to the shower facility and potable water outlets; and connecting the wastewater system for the RV dump station and shower facility to the local sanitary district.

In particular, the improvements to the RV dump station and shower facility will benefit many people as these services are available for a fee to all forest visitors and not just those staying in the campground. Work on these improvements is scheduled to begin this spring.

Photo by Nancy Garwood

Nancy Garwood, research professor at Southern Illinois University, identified several Amur corktree plants, Phellodendron amurense, on her property. Several were already mature and bearing fruit in the fall of 2008.

At a Southern Illinois Weed Watch training session in March of 2009, Nancy mentioned finding these trees to Chris Evans, River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area Coordinator. This species, while being listed as an invasive in other parts of the United States, had not previously been reported as present in southern Illinois. In early November 2009, Nancy updated Chris on new specimens she had found.

On November 5th, 2009, a site visit was made to check the cork trees. The following week, Nancy reported that she located more of these non-native trees on neighboring land, as well as several large specimens and many seedlings on the Shawnee National Forest. Chris and Nancy contacted the Forest to schedule a site visit to look at the trees.

In mid November, a site visit was made by Chris, Nancy and several Forest employees. Nancy had previously flagged and GPS'ed the cork trees on her property and those within the Forest. They decided to remove the cork trees by cutting them with a chainsaw or ax, and/or pulling the saplings and seedlings. The trees were removed at the beginning of December, 2009, by Shawnee National Forest employees. The stumps of the cork trees will be monitored for re-sprouts and the area will be monitored to remove seedlings or saplings.

Amur corktree is a deciduous tree named for its thick, corky bark that has a distinctive bright yellow layer of inner bark. It does especially well in forests and wooded areas that have been exposed to human disturbance, where it forms dense stands and crowds out native species, including oaks and hickories. The Amur corktree has been reported as invasive in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts (www.nps.gov/plants).

The collaborative effort between the Shawnee National Forest and the River-to-River Cooperative Weed Management Area, developed over the past couple of years, has been highly beneficial not only to the Forest but to all of southern Illinois in protecting ecosystems across boundaries.

With ARRA funds, LBL was able to employ several local logging companies, through a stewardship partnership agreement with the National Wild Turkey Federation, to clear roads and remove downed trees. Also, students from the Golconda Illinois Job Corps Urban Forestry program assisted with cleanup from the ice storm. Without this funding, it was unlikely facilities would have been operational for the tourism season, causing more hardship to local communities already economically distressed and hit hard by recent manufacturing plant and retail store closings.

After the initial funding was received for the storm damage, a few more projects were also approved. Altogether, LBL has received a total of $6.5 million in ARRA funding for capital improvement and maintenance, two biomass plants for local communities, two campground wastewater treatment plants, trail bridge replacements, and trail reconstruction work. Contractors have already completed work and will continue to work on debris removal, facility repairs, road clearing, and future construction projects providing local economic benefits. So far, 63 jobs have been created ranging from contracted labor to road inspectors.

"The LBL projects selected for funding will keep key public recreation facilities safe and enjoyable, while providing jobs in our local economy," commented Bill Lisowsky, LBL Area Supervisor.

This week he brought in the results of his latest school efforts. Ritter works with Burris Elementary math and science teachers in Mitchell, Indiana on how to take these skills out of the classroom into practical situations. He recently took 5th grade classes out to a white pine plantation and taught them how to do a pine health survey. The kids divided into teams, each with an adult supervisor, and each team did several plots to assess the health of the pine stand.

Ritter brought the results of that survey in to present to Dale Weigel, who heads up the Hoosier's monitoring program. Each plot was GPS'ed with the points carefully recorded and each tree within a 1/20th acre plot itemized. In the kid's handwriting they recorded the diameter and height of each tree and which trees were dead or unhealthy.

"I told the students I would be giving the results of the work they did to the Forest Service," Ritter explained, "so it was important for them to do a good job." He said the kids thought it was a very fun project and the fact that it would be used by the Forest Service made it extra cool. "I overheard several of them reminding each other that it was important to do a good job."

Ritter guesses the white pine were about 40 years old and said they were in fairly good condition although Weigel, scanning the sheet noted a few plots where most of the trees appeared to be dead. Ritter said he emphasized to the students how important it was to look at the crowns of the tree and really check if they were healthy or not so it should be pretty good information. Weigel was intrigued and said he might go out and check some of the information but thought the project was an excellent way to involve students and have them use their math skills.

"I try to involve the next generation of stakeholders in what the Hoosier National Forest is and teach them what it is made up of, and actually get out and work and be a part of the Forest," said Ritter. Though this is the first time he's done an assessment of pine health, Ritter takes classes from Burris out regularly to the Forest. He also does water quality measurements and monitors other aspects of the Forest. He said one of the most popular trips has been doing monitoring at Wesley Chapel Gulf. They do a sieve analysis, water quality testing, and study the geology, then go over to the Orangeville Rise and do comparative studies of how the water changes between the two sites.

Ritter offered if the Forest is interested, he can share more monitoring results his students generate in the future. They usually go to the same sites so the information should be helpful over time.

Each year the Remote Sensing Steering Committee seeks proposals for projects that the Remote Sensing Application Center (RSAC) can work on. Dale suggested that digital images taken of hibernating Indiana bats along with remote sensing software be used to count the hibernating bats. Dale's proposal was one of four development projects selected by the Remote Sensing Steering Committee to be worked on in FY2009. The digital images are acquired by USDI Fish and Wildlife Service personnel when completing biennial bat surveys. The usual method of estimating bat populations has been to measure the area in square feet the bats are occupying and then multiply this value by 300 bats per square foot. This method provides an estimate that can vary due to the difficulty of obtaining accurate square foot measurements and the variation in bat density from the estimated 300 per square foot.

Randy Hamilton and other RSAC staff settled on using Visual Learning Systems Feature analyst, an extension for ArcGIS, to recognize and distinguish individual photographed bats. The process resulted in counts that were within 1 to 9 percent of the manually interpreted counts. The average processing time was less than four minutes per photo.

Using Feature Analyst to derive counts of photographed bats is most efficient at extracting bats in large clusters. Manual counting will likely be the most cost-effective option for photos with few bats. The entire report can be obtained at http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/documents/pdfs/0123-RPT1.pdf.

Lake Ottawa is a 32 site campground with an associated day use area situated within the Iron Ranger District of the Forest. It is approximately five miles outside of the Town of Iron River. It is one of the more popular camping spots in the area. It is primary used by residents of the town of Iron River.

It is one of our Forest's more developed recreation areas. There is a pressurized water system and self contained sewage facility on site.

Like a lot of our recreation facilities, it has been a number of years since it has received a good dose of tender loving care. As a result differed maintenance has become an issue. One maintenance item that continued to plague operation of the facility was the water system.

Both Recreation and Engineering staff have long recognized the problem and designed a repair project, in preparation of a funding opportunity. It was placed on a long list of regional priorities awaiting an eventual move to the top of the list. It was what is known as a shelf project, having all the primary work completed and awaiting designated dollars.

There are a number of other significant differed maintenance issues, boat landing, day use facility repair and a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) pavilion, associated with this particular recreation area. All of these issues had repair plans associated with them, but no funding.

It has been said that success is found at the intersection of preparation and opportunity. Enter the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). As money became available through ARRA, the Forest Service was asked to provide some infrastructure projects that were ready for implementation, but had no funding. The Ottawa National Forest, having a number of shelf ready projects available, was able to take advantage of this opportunity and submit a number of projects. As a result, the Forest is now in the process of implementing improvements and that will address a number of problem areas on the Forest as mentioned above.

Stay tuned for more situation reports in regard to ARRA funded projects here on the Forest!

The Forestry Merit Badge was offered and taught by Poplar Bluff Ranger District employees Sueanne Cmehil-Warn, forester; Marge VanPraag, forest landscape architect, and Kody Cox, wildland firefighter.

Scouts were required to create a field notebook, make a collection and identify species.

Although forestry was the main subject, participants learned about fire prevention and other natural resource subjects. Firefighter Cox brought the wildland fire engine and demonstrated some of the equipment used to fight forest fires. Participants were also provided information on the good and bad effects of fire, including when it is absent from forest ecosystems.

Scouts learned what contributions forests make, and forest management practices make to our life. In addition, questions were answered regarding air pollution, overgrazing, deer or other wildlife overpopulations, timber harvest, and urbanization.

"Participants felt the interaction and hands-on demonstrations made the class both fun and interesting," said VanPraag. "Several Scouts expressed a strong interest in pursuing a future career in natural resources."

It became a blooming success, with monarchs laying eggs on host plants within a week of planting.

During the summer and early fall of 2009, the garden was host to a succession of monarch butterflies and became a learning laboratory. At least ten monarchs hatched at the district office. Some of these were naturally occurring, where they pupated on the rock wall of the district office or flower garden. A few caterpillars were brought inside to a makeshift holding area where they were fed until they pupated. These caterpillars were "mobile" and served as an educational tool for school classrooms and visitors.

In 2009 Megan expanded the garden to an area approximately 550 square feet, planted with 29 additional native wildflower, grass, vine, and shrub species. Golden Alexander, a host for the black swallowtail butterfly, was planted in the new garden. It is her hope that next year there will be an additional butterfly species taking up residence in the native garden.

Megan gave a presentation to the Poplar Bluff Community Betterment Council on December 4, 2009. The topic was “Learning how to plant a Pollinator Garden with Natives" and interest was so high that the questions continued long after the time the meeting was scheduled to end.

The volunteer effort was spearheaded by Mark Twain employee KC Olsen, a veteran Habitat volunteer who has worked on the last four Habitat houses constructed in Poplar Bluff.

"It's a great way to give back to your community," said Olsen.

The Forest Service volunteer effort was dedicated to the memory of Olsen's son, Scott, who was killed in a rock climbing accident in Arizona this past spring. Scott was also a Habitat volunteer, having worked alongside his Dad on other Habitat home projects in Poplar Bluff.

Forest Service employees who participated in the Habitat project included Olsen, District Rangers Tim Bond (Eleven Point) and Doug Oliver (Poplar Bluff), Bill Paxton, his wife Becky and son Sloan, Scot Robinson, Jeremy Reynolds, Phillip Taggart and his wife Michelle, Scott Bashaw, Cliff Smith, Tom Saylor and Will McCubbery.

Inspired by the book "Walk When the Moon is Full "by Frances Hammerstrom, who took children on nature walks during monthly full moons, the monthly programs helps connect citizens to their past and to USDA Forest Service.

Presentations include representatives from Missouri's Department of Conservation, University of Missouri Extension, Northern Research Station and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.

One of the programs focuses on Jean Wallace, who lived in southwest Missouri in the area now known as Roaring River State Park. She homestead 160 acres, and lived there alone from 1892 until her death in 1940.

Miss Wallace was known as a woman with "second sight," someone who could see into anyone's past or future. During her time in the Missouri Ozarks, thousands of visitors made the trip to her door, asking mainly about personal matters and lost items. Miss Wallace never charged for her predictions.

Tracie Snodgrass portrayed Jean Wallace on September 4, 2009 to 45 people at Big Bay Campground. Dressed in mountain maid attire she crept, walking stick in hand, to her rocking chair, and shared a number of stories about predictions Wallace made that came true.When the performance was over, she shuffled off slowly into the woods.

"These programs are very popular and give us a chance to honor local history and talk to our neighbors about what Mark Twain National Forest is doing," said Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs Ranger Jenny Farenbaugh.

In this project we transformed a crabgrass turf area into a native plant garden. It is low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing. It also provides educational opportunities, pollinator and other wildlife food and habitat, a source of native seeds for future restoration and reduces the need for mowing on an unsafe slope.

The site of the native plant garden is on a moderate slope adjacent to the parking lot at the Johnson Creek Recreation Area Boat Ramp. The site is approximately 0.5 acres on a south facing slope and is highly visible to anyone using these facilities.

Six different species of native grasses and approximately twenty species of native flowers were seeded. Interpretive signs will be installed at the site once the grasses and wildflowers begin to mature and flower. The seed source for this restoration project was a local company. It is anticipated that this native garden will be able to provide the Forest with a native seed source for future restoration projects.

Some of the many benefits of this project include opportunities to support our efforts in Courageous Conservation and More Kids in the Woods, increase our seed source of native plants and to work towards a greener organization. Projects such as planting native seed will help the Forest walk the talk of sustainability into the future.

Tires, old appliances, shingles, car batteries, couches, mattresses and household refuse were some of the many items removed.

Approximately 33 tons of material was removed, along with more than 200 passenger and large truck tires.

This cooperative cleanup effort focused on cleaning up scattered illegal dump sites within the Pine Ridge Project area, south of Greenville and east of Lake Wappapello.

In addition to removing trash, some of the roads have been decommissioned; others signed to discourage illegal dumping. The trash collected was hauled off to an approved nearby landfill. The tires were hauled separately to an approved recycler in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Several of the illegal dump sites had garbage that had been there a long time; many had recent garbage.

"There is a need to increase community awareness to properly dispose of their garbage," said Poplar Bluff Ranger Doug Oliver. "We believe most people want to do the right thing by disposing of their garbage in the proper manner. We hope to decrease illegal dumping by reaching out and educating the public about the effects."

Oliver said the district plans to continue cleaning up illegal dump sites within National Forest boundaries.

"Working together, the Corps of Engineers, Mingo Job Corps, Wayne and other counties, and the National Forest will continue to make the area a cleaner and healthier place to live and visit," Oliver said.

One old road fragment recently recognized and signed by the National Park Service as an original Trail of Tears segment had become littered with dead and downed trees. In order to open up this trail to the public and offer a safe hiking experience, the trail required some clearing. Enter the Shawnee Volunteer Corps! Under the auspices of the a new partnership, WSIU and a group of volunteers met one Saturday morning in October and began the slow back-breaking process of cutting logs that had fallen across the trail and picking up branches and other tree litter from the trail tread. Forest Service employees, Master Trail Stewards, history enthusiasts, and plain ol' volunteers worked together to get about one mile of trail cleared of all woody debris. The workday ended with a hot lunch supplied by WSIU. In addition, local land owner, Joe Crab, treated the volunteers to a little history lesson on the Trail of Tears.

In all 19 volunteers, and 4 Forest Service employees, as well as 2 WSIU employees contributed to the success of the day - but it was all about remembering the Trail of Tears. Days such as this workday are wonderful ways to connect the modern-day citizens to the land once used for what became a significant historical event.

Mike is being honored December 11, 2009 in Milwaukee as a Region 9 Honor Award winner for how he integrates national data for local projects, revolutionizing the agency's efficiency and effectiveness.

Mike is Mark Twain National Forest's Resource Information Manager who in 2009, championed an extremely efficient and effective monitoring tool. It all began in FY 2007 and 2008, when Mike worked with the National Inventory and Monitoring Application Center to develop methodology to use intensified Forest Inventory and Analysis data to answer specific monitoring questions. These questions are designed to measure how well our management activities achieve forest plan objectives.

The Design Tool for Inventory and Monitoring is used to design forest plan level monitoring questions.

"Mike's work is so important that in 2009, Mike performed a technical role with the National Inventory and Monitoring Application Center," said Mark Twain Forest Supervisor Dave Whittekiend. "In this role, he visits other National Forests to help them use Design Tool for Inventory and Monitoring. "

During 2009, Mike was also instrumental in Region 8 and Region 9 using a mid-scale vegetation inventory methodology he helped develop in 2007.

The methodology is based on randomly placed inventory plots on a 1 plot per 100-acre grid. The plot establishment is accomplished in a fraction of the time of traditional stand examination plots, which in turn allows foresters to do other high priority work.

Since fewer plots are taken, personnel and contract costs are significantly reduced. The data resulting from the new methodology is aggregated at the project level and is statistically valid. The information allows analysts to determine environmental effects of potential treatments at a considerable savings of time and money. Also, fuels data, not normally collected in traditional vegetation inventory, is being collected and allows managers to plan hazardous fuels needs. The plots are permanent and can be revisited to collect post treatment information valuable for monitoring. The methodology is a remarkable example of extreme efficiency due to the multiple activities it supports.

Mike also worked with the Missouri Resources Assessment Partnership and Remote Sensing Application Center to use existing satellite imagery to provide detailed vegetation classification at a fraction of the cost of field reconnaissance.

Using this methodology of image classification, he was able to work with U.S. Geologic Survey and Missouri Department of Conservation to quickly and accurately map the extent of wind damage to tens of thousands of acres of forest land in southern Missouri following May 8, 2009's significant wind event.

His efforts saved uncounted thousands of dollars of time that would have been needed for aerial, and on the ground detection, and the many weeks of work needed to complete the task of assessing damage in traditional ways. Ongoing refinement of this methodology may lead to further revolutionizing forest inventory activities.

"Mike Schanta is a rare individual whose 32 years of work in resource information management is resulting in far more than incremental change," Whittekiend said. "His efforts in 2009 are having lasting and far reaching effects on the forest, region, and agency."

The idea turned into a vision of a site that would meet the needs of both Byway visitors and area residents, providing natural resource education, interpretation, and customer service. Four years later, on a beautiful September day, the Edge Of The Wilderness Discovery Center celebrated its Grand Opening to the applause of an appreciative community, four key partnership groups, Congressman Jim Oberstar, and a group of kids who couldn't wait to explore.

September 3, 2009 marked the culmination of four years of partnership work, grant writing and agreements between the Forest Service and Itasca County, Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board, Highway 38 Leadership Board and the Edge of the Wilderness Lodging Association. Their worked transformed an outdated ranger station into a welcoming information and education center.

Visitors were greeted by interpretive displays that reflected blues of the area's clear deep lakes and the dark greens of the boreal forest. "Welcome to the Edge of the Wilderness" was echoed in the birch and pine tree panels and a warm greeting from Discovery Center staff.

The day's events started with recognition of partners and Forest Service employees who worked together to complete agreements, financial planning, building renovations and interpretive displays, Visitors from the community began to gather soon after, and listened to speeches given by Joel Karels (Northern Itasca Joint Powers Board) Tarry Edington ( Highway 38 Leadership Board) , Catherine McLynn (Itasca County ) and Sharon Miller (Edge of the Wilderness Lodging Association).

Forest Supervisor Rob Harper applauded the partnership efforts and the work to renovate the Ranger Station into this community destination point along the Edge of the Wilderness. He then introduced Congressman Oberstar, who was key in guiding the partnership to Federal funding sources tied to National Scenic Byways. Oberstar reminded us all that it really began with a project by kids, who photographed and documented historic and scenic sites along the highway for a community project. That project brought his attention to Highway 38 and the opportunities here for the Scenic Highway.

After a lunch in the September sunshine, we gathered the next generation of kids and hiked around the grounds, documenting the diverse wildlife here on the Edge. The group uncovered 30 species of insects, 11 birds, 5 mammals, 6 fish, 3 amphibians, 10 trees, and 23 plants, all within ¼ mile of the new Discovery Center. And that was in just one hour. Imagine the opportunities for the future from this wonderful site on the Edge of the Wilderness!

September 26, 2009, National Publics Lands Day, was a success on the Shawnee National Forest this year. The Hidden Springs Ranger District hosted a volunteer workday at the Hitching Post Trailhead, also known as Eagle Creek Trailhead, near Garden of the Gods Wilderness located in Pope County, Illinois; and the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District hosted nineteen local and regional volunteers in Clear Spring Wilderness with a project to complete the final creek crossing improvements on Hutchins Creek.

The Hidden Springs project included installing a three rail, equestrian hitching post for users to tie up their animals. In addition to installing the hitching post, volunteers picked up garbage, cut back weeds and put a picnic table on the site.

Eight volunteers attended the event, and contributed some hard work digging holes and assembling the large cedar hitching post. The group of volunteers called the Eagle Mountain Farm and Gang have taken it upon themselves to adopt this trailhead and keep the area clean and preserved for users to enjoy.

The site previously had a hitching post, but it had been removed to expand the parking area for more visitors to safely enjoy the area. Since the expansion of the area, the Forest Service has put down gravel on the site and installed a three-panel interpretive sign, making it a useful resource for visitors to the area.

The Mississippi Bluffs project was in Hutchins Creek which was listed as a candidate for Wild and Scenic River status in 1993. The creek meanders between Bald Knob and Clear Springs Wilderness Areas. Flash flood events over the past few years have taken soil from the existing stream crossing and left behind steep, highly eroded, and in some locations unsafe access to the stream.

Volunteers improved the stream crossing by constructing steps using natural materials. They stayed within the original footprint of the existing crossing. These steps help stabilize the area and reduce the damage caused by the rush of rapid-flowing flood-water. Stabilization of this crossing will continue to protect the water quality and visual characteristics that make Hutchins Creek and Bald Knob and Clear Springs Wilderness Areas unique.

During economically troubled times, Americans have historically found fulfillment, progress and patriotic pride in giving back to their communities by volunteering. On September 26, 2009, over 130,000 volunteers came together at more than 2,000 sites in all 50 states to volunteer their time towards improving public lands their communities enjoy every day.

This year's National Public Lands Day highlighted the correlation between our public lands and water resources in a way that further connects citizens to the land.

The majority of the volunteer work was in recreation, including clearing and maintaining more than 200 miles of system trails to standard, stabilizing trails, building accessible trails and clearing storm damage from trails and main corridors. Volunteers also helped with the restoration of Sinking Creek Guard Station, reconstructed a garage and roof at Poplar Bluff Ranger District, and hosted visitors at forest campgrounds. A total of 502 volunteers completed 10.42 person yrs of work in recreation valued at $381,000.

Another 20 volunteers completed 4.16 person yrs of work valued at $129,000 as receptionists, maintaining files and assisting with firewood, range and recreation programs.

Public Land Corps involved 46 individuals completing 3.68 person yrs of work appraised at $127,000 clearing 27 miles of fire line. They also supported 10,078 acres of prescribed fires and assisted containing six wildland fires. AmeriCorps cleared 15 scenic vistas as well as helping to clear several thousand damaged trees left from multiple storms, opening 34 miles of Forest Service roads and 9 recreation sites.

Volunteers ages 15-18 completed 1.30 person yrs of work with an appraised value of $45,000. Seven students installed new portal signs, gates, accessible picnic tables and fire rings. They also worked with district biologists to create several vernal ponds and a variety of wildlife projects.

A small amount of money was left from the partnership money. Teena Ligman, Public Affairs Specialist, and Nancy Myers, Tell City Ranger District Outdoor Recreation Planner, thought the remaining money could be used for an interpretive sign at Mano Point on the Ohio River. Mano Point is the only Forest Service boat ramp on the Ohio River and is right on the Ohio River Scenic Byway. It is very heavily used from spring through fall.

One of Indiana ORSB projects is to install a series of 63 interpretive panels along Indiana's section of the byway. Funding has been allocated but the project has been stalled for the past two years in a bureaucratic quagmire. Although at least one of the 63 signs had been targeted for the Hoosier, there had not previously been an interpretive sign planned for Mano Point. Myers and Ligman saw an opportunity to jumpstart the interpretive panels by installing an interpretive sign of the same design as the other 63 signs, at Mano Point. So the Mano Point sign is the Byway's first interpretive sign of the new design!

Ligman conducted research to find out how Mano Point got its name. Once she had the information needed, she proceeded to design the sign about the history of Mano Point and included the Forest Service and Ohio River Scenic Byway logos. A local sign company produced the sign and it was recently installed at Mano Point. Until this sign was installed, Mano Point did not have any interpretive signage. Thanks to Tell City Ranger District employees Randy Lutz, Ray Kellems, and Jeff Fischer for installing the sign. Thanks too, to the Regional Office who made this project possible with funding! Now the boaters and Forest visitors who stop to look at the beautiful scenery from the boat ramp will be able to learn more about Mano Point!

District Ranger Orlando Sutton closed Twin Ponds in September because he was concerned for visitor safety. For the third time in 12 months, vandals had destroyed a public information board and trash cans at the range. These same individuals also had been discharging their weapons outside the target area which places other users at the range or on nearby trails and roads in danger.

"A lot of local folks weren't happy when we closed down Twin Ponds," said Francis Marion District Ranger Orlando Sutton. "Unfortunately, it's always the irresponsible actions of a few that force us to close the ranges and the valiant efforts of many that enable us to open them back up."

The public information board is especially important at recreation sites because that's where the Forest Service posts rules, safety, and emergency information. Without a public information board, forest personnel cannot post vital emergency contact information that could save someone's life. And replacing the information boards simply isn't cheap.

"Each time vandals destroy the information boards and we replace them, it costs us another $1,000 from our already strained budgets," said Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest Recreation Program Manager Jannah DuPre. "This latest information board was built solely by volunteers, many of whom use the two Francis Marion rifle ranges daily. I don't know what we'd do without them."

More than 80 individuals committed their time on Halloween to clean up Twin Ponds. They showed up at 8 a.m. and cleaned up trash, removed debris, replaced the information board and restored a sense of value to the rifle range. In fact, volunteers proved so zealous that the Forest hopes to continue the volunteer effort at both the Twin Ponds and the Boggy Head rifle ranges on a monthly basis.

"I hope we never have to close either of our rifle ranges again," said Sutton. "We'll sure work with these local folks to keep it open. I just hope the public understands we have to put their safety and the safety of our employees first."

Individuals interested in volunteering at either rifle range on the Francis Marion National Forest may call Jannah DuPre at (843) 887-3257.

The number of illicit gardens within NFS boundaries across California has skyrocketed, and so too has the amount of damage to the land caused by growing operations. The amount of marijuana recovered by Forest Service law enforcement officers (LEOs) in 2009 is more than double the amount confiscated during last year's record haul. Growers have become more brazen, and gardens have gotten bigger and more prolific.

In order to grow thousands of cannabis plants, suspected perpetrators are clearing scores of acres of native vegetation and damming or redirecting streams and other water sources to ensure an adequate supply of water to the gardens. Once the grow site has been eradicated or thwarted by LEOs, the trash and other debris must be removed in order for the scarred land to begin the healing process.

On the Mount Pinos district of Los Padres National Forest, 13 Habitat Works volunteers spent a recent weekend working with Forest LEOs to remove 2,250 pounds of trash from two grow sites discovered in July. The amount of garbage does not include hazardous materials such as fertilizer, pesticides, batteries and propane tanks. These potentially dangerous materials require special handling and will be treated separately by professional specialists trained to properly dispose of chemicals and compounds.

This site also contained miles of plastic irrigation pipes that siphoned water from a natural underground spring. There were numerous plots within the grow area, along with multiple camps used by the suspects in and around the gardens.

"In addition to posing an extreme danger to hikers and members of the public who unknowingly wander into these areas, these growers have a complete disregard for the environment," said Los Padres Patrol Captain Ray Gould. "It goes beyond the enormous amount of trash they leave behind. There are impacts to the land that are long lasting."

Along with the efforts of caring volunteers, the forest is taking steps to clean and restore these lands damaged by illegal marijuana gardens.

Short days means a considerably smaller burning window than in the spring, and lighting has to occur expeditiously to make sure the interior burns as it should. This is particularly true on large landscape burns, such as the 1,100 acre Cedar Bluff 3 prescribed burn on Mark Twain National Forest's Eleven Point Ranger. This burn could be accomplished with ground ignition, but burn objectives were more likely to be met at this time of year with quicker aerial ignition.

The proposed prescribed burn area is part of a larger unit located in the wildland/rural interface near Handy, Missouri. Completion of the burn is intended to safeguard a community of scattered rural homes from wildfires originating on National Forest lands.

Helicopter ignitions have been successful on the Forest on large burns, but the Region 9 Type 3 Exclusive Use helicopter is not here in the fall.

For some time, the Forest had been considering ways to accomplish aerial ignition in the fall without the use of the R9 helicopter. Call-when-needed ships are expensive, and none are close to Missouri. As the weather improved, and it looked like we had a good burning window, we started looking for alternatives.

We found a Forest Service helicopter stationed in Region 8 at Little Rock, Arkansas. This ship was available for weekend work, but was busy doing aerial ignition for Ouachita National Forest during the week. Fortunately, the weekend weather forecast was as good as it gets in the fall and the prescribed burn was a go.

Missouri-Iowa Coordination Center (MOCC) dispatchers worked with dispatchers at Arkansas-Oklahoma Dispatch Center to make the arrangements to get the ship here on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Mark Twain National Forest was able to provide the Helicopter Manager and Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) operators. The ship arrived on Saturday morning and set down at the pre-determined helispot close to the burn unit. After briefing, the Firing Boss and PSD operator took a reconnaissance flight to help the helicopter pilot become familiar with the area.

On Sunday morning, November 8, 2009 the prescribed burn started with a briefing, test fire, and ground ignition. According to the firing sequence, ground ignition started at about 1100 and aerial ignition started around 1330. All ignitions were completed by 1415. The Burn Boss and Firing Boss both felt the objectives had been achieved, primarily due to the fast ignition of the prescribed burn interior with the helicopter.

The Region 8 pilot told the Helicopter Manager he was impressed with the professionalism of both ground & aerial crews, and said he would be happy to come back and help us again, or to have our crews go to Region 8 to help with their burns anytime.

Not only were the burn objectives met, but the two Regions established a new relationship that may provide benefits for both for many fire seasons to come.

So many of the stories that emerge from the Francis Marion National Forest share a common genesis in Hurricane Hugo, the massive storm that is estimated to have knocked down nearly a billion board feet of timber on the forest.

The red-cockaded woodpecker is the only woodpecker in the United States that builds its nest cavity in living pine trees. It is totally dependent on living pines, specifically old-growth trees at least 10" in diameter, which are few in number in the Southeast due to early logging practices, bug kill and sprawling human development.

Before the storm, the Francis Marion had the second largest population of red-cockaded woodpeckers in the entire country, about 475 breeding pairs. Hugo wiped out more than half the population in a single, stormy night.

"Not only did the hurricane kill an estimated 63% of the population, it destroyed almost 90% of the cavity trees on the forest," said Mark Danaher, biologist for the Francis Marion National Forest. "These birds depend on living trees not just for nesting, but also for foraging. It was a double hit--nowhere to live and little to eat."

Fortunately, even before the storm, pioneering researchers such as Carole Copeyon (North Carolina State University), Bob Hooper and David Allen (both of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station) were already experimenting with artificial cavities to sustain the population of endangered birds. Hugo most certainly heightened the urgency of that important work.

"Nobody had ever installed artificial cavities on a large scale before," said Danaher. "But the need was obvious. It can take several years for the birds to create their own cavities, which is why the artificial cavity program is so beneficial. We were able to go in and instantly install them so that the surviving birds had adequate structures to go to." As of January 1, 2008, more than 2,500 drilled cavities, drilled starts and inserts had been installed on the Francis Marion National Forest.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) developed a recovery plan for the red-cockaded woodpecker and set a goal of 350 potential breeding groups for the Francis Marion National Forest. A typical cluster averages three or four birds--the breeding pair and "helper" birds, usually male offspring, who remain to help raise the young. Female offspring typically disperse to look for new territory in which to nest. The term "cluster" is used to refer to the aggregation of cavity trees that is used and defended by a group of woodpeckers. A "potential breeding group" is used to refer to an adult male and adult female that occupy the same cluster, even if they are not accompanied by a helper, may not have attempted to nest, or have not successfully fledged young.

"Today," said Danaher, "twenty years later, we're up to about 400 potential breeding groups. So we've exceeded the USFWS goal for recovery, but the Forest Service goal is actually 450 groups, so we've still got a little ways to go."

Nevertheless, the successful recovery of the woodpecker population on the Francis Marion has enabled the forest to donate birds to help boost their dwindling populations elsewhere. Historically, the birds were found as far north as the New Jersey pine barrens and as far west as Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas.

According to Danaher, Larry Wood, a biologist funded by various agencies and the University of Georgia, started the translocation program on the Francis Marion last year. The forest donated three pairs of sub-adults to Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point in Brunswick County, NC, four pairs to Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and three pairs to the Okeefenokee Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.

Each year on the forest, crews install about 100 to 125 artificial cavity structures. Additionally, the forest establishes "recruitment clusters" in areas where the habitat looks good, where there are enough adequate-sized trees and particularly, where the habitat is sustainable by prescribed fire. Fire, Danaher explained, is essential to the success of the program.

Prescribed burning, like the regular thinning of pine stands, remains one of several critical solutions to the overwhelming regrowth of understory that resulted from Hugo's devastation. The red-cockaded woodpecker builds its cavities from 12 to 40 feet up in the tree. An abundance of shrubby undergrowth allows predators easy access to the nest. After Hugo, that problem was magnified by the high volume of downed woody debris.

Fire plays a role, too, in another critical way.

"The birds feed on arthropods," explained Danaher. "Prescribed fire increases the availability of arthropod prey by opening up the understory and ultimately increases both insect abundance and diversity. We've found that the increase in arthropods resulting from regular prescribed burns, coupled with the artificial nesting cavity program, is compensating for the effects of the hurricane. The birds are even finding those relic large pine trees that Hugo missed and building their own cavities. It's really amazing to see."

But, Danaher emphasized, "We're not out of the woods yet. When Hugo hit, many of the pine stands were about the same age, 60+ years old. All those trees had about the same susceptibility to the storm, and they all snapped like toothpicks. With the post-Hugo pine regeneration all sprouting up at once-without that age class diversity-another storm could put us right back to square one. It's a juggling act to manage a population like this one, and we'll have a lot of work to do over time to re-establish age-class diversity on the forest."

Meanwhile, Danaher and his crews will continue to install one to five recruitment clusters per year, creating starter cavities for the birds to find and occupy. Unbelievably, he said, they manage to locate the new cavities in a matter of weeks, if not days.

Danaher is hopeful for the future. "With a population this size," he said, "if each one of those 400 groups produces its average of 2.4 successful nestlings, that's close to 1000 nestlings the population is producing in a year. That's pretty impressive"

And the best part, he said, is that what we do to benefit the red-cockaded woodpecker also benefits all the other flora and fauna found in the longleaf pine ecosystem.

"In that respect they're kind of the flagship species of the longleaf pine ecosystem. What's good for them is good for everything else, so it's really a win/win situation no matter how you look at it."

Jack Tribble,Leave No Trace Master Educator and Ecosystems Group leader on the Monongahela, and Eric Sandeno, Leave No Trace Master and Recreation/Wilderness Program Manager for the Forest hosted the two-day trainer course in the Cranberry Wilderness.

Leave No Trace is a program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with decisions about reducing environmental impacts while enjoying activities such as hiking, biking, hunting, camping, paddling, and running. Best described as an educational and ethical program, Leave No Trace (LNT) focuses on how to prevent and minimize negative effects of recreation rather than on a set of rules and regulations. Using real life settings and presenting scenarios helps participants understand how they affect the world around them and how their choices can alter the consequences of their actions.

Six people participated in the trainer course, and are now available to work with local Boy Scout and Girl Scout summer camps as well as a variety of other group camps located in the Monongahela. Four of the participants are AmeriCorps members who will spend the next year on the Forest, helping to expand efforts in wilderness management/monitoring, visitor information, and the basics of the Leave No trace program.

A two-day backpacking trip in the mountains of West Virginia can be questionable in late October but unseasonably warm weather provided a welcome setting for the participants. After an office meeting on the background of the LNT program, discussion, and a short drive the group donned backpacks and headed into the Cranberry Wilderness. The first group exercise was to choose a camping location to minimize impacts on both the natural resources of the area and on other visitors. The selected site was well screened from the trail and well away from water, but still allowed the group to enjoy the sounds of a nearby waterfall.

After setting up camp the group spent the remainder of the evening concentrating on discussions of outdoor ethics, LNT principles, and some friendly competitions on building no impact campfires. The following morning each participant taught the others a LNT principle using hands-on activities, games, and/or demonstrations. In one exercise members wore masks depicting various wildlife species and discussed the potential impacts to their species of typical activities such as dumping of dishwashing water into a stream. The trainers were impressed by the preparation participants put into the activities. "They had a perfect mix of fun, hands-on activities, and information in their presentations" noted Tribble.

After packing up the following morning the group did a final site walk through before heading back down the trail and to their jobs, buoyed by the experiences they had just shared. "The course exceeded my expectations" said Anna Sexton, AmeriCorps member. Her reaction was echoed by Forest Recreation Technician Jacob Jackson,who said that "whether this was new information or a refresher, it was a great learning experience for all."

Both Trainers were also pleased with the workshop. "Every time we can 'train the trainer' we expand our ability to help our visitors make good choices for the environment while enjoying their favorite outdoor activities," noted Sandeno. He went on to note that "we plan to follow up this training session with another one in the spring when our new summer seasonal employees come to the Forest."

On November 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2009, the Hidden Springs Ranger District of the Shawnee National Forest hosted a Hunter Education Safety Course sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The ten-hour course covered the basics of hunter responsibility, wildlife management, archery, muzzle loading, firearms, and ammunition and state regulations. All twenty-two students who attended the course passed. They were issued an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Hunter Education Card and patch.

The Hunter Education Course was taught by volunteer instructor Jim Richerson and Forest employees Tom Neal and Weldon Young. Providing this opportunity for hunters is an example of agencies working together to protect ecosystems across boundaries.

The video was based on a July 20, 2007, wildfire. Residents' defensible space was tested when the Poe Cabin fire spilled into the Deer Creek drainage. This event made it quite clear - for one community - that none of us have control over natural elements like fire on public lands. However, the managment of private lands and structures by individual owners can make the difference in surviving a wildfire.

In 2003, the full-time residents of the upper Deer Creek drainage united to plan and implement a defensible space project to reduce woodland fuel accumulation. In 2004, Framing Our Community awarded a grant to the residents for assessments on structures in upper Deer Creek, completion of a fire prevention plan, and the reduction of fuels surrounding homes and other structures in the area. While only required to give a ten percent match to the funds awarded, homeowners provided equal amounts to the grant in both money and labor. Susan Jenkins, Fire Prevention Technician, Nez Perce National Forest, was an integral player in implementing and completing the defensible space project.

Based in Elk City Idaho, Framing Our Community teamed with the Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, Nez Perce Tribe, the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Clearwater Resource Conservation & Development Council, Idaho Fire Chief's Association, and the Governor of Idaho, C.L. Otter, among others to develop and distribute the video to help homeowners, planners, builders, fire managers, and others learn how to prepare for and defend against wildfires and protect property.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recognizes through awards the most significant local efforts in forwarding the mission of NFPA's National Firewise Communities Program: encourage a collective approach to creating communities that are resistant to wildfire damage and destruction in wildland/urban interfaces areas where homes are built close to or within forested areas.

The recipients of NFPA's Firewise Leadership Awards are selected based on their impact at local, state-wide, and regional levels. The winners' achievements include efforts to encourage home-owners to use Firewise techniques, to research better methods to predict fire size and spread, educate children about wildfire safety, and enhance emergency response coordination.

The personal experiences of the home owners in Deer Creek Drainage made for a compelling story and the depth of expertise within the individual segments are the reason that more than 1,200 videos have been distributed from Pennsylvania to Hawaii. Many more have been downloaded from the Framing Our Community and Idaho Department of Lands web sites.

Copies can be viewed and down loaded at www.framingourcommunity.org or www.idahofireplan.org/video. DVDs can also be ordered from Framing Our Community, Inc., P. O. Box 321, Elk City, Idaho 83525.

For more information, contact: Laura Smith, Nez Perce National Forest.

Pink Helictite Cave has its entrance at the base of sinkhole which had been used as a dump for many years. The sinkhole is adjacent to a county road making it easily accessible by those looking to unload their trash. Water enters the cave from both a spring that pours over the limestone cliff on one side of the sinkhole and by overland run-off that passes through the trash-laden sinkhole. While a pile of trash is not an attractive sight, it can certainly do more than just spoil the natural beauty of a place.

Sinkholes are directly related to groundwater quality. Water is naturally purified as it passes slowly through soil. Where soil cover is thin, groundwater may not be filtered sufficiently to remove surface contaminants. Surface water that enters a sinkhole passes immediately into the groundwater reservoir without any filtration. In addition, contaminants that enter a sinkhole are carried away from the sinkhole at a very high rate of speed. Pollutants leaching from trash can enter drinking water. Of particular concern are chemicals found in containers of oil, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer that have been thrown into these illegal dumps. These were some of the reasons that the Monongahela was interested in cleaning out the sinkhole.

The Monongahela partnered with The Mountain State Grotto to host this important event. This grotto was the first to identify the trash problem. Together, they worked with West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Land Restoration group who provided trash bags, gloves, and waste disposal. While the largest and most obvious trash was removed by a contractor, including tires, trash barrels, sofas, and even a kitchen sink, volunteers were needed to remove the household trash that remained buried in the sinkhole. This trash had been covered by sediment carried into the sinkhole over many years resulting in several trash horizons. "Sinkholes are like icebergs. Almost ninety percent of the trash is under the surface," said Forest Geologist Linda Tracy about the condition of Pink Helictite.

Volunteers from several grottos including 8 Rivers, D.C., G.R.O.S.S., Maggoty Cow, Monongahela, and the Mountain State were present to help remove garbage. By the end of the day, 54 bags of trash were removed from the sinkhole.

The need to clean-up this sinkhole also led to several other events hosted by the Mountain State Grotto, the Forest Service, and a local not-for profit organization, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA). This organization is leading an effort to integrate central Appalachian forest history, culture, natural history, products, and forestry management into a heritage tourism initiative to promote rural community development.

At two additional cleanup events, AFHA volunteers worked to clean up Pink Helictite Sinkhole. Both AmeriCorps and community members came together in the spirit of volunteerism to protect karst resources and to become stewards of their public lands. The volunteers separating trash from soil, restored the eroded gully into the sinkhole, and removed garbage. Combined with the OTR event, these three cleanups resulted in the removal of approximately 2 ¼ tons of trash from this karst feature.

In total, over a several year period volunteers have removed nearly 4 tons of trash by hand from the Pink Helictite Cave sinkhole. Trash removal by hand was chosen as the preferred method in order to avoid the soil disturbance associated with using heavy equipment in a sinkhole that is directly connected to groundwater.

While cleaning up our groundwater is a noble cause, even more important is the educational message the effort sent to the surrounding community. "Karst is important, and it is not okay to use sinkholes for a dumping ground," said Cynthia Sandeno, Ecologist. "We look forward to the day when everyone takes their stewardship responsibility seriously and we no longer have anything left to clean up."

With the generosity of our many partners, the Monongahela National Forest is working to protect the water supplies of Pocahontas County, West Virginia while enhancing its natural beauty. And, with the help of many hands, we hope to reach clean, natural ground soon.

Several Federal, State, non-governmental and corporate partners work together to provide five events across the state of Missouri focused on getting more people outdoors.

Since the start of Wonders of the Outdoor World, four additional schools have been added in Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and Columbia. Each school offers outdoor oriented classes for children and adults.

Wonders of the Outdoor World is designed to teach participants a wide range of outdoor skills while practicing personal safety and outdoor responsibility. Each course includes an outdoor skill, conservation, safety, and ethics component.

Forest Service employees have served on the planning committee and as class instructors for 12 years.

This year Forest Service employees Darla Rein, Nettie Sitting Up, Justin Adams, Megan York-Harris, and Theresa Davidson taught five classes at two Wonders of the Outdoor World Schools - Canoeing and Using Native Wildflowers at Springfield, MO Ritter Springs Park, and Wonders of the Outdoor Schools Young Adventurers, Canoeing, and Nature Journaling at Cassville, MO Roaring River State Park.

Wonders of the Outdoor World Young Adventurers is for children ages 9-12 years old. The class helps with the Forest Service efforts of getting "More Kids in the Woods."

This year, eleven kids had instruction in archery, fishing, camping skills, Leave No Trace, disk golf, and fire building. The kids learned how to safely cook their own hot dogs over an open campfire before they enjoyed a nature hike, nature crafting and ended the day with "The Amazing Race." The Amazing Race was a mix of the skills and games learned throughout the day but it was team work that got the kids through to the finish line.

Nature Journaling offered a cold day of drawing and writing to participants this year. The class went on a short nature hike up Deer Leap Trail and had a tranquil drawing session down by Roaring River. Participants of all ages can catch up on a nature journal or start a new one.

The Canoeing course covered the basics of the sport. There were twelve participants consisting of children and adults at each school. Most of the participants were families seeking to hone or learn skills common to this particular paddle sport. Students were instructed in a variety of subjects including paddling techniques, portaging strategies, lifting and carrying techniques, water sports etiquette, Leave No Trace/Tread Lightly, and first aid tips.

The 15 participants, adults and children, in the Native Wildflower class were treated to an overview of wildflowers and grasses native to Missouri that can be planted around homes or businesses to provide host plants and nectar sources for a variety of butterflies and other pollinators. The group was also led on a wildflower walk to identify primarily woodland wildflowers. The group learned about the life history of the monarch butterfly and were amazed at the capabilities of this insect!

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded $200,000 toward renovations of the "green" office and partnerships with organizations such as Blackwell Job Corps significantly contributed to lowering the total renovation cost. The CNNF's partnership with Blackwell Job Corps enabled students of various vocational training programs to gain a hands-on learning experience while renovating the reused building.

Students received on-site supervision from instructors and multiple representatives who had expertise in various trades. Members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) were one of the organizations on hand that provided consulting to Blackwell students. For more than 40 years, the UBC has contracted with the federal government to provide Job Corps students with training in entry-level carpentry skills and essential construction procedures.

The U.S. Forest Service purchased the building from the State Department of Transportation. The agency has long supported providing more sustainable administrative facilities and its decision to purchase, eliminated monthly lease payments; thus, optimizing every tax dollar spent.

From the interior to the exterior, the renovated building reduces, reuses, and recycles with features including a reflective roof that reduces the demand for cooling, environmentally friendly bathrooms, and furniture manufactured to meet the National "Green Guard" Certification Standard for Materials, Components and Environmental Practices.

"The relocation of the Rhinelander office into a more sustainable facility falls in line with our agency's goals and mission of reducing our "carbon footprints" and strengthening our on-going partnerships," says Jeanne Higgins, CNNF Forest Supervisor.

Along with its sustainable features, the office will provide the public with easier access to the building, and the capacity to host public meetings. The CNNF will have an open house for the public at the new office on December 16, 2009 from 2-5 pm.

The early collaboration of partners, forest and regional leadership and technical expertise from consultants, added to the increasingly integrated, higher performing design of the new "Green" SO.

The Ohio Statewide Imagery Program (OSIP)

The Ohio Statewide Imagery Program (OSIP) is a partnership between State, Local and Federal government agencies to develop high-resolution imagery and elevation data covering the State of Ohio to benefit Geographic Information System (GIS) users at all levels of government. Accurate consistent and known quality imagery and elevation data serves as the backbone for the development of additional data sets that are currently maintained and used by government decision makers and the public.

OSIP Products

Standard OSIP products include 1FT Color Orthophotography in GeoTIFF and MrSID format, 2.5FT DEM (Digital Elevation Model), and 2M LiDAR postings. Most people are familiar with aerial photography but LiDAR is a much less known form information for Natural Resource Management. A definition and description of LiDAR is as follows:

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an optical remote sensing technology that measures properties of scattered light to find range and/or other information of a distant target. The prevalent method to determine distance to an object or surface is to use laser pulses. Like the similar radar technology, which uses radio waves, which is light that is not in the visible spectrum, the range to an object is determined by measuring the time delay between transmission of a pulse and detection of the reflected signal. LIDAR technology has application in Geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, and seismology.

Some of the most successful applications of LiDAR at the Wayne include, review of past vegetation treatments, archeological site location, watershed restoration, tree height analyses.

This story, as originally written had many images and photos illustrating the applications which couldn't be used so it was shortened for the success story data base. For the full context of the story go to http://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5107819.pdf. The complete story describes how the programs can be used to identify past vegetation treatments and the application of the program for heritage resource management. Other applications of the program are tree height analysis and topographic mapping for watershed restoration.

FFA students and advisors were given general and in-depth information concerning careers with the US Forest Service. An assortment of brochures was provided including: Working for the Great Outdoors, Fight Fire with Intelligence, Skill and Courage, Law Enforcement Careers in the Forest Service, The Heartbeat of the Forest Service, and Volunteering in the National Forest. These brochures were readily available and distributed throughout the 3-day event.

The Forest Service exhibit consisted of two flat panel digital video displays, one featuring "Firewars", stories of wildland fire fighting, along with a static display of line gear and various other fire-fighting equipment including a deployed fire shelter. The second flat panel featured "The Greatest Good" the epic story of the struggle to manage a nation's resources amid global change. Onlookers found the videos to be both informative and entertaining.

Forest Service personnel greeted FFA attendees, answered questions, distributed literature and provided copies of position descriptions for various jobs in the Forest Service. In addition Smokey Bear made several appearances each day greeting attendees and providing photo opportunities. As always Smokey was a big hit with young and old alike.

The winning entry for Hatfield Elementary was a 3 foot by 4 foot poster that was so amazing the IDNR fire crew framed it and the State Fire Marshall took it back to hang it in the State Office! The poster was made by a 2nd grade class. The poster of Smokey's face was a collage of messages on different color construction pages each written by a different student in the class.

The winning class from Dollens School was 4th graders who submitted a Fire Safety Newsletter with stories from each student. One young man wrote: "You always have to have a smoke detector. You want to make sure it works or it's useless. If you hear a loud beeping noise, that's the smoke detector and I would run. Try your door first. If the handle is hot, you might want to go out a window. If you don't have a smoke detector get one. You'll be thanking me."

The winning entry from Stinesville was a DVD recording of the 4th grade class who sang their own modified rendition of a song "Stop in the Name of Fire". They'd made a new cover for the DVD with their class photo and the MC Axe crew said they might just adopt the song as one of their new numbers for their show.

The newspaper also did a full page story on the Classroom Challenge which led up to the MC Axe program so the full readership of the Bedford Times Mail got to see the poster and read many of the excerpts from the Fire Safety newsletter.

Papa Johns Pizza has donated part of the pizza for the parties for the three classes which will take place on November 13th. The Big Rivers Forest Fire Management Compact has also partnered with us to make the Classroom Challenge possible.

M.C. Axe has been teaching children about fire safety since 1991. The group has taught fire prevention to more than 2 million children across the Midwest. It is made up of fire fighting professionals and EMTs who use an energetic blend of music and comedy to help children learn basic fire safety messages. The fire fighting professionals include two dogs who wear official fire department badges and steal the show every time. The two dogs, Kasey and K.D., keep the kids riveted as they teach the messages of feeling a door to see if it's hot before you open it, how to crawl under smoke, how to stop, drop and roll, and what to do if you find matches.

The show is high energy and Smokey Bear and Sparky, a dalmation character in a fire-fighters uniform, join in with the dancing, clapping, and the skits. At every school the principal and many of the teachers got pulled out front to be part of the show and the State Fire Marshall, in addition to reading the governor's proclamation, was called upon each time to play a large plastic guitar for Elvis and his groupies. The messages of fire safety are repeated many times during the show in stories, song, and actions to reinforce the key points and the kids loved it. So did the adults. The media coverage was phenomenal with front page articles and a photo gallery on the internet. Teena matted and framed a Rudy Wendelin print of Smokey Bear which was also presented to each school to hang in their building.

The Classroom challenge (see associated story), also got great coverage. The M.C. Axe crew coming to town will be something Hatfield, Dollens and Stinesville Schools will be talking about for months if not years to come. And any kid who heard the program will remember without a doubt the basic fire safety rules.

Every child and every teacher received a bag of fire prevention materials supplied by Indiana DNR. The job of packing well over 1,000 bags with the large assortment of items seemed daunting until Teena offered to have the disabled children from Englewood School who volunteer for the Forest to do the bags. The Englewood students practice simple job skills and were delighted with the task. They worked for two months to pack the bags and as a reward not only got to attend the program but each received a Smokey lantern. Their teachers got a Smokey baseball cap.

Bev Stout with Indiana DNR and Teena Ligman with the Hoosier NF coordinated the programs but the programs were well supported by local fire departments and the State Fire Marshall's office.

A lot of work needed to be done to improve the Upper Priest Lake Trail and nearby reacreation areas. The crew finished the annual trail maintenance and replace a deteriorated trail structure to address public safety concerns.

Completing the annual maintenance included work on about 50 miles of public recreation trail. Three miles of trail tread were improved and sixty feet of puncheon was replaced. A puncheon is a kind of floorboard on a trailbed.

The youth crew also worked with the Ranger District's developed recreation crew painting picnic tables and installing bear-resistant food storage lockers at remote campsites to improve public safety and protect wildlife by keeping the bears out of campers' food and out of trouble.

Hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, campers and other visitors now have well-maintained facilities that greatly enhance their visits to the Priest Lake Ranger District within Bonner and Boundary Counties. Thanks to the labor provided by the Idaho State Youth Crew in coordination with the Forest Service's recreation crew, we improved the quality of visitors' outdoor experiences and enhanced public safety on trails and at recreation sites.

This project included removing boulders from the road, and upgrading the road in segments from native material to a aggregate surface for greater stability and safety for travelers. Drainage structures were also installed along with a new trailbridge on Beehive trail # 279.

Dick Kramer, District Ranger on the IPNF was pleased with the work. "The recent road upgrades significantly improved the access into the Pack River drainage. This road in Boundary County is a major recreation destination to numerous high mountain lake. These improvements will provide Forest users a smoother and stable access road into the East side of the Selkirk Mountain Range," said Kramer.

The Pack River road has been a very rough road for several years and access was limited to high clearance vehicles. Several funding sources were used to complete the work including money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

On August 26, 2009 Diane Hodel, Road Manager for IPNF administered the contract for the new trailbridge and road upgrades and completed the majority of the work on October 10, 2009. "This road will be easier to maintain and provide much improved access for the public. With the additional drainage and erosion control improvements, water quality for this river will be greatly enhanced," added Hodel.

The Forest Service contractor that completed the work, Clint Kimball Company, from Naples, Idaho completed the trailbridge installation and road upgrades. Final road work will be completed the Summer of 2010.

"Watching this cemetery fall into disrepair over the years has broken my heart and the hearts of McCormick County residents," said Long Cane District Ranger Anne Kiser. "It is uplifting to restore respect to the people buried in this cemetery and the artisans who created their grave markers, the gate and other significant features."

The cemetery, acquired by the Forest Service in a land exchange with the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1970s, was severely vandalized in the 1990s (photos below, right). Vandals upturned and broke several monuments,  took portions of others, and stole the famous cast-iron grim reaper off the cemetery gate. Fortunately, although in pieces, the grim reaper was recovered later. Segments of the granite block wall surrounding the cemetery were also damaged and collapsed.

John Galligan, President of the McCormick County Historical Society, has long been a strong advocate for the cemetery. Thanks to his persistence, the State Historic Preservation Office approved his restoration plan. Galligan also worked dilligently to round up volunteers, including the Savannah Lakes Village Road Warriors and members of the McCormick County Historical Society, who have maintained the cemetery and removed trash from nearby roads.

In October, Ruedrich Restorations of Louisburg, North Carolina, completed partial restoration of the cemetery including documentation and repair of broken grave markers, replication of portions of stolen marble markers, stabilization of the edges of the collapsed section of the wall, and painting and rust retarding of the cemetery gate.

"The restoration of this cemetery to its rightful condition would have been impossible without the support of so many pillars of our community," said Forest Service Archaeologist Jim Bates. "We are especially grateful for John Galligan of the McCormick County Historical Society; Nancy Lindroth, Former McCormick County Commissioner; Kathy Dulaney of the McCormick County Historical Commission; Ronnie Kidd, McCormick County Court Judge; and, Bobby Edmonds, McCormick County Historian. Because of the efforts of these folks, we are finally going to complete the professional restoration and repair of the broken and stolen marble grave markers."

Badwell, eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, is the historic family cemetery of the once-prominent Gibert-Pettigrew-Allston family. The earliest internment (1773) is to the Reverend Jean Louis Gibert, leader and founding pastor of the French Huguenot settlement of New Bordeaux (1764) and serves as a tangible link to the early settlement of McCormick County

The cemetery features many distinctive mid-19th century design elements and grave monuments, including the cast iron figure of the grim reaper on the gate that dates to the 1860s. Many slave internments surround the walled family cemetery including a marble monument to Daddy Tom, faithful servant.

The Forest Service hopes to acquire additional funding to rebuild the fallen and sagging portions of the cemetery wall, restore or replicate the cast iron grim reaper for the cemetery gate, and develop interpretive signs.

Free Dump Day at the Bibb County Landfill, along with the volunteer efforts, removed a total of 18 tons of trash out of Bibb County. "This is an important event for the Forest Service," reported Jessica Blackwell, Oakmulgee District Forester. "Dumping and litter are a detriment to the appearance of the Forest, as well as the local economy. We really appreciate the efforts of our many volunteers and partners."

Corporate sponsors were also an important component of this successful event. This year's sponsors included: Aquafina; Bibb County Commission; Downs & Associates, LLC; Pizza Hut; Tuscaloosa Toyota; U.S. Forest Service; and Wal-Mart.

National Public Lands Day began in 1994 with three federal agencies and 700 volunteers. In 2009, nearly 150,000 volunteers worked in 2,000 locations and in every state. Today, eight federal agencies and many state and local organizations participate in this annual day of caring for shared lands. In Bibb County, National Public Lands Day is part of a county-wide effort to promote nature-based tourism and restore pride to the county. The Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge sponsors a similar event on Earth Day in April of each year.

In September, with some more nudging from Rich, who had meanwhile found an example from the Ozark-St Francis NF and Public Affairs Officer Gary Chancey's encouragement who had a similar brochure from the Black Hills National Forest; Jones, Chancey, and Ligman brainstormed the format for the new brochure. Jones had given the subject a great deal of thought and written up a document with the verbiage he thought should be included. The group compared the two examples with what Jones had prepared and decided on a plan for the Wayne. Ligman was tasked with developing the brochure in the Wayne's format.

Within a couple weeks of the assignment Ligman was asked to provide an exhibit topic for the Indiana Forest Woodland Owners Association's (IFWOA) Annual Meeting. She had planned to take a display representing the Southern Indiana Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA), but working on the Living Next Door brochure gave her an idea.

Consulting with Hoosier Public Affairs Officer Frank Lograsso, it was decided to develop a brochure similar to the Wayne's for the Hoosier and make that the theme for the Hoosier's display at IFWOA. So working on a tight schedule Ligman drafted up the brochure and got feedback from the Hoosier staff to put the brochure together. From there, she developed a pull-up banner display with photos and took the two to the IFWOA meeting in Jasper. The 2009 IFWOA meeting was held in Jasper, Indiana, on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest, so many of this year's attendees were, in fact, neighbors to the national forest. "That made this theme and display especially appropriate," said Ligman. "I was talking to many of the people who do in fact, own property next door to the national forest and it was an opportunity to answer their questions."

The event was well attended and successful. Once back from the event, the Wayne's brochure was further finalized and both it and the Hoosier's are being fine-tuned to better meet the needs of our neighbors. "We have so many people come in with questions, and depending on who is up front or available to talk to these people, we may or may not have good answers for them," said Jones. "A brochure like this provides some consistency and ensures that we have a good take-home message for our visitors who we encourage to ask for information about the National Forest that is beyond their backyard".

The forest received approximately thirteen million dollars for capital improvements and maintenance work on roads, bridges and recreation facilities. Projects include replacing bridges and culverts, decommissioning roads, resurfacing roads, treating noxious weeds along travel ways, improving stream crossings for increased fish passage, and refurbishing recreation sites for public enjoyment.

Additional funding was received for trail maintenance and reconstruction, deferred maintenance on historic cabins and lookouts utilized for public rental, and improving and installing bear-resistant food storage facilities and garbage dumpsters for public use at approximately 135 camping sites.

American Recovery and Restoration Act (ARRA) projects awarded to date include:

* Improvements at the Doris Creek Campground and Boat Launch, located three miles south of the Hungry Horse Dam on the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir on the Hungry Horse Ranger District. Funding for the project includes approximately $290,000 of ARRA funding and approximately $320,000 of appropriated Forest Service dollars. Reconstruction and improvements at Doris Creek will include a triple-lane concrete boat ramp, a 70-space parking area, a host site and new toilets. Ten new camping sites will be constructed at the existing Doris Boat site. Ureco, Inc., a construction firm located in Columbia Falls, was awarded the contract. Work is anticipated to be completed by late next summer.

* Asphalt resurfacing at the Swan Lake Picnic Area and Campground, located north of the community of Swan Lake. AGC, Incorporated of Kalispell was awarded the work for approximately $350,000. Work will begin Monday, October 5, with a closure of the entire site. Work is anticipated to be completed by next summer. The boat launch and ramp will be available after construction activities close due to weather conditions and will remain available until work resumes in the spring.

* Reconstruction of the Chipmunk Trailhead located on the Spotted Bear Ranger District and Antley Trailhead on the Glacier View Ranger District. Woodring Brothers of Kalispell will complete the reconstruction for both trailheads for approximately $26,000.

* Replacement of culverts on Condon Creek and Smith Creek located on the Swan Lake Ranger District. The culverts will be replaced to improve protection of water resources, specifically to remove barriers and allow for fish passage. Independence Construction, Inc. of Eureka was awarded the contract for approximately $195,000.

* Replacement of the Hand Creek Bridge on the Tally Lake Ranger District. Independence Construction, Inc. of Eureka will complete the work for approximately $115,000.

* Reconstruction of the Ousel Peak Trailhead on the Hungry Horse Ranger District that accesses the Great Bear Wilderness. Schlegel and Sons Contractors Inc. of Kalispell were awarded the project for approximately $12,000.

* Survey and design assistance for roads, bridges and culverts. Approximately $109,000 has been awarded to DJ &A, an engineering firm from Missoula and approximately $3,000 to Morrison & Maierle Engineering in Missoula.

The forest has numerous other American Reinvestment and Recovery Act projects to solicit for, award and implement.

The Little Wolf Bridge, originally built in 1950, was replaced earlier this month.

The Jackson Creek Bridge was originally built in 1949 using creosote treated timbers for abutments stringers and decking. Jackson Creek was dammed and diverted through a temporary culvert around the project site. The new arch pipe was set two feet into the streambed to provide a natural stream bottom, and improve passage for aquatic organisms, including passage of Westslope cutthroat and redband rainbow trout.

Additional work improved the creek channel including placement of four rock vanes that protrude into the water to direct the creek flow away from stream banks and to help provide bank stabilization.

Jackson creek road was also widened and realigned slightly to improve access of logging trucks and semis with lowboy trailers. Work on the Jackson Creek Culvert was completed on October 23, 2009.

This ARRA project was awarded to P&S Contracting, Inc of Libby, MT.

Unfortunately, years of use have taken a toll on the pond's shoreline and soil is eroding into the water. Had these activities been left unchecked, degradation of the pond's vegetation and fish habitat may have resulted.

The Bennington County Conservation District, the Green Mountain National Forest, and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation planned a restoration project for Sucker Pond. They involved the community in implementation.

Students in the Bennington Career Development Center's forestry and heavy equipment program joined members of a local ATV club (the Bennington Trail Conservancy, or BTC) in donating a few days in early June to restore Sucker Pond. The equipment operators placed large boulders along the shoreline to designate day use areas and a boat launch. Others planted native trees and shrubs that will keep the soil on land instead of letting heavy rains wash sediment into the pond.

The group also installed signs to remind pond users to recreate responsibly. This project was publicized in local newspapers. Hopefully these public education efforts and continued partnerships with citizen groups like ATV clubs will heighten public awareness of pond quality issues and convey the importance of using the land responsibly.

Funding for the restoration project was provided by the Green Mountain National Forest and the Vermont Clean and Clear Program.

For more information on this and other soil and water improvement projects, contact:

Richard P. Gaiotti

Forestry Technician

2538 Depot Street

Manchester Center, Vermont 05255

802-362-2307 Ext. 213

Fax-802-362-1251

rgaiotti@fs.fed.us

Through this field experience the kids learned first-hand how invasive species can alter a forest and take over a trail. And even though the work was difficult and the thorns were numerous, the kids showed great enthusiasm for ripping out the invasives. They used shovels, pruners, pulaskis and elbow grease to remove the invading shrubs.

Along the way, Wayne folks pointed out and described many of the desirable species that occur along the trail.

Community members that hosted the youth contacted Cheryl Coon (Forest Botanist)and expressed interest in completing a service project related to invasives. The youth were visiting the area for a faith-based volunteer retreat and hailed from cities including Columbus, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Removal of Hemlock Dam is a study in contrast with the removal of Marmot Dam on the Sandy River in Oregon. Marmot Dam was removed in part by use of explosives, and the sediments behind the dam were eroded away by the river once the dam was gone.

At Hemlock, the dam was torn apart piece-by-piece using heavy equipment. Sediments that had accumulated behind the dam in the past 70 years were largely removed by excavators and large dump trucks. A channel was built in the area that was once a reservoir. The constructed channel is the latest in "green" technology, being built of river rock and approximately 1,000 trees that were pushed over or cut as part of a forest thinning project elsewhere in the watershed.

The new channel is not the only "green" part of the project. Project contractor James Dean of Glenwood, Wash., recycled concrete from the dam for use in other projects. Dean also found a way to replace diesel pumps used to divert the creek on the site with electric pumps, further burnishing the green credentials of the project.

Prior to use of heavy equipment in the reservoir area, the Forest Service along with partner agencies and organizations conducted a three-day effort to remove fish from the project area and were able to capture and relocate nearly 3,000 fish to a safer area for the summer. Once the fish had been removed, the site was dewatered by flipping the switch on 4 large electric pumps, which pumped the entire flow of Trout Creek around the project site through a series of nearly half-mile-long, high density plastic pipes.

As the contractor was excavating sediments from the lower reservoir, a piece of Skamania County logging history was unearthed. The foundation of an old timber-framed splash dam was exhumed, and found to be in nearly mint condition, compliments of being buried by many feet of sediment and water for the past 70-plus years.

The splash dam was once used to temporarily impound water so that it could be released in large pulses to wash timbered logs downstream to the mill. Following initial revelation of the splash dam, it was carefully uncovered, surveyed, and measured by a team of archaeologists along with the Skamania County Youth Forest Success crew, and then removed to make way for the newly restored channel.

A web cam is located on the project site that allowed Web site visitors to view (and even take photos) of work on the project. Visitors to the Web site can actually take control of the Web cam from the comfort of their own chair and can pan across the site, zoom to points of interest and take photos of anything that is particularly interesting. The Web cam is a result of a partnership between the Forest Service and University of Washington's Canopy Crane program, which is co-located near the project site.

The dam removal and habitat restoration project comes about as a result of funding contributions and support from a wide array of partner organizations and agencies, most notably Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Ecotrust, American Rivers, NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center, Yakama Nation and Mid Columbia Fish Enhancement Group.

Visit the Gifford Pinchot National Forest Web site to access the Web cam: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/04projects/hemlock-dam/removal/. For additional project information please contact Bengt Coffin, Project Manager at (509) 395-3425.

This August, fifteen volunteers from one of Zigzag Ranger District's ongoing partnerships with the Wilderness Volunteer organization put in four days of hard work during the sunny days of August 24-28 in projects organized by District employee Duane Bishop.

The volunteers - Janet Johnson, Angela Hall, Roger Coleman, Lynn Liffick Elizabeth Thill, Lonn Liffick Barbara Engel, Jennifer Keane Faith Waida, Tom Holling, Bonnie Thiele, Jay Mosser, Sheila Maquilan, Janet Gray and Susan Holling - pitched in their time for the projects. The group came from all over the United States, including Oregon, California, New York, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

The volunteers led by Forest Service employees, repaired buck and rail fencing around Little Crater Lake, constructed a "lay-down" barbwire fence, and decommissioned buck and rail fencing that was serving no purpose. They also landscaped and built rock stairs on a bank down to the Little Sandy River, and planted vegetation on a decommissioned road, plus about 75 willows at Fox Creek.

Safety, resource values, and "how to" information were provided for each project. During the first pair of work days, volunteers met with fisheries biologist Kathryn Arendt and fisheries technicians Katy Hanna and Christine Cha at Zigzag Ranger Station to go over the projects and review safety protocols.

The fisheries crew and the volunteers then ventured to Little Crater Lake to join U.S. Forest Service range conservationist Dan Fissell. Dan went over the details of grazing allotments on the forest, the purpose of the project, and how to build buck and pole fencing and lay-down barbwire fencing.

After lunch the volunteers were split into two different groups. One group worked to repair broken fencing around Little Crater Lake so that cattle would not wander around the lake and the nearby campground. The other group's project was to build a lay-down barbwire fence bordering a beaver pond and grazing allotment where cattle are only allowed during a certain part of the year.

August 25-26, wilderness volunteers, fisheries biologist Gina O'Brien, and fisheries technicians Katy Hanna, Christine Cha, and Kevin Swager returned to Little Crater Lake to continue the projects. This time the volunteers were split into three different groups. With all of their hard work it was easy to see their energy could be used at different places around the lake.

One group returned to finish fence repairs around Little Crater Lake. Once this group was finished with the repairs they began to decommission fencing around the lake. Another group was sent to finish building the lay down barbwire fence and the last group was to decommission buck and pole fencing that went down to a beaver pond which was serving no purpose.

On the last day, the volunteers were again split into two groups. One group led by fisheries biologist Kathryn Arendt constructed stairs on a bank that led down to the Little Sandy River. These stairs were constructed near the site of where the Portland Water Bureau stages their smolt trap in the spring. Volunteers were able to use all native material to build the stairs.

Meanwhile, the other group of volunteers lead by fisheries technician Kevin Swager harvested willow cuttings to plant on a decommission road in the Bull Run. The planting site was on Fox Creek where it used to cross the 1400-320 road which is now decommissioned.

Established in 1997, the Wilderness Volunteers program is a nonprofit organization created to promote volunteer services in America's wild lands. Wilderness Volunteers dedicate time from their summers to help with various service projects across the Unites States. Mount Hood National Forest is known for how well it integrates partnerships, hosted programs, and volunteers into its operation. In fact, the Forest has a strategic stewardship plan for doing exactly that. (You can see it at www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/publications/

documents/StrategicStewardshipPlan.pdf).

(Courtesy Christine Cha, Zigzag Ranger District, Mt. Hood National Forest)

Judi Perez, Forest Planner has been on the planning team for the contest for the past few years and helps develop the interview question. This year's question was on invasive species. Teena said though some of the team members were very sharp and did an exceptional job answering the question, she said one young man sat down and said dejectedly right up front, "I don't know anything about this." However, she said, with a little prompting he realized maybe he did know something and he ended up getting through the interview fairly well.

Ligman was amused at some of the answers to the question. "One young lady went on at great length about how salvation cuts were the best way to control invasives, and we should do more salvation cuts… I finally interrupted her with an Amen - and suggested perhaps she meant salvage cuts instead of salvation?" She thought it was pretty funny too when she realized her mistake.

"There was one answer from a gentle soul who said invasives should never be killed and it was best to live trap all insects and other animals and carefully return them to their native lands where they could be repatriated to their homelands. And non-native plants should be carefully dug up and returned to the countries where they came from and replanted." Ligman envisioned boatloads of Japanese honeysuckle and stiltgrass headed back to Japan. She said maybe there'd be economic possibilities with this though- the Japanese might have a market for some of these species!

In addition to the interview questions the young forestry team members compete in numerous other events. There are a variety of trees they identify- both standing local trees, and branches from trees from other areas. There is also a collection of tree problems that students identify - everything from bound up roots to pathogens. Teams also identified forestry tools and went through chainsaw scenarios. Other parts of the contest were team events where they worked together to scale timber, etc. One of the judges commented that it was interesting to watch team dynamics, "Some of the teams had obviously worked together often and each member had a role. In other cases, some members sat on a log and watched one or two of their team figure out the problem."

The competition is worthwhile and having the Forest Service well represented in the contest helps promote us as an employer of choice to these young FFA members as they look to forestry as a career choice.

Sponsored by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Bike Commute Challenge invites workplace teams in Oregon and Southwest Washington to join the friendly competition to see who can bike to work more during the month of September.

Benefits for bike commuters include improving health, saving money, and improving the environment by keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere. There are also benefits for employers-bicycling reduces stress and anxiety, and makes for happier employees. Absentee and turnover rates are lower among physically active employees. Encouraging bike commuting can help a company comply with its own goals for reducing its impact on the environment.

According to the 2009 Region 6 Environmental Management System (EMS) Action Plan, "The success of our EMS depends on each one of us learning and applying the principles of R6". The Region focuses on Fleet Management as it relates to reducing fuel consumption as its EMS objective in 2009.

A target has been established to reduce the fleet's total consumption of petroleum products by 2 percent annually through 2015, through operational controls such as ride sharing, alternatives to travel, increasing the fleet's fuel efficiency, and practicing eco-driving.

Bike Commute Challenge participants embrace the spirit of EMS principles. The 11,700 miles logged during September amount to a personal fuel savings of between 525 and 650 gallons, using national statistics on average vehicle fuel consumption.

Team-sponsored "Biker's Breakfast", "Bike Commuting 101 Workshop, and Potluck/awards events added to the fun and camaraderie.

This year a third of the event's participants tried bike commuting for the first time during the Challenge, and many of them continue to bike, at least some of the time, throughout the rest of year. (Courtesy Melinda Moeur, Interagency Vegetation Monitoring Program, RO)

See www.fs.fed.us/ems for more details about the Forest Service environmental management system.

The Wayne National Forest has always enjoyed a prime location for the event, just across from the Homestead Museum where they set up their information tent and sell ENFIA products. Smokey Bear saunters forth to greet festival visitors at regular intervals and the Wayne NF tent is usually a busy place. The rain caused extra challenges this year for Wayne NF employees. The Ironton District crew who set up on Friday used ingenuity to rig two tents and a tarp to keep the rain out. Even so the ground was soggy and they strategically placed tables over the biggest mud holes.

The number of people who normally come out on Friday didn't materialize. "The crowds Friday were the smallest I've ever seen," said Ironton's Edie Gillenwater, "I'm not sure if it was just the rain, or if people were afraid of catching the flu, but for whatever reason, we just didn't have the number of people we usually have."

Saturday saw crowds closer to normal numbers as the Athens District switched off to run the information booth and ENFIA sales. Smokey, ever popular, had muddy cuffs on his jeans from walking around the field meeting his fans, but he weathered the crowds well and thousands of people came by to hug him and shake his hand. Sunday, the Ironton District was back and the partnership worked out well, representing the Forest to the public and selling several hundred dollars worth of ENFIA items.

In the Homestead Museum, Smokey's exhibit which took up two rooms was a popular attraction. Teena Ligman and Ann Cramer fielded many questions about the Wayne NF, Smokey Bear, and lookout towers. Teena was amused at the number of people who were puzzled at the connection between Bob Evans and Smokey. The rest of the museum features Bob Evans' life and the history of his business. "Several children asked if these two rooms were where Smokey Bear stayed when he came to visit Bob Evans," she said laughing. "Or they commented that Bob Evans must have been a really good friend of Smokey Bears if he had all this stuff about Smokey in his house." I told them who wouldn't be a good friend of Smokey Bear! But then I explained that the exhibit was because of the partnership between the national forest and Bob Evans Farm.

"People are just so intrigued with the exhibit it was fun for me to be there to watch them," Cramer added. "Many older people told me how they were Smokey's age, or 2 years older, or 3 years younger-they really related to him. They'd also tell me what they remembered about him from when they were kids, and you could tell there was a real connection there." She said the lookout tower information was also very interesting to people. She noted, "When Teena was there I watched her explain how the alidade worked and spin it around showing people how to triangulate a fire and get the fire's elevation and people just looked entranced. They were very interested in it." She said the exhibit has also already brought one interesting side benefit. "I had a call from someone who had been to the exhibit and seen our information on lookout towers and called to see if I'd like to have another one. They have an old State Lookout on their farm that they said they were willing to donate to us." I just think that's amazing and am already following up.

When you do an exhibit you never know what people are going to take away from it. Teena said one young boy who had carefully looked at every panel and display case asked her why Smokey Bear only had a shirt on in one picture. Of all the things for someone to notice! - but he was right, in a 60's vintage record cover he was wearing a checkered red and white shirt. Some questions just don't have a good answer.

But mostly the Wayne NF did answer lots of questions, and sold lots of ENFIA and gave out lots of information. At the end of the weekend, it was another good event with lots of good teamwork.

Workshop participants were excited about the new materials. One teacher commented, "These activities will help us utilize our new outdoor classroom at our land lab and will also help prepare our Envirothon teams."

Another teacher noted, "The activities will be a great lead-in for International Migratory Bird Day. I had fun with the activities." The teacher added, "I know my students will love them."

Regina Martin, Conservation Education coordinator for the Wayne facilitated the event. She said, "We were looking for a way to provide teachers with environmental education materials and encourage kids to re-connect with the outdoors. I think Flying Wild was a great way to accomplish the objectives. We hope teachers will help instill a sense of stewardship for birds by promoting awareness and knowledge of birds.

Martin commented that with the tools from the workshop "Teachers and kids can go outside or participate in backyard bird counts to appreciate what they have learned."

Partners in the workshop included the Ohio Environmental Education Fund and the Environmental Education Council of Ohio. For more info on Flying Wild, check out the website www.flyingwild.org .

Three years ago, Mark Twain National Forest's Eleven Point Ranger District became involved with the Ripley County Chamber of Commerce, Ripley County Commissioners, state and federal agencies and local businesses, to celebrate the history of the area and its relationship to forest management.

A "Timberfest" event was conceived and developed to recognize this history and to reconnect the people to their communities and the outdoors.

Ozark Regional Timberfest builds pride in a small rural community, enhances residents' "sense of place", and provides an educational outdoor experience.

Eleven Point Ranger District employees work in cooperation with the Ripley County Chamber of Commerce, private citizens, local, and state and federal agencies to plan and organize this event, which has three goals: 1) To celebrate this event in a way that would aid the local economy; 2) provide an educational link to the past; and 3) reconnect people to their communities and to the outdoors.

Ozark Timberfest is a two-day event during which cooperators provide festival goers a glimpse of the past through historical re-enactments of a traditional logging camp from the 1920's. There are audience events that include outdoor sporting games such as logging relays, traditional tool competitions, chainsaw events; traditional skills seminars featuring tie hacking, blacksmithing, horse logging, wood carving, and sponsored booths and food vendors.

As part of this event, one day is dedicated to providing students opportunities to learn by doing and viewing. Nearly a thousand children from local schools are bused in on the first day. Students are taught by Forest Service employees how to use a traditional outdoor logging tool, the cross cut saw, and are given the sawn slab with "USFS" branded into it as a souvenir.

The Eleven Point Ranger District, in addition to assisting with the planning of this event, also contributes through living history. Employees in historically-accurate dress and accurately-depicted artifacts operate a logging camp from the early 1900's. Employees have demonstrations of cross cut sawing and tie hacking. A family tent also recreates living conditions in the early 1900s.

Through a lot of work and effort, this event has become a success and is meeting the goals that began with a simple idea, said Eleven Pt. District Ranger Tim Bond.

"Eleven Point District employees have provided a unique opportunity for students and the general public to connect with their past, learn about the Forest environment and create opportunities to enjoy the outdoors."

Over 140 people hiked (and howled) along the pumpkin-lit trail on Friday for Howl O Ween, a partner event between the National Forest, Walker Community Education and Walker school. This year's theme was "Where the Wild Things Are" and kids really took that to heart. "It was so wonderful to see kids running on the trail, making their wild sounds. It's about getting kids outdoors again. I hope this experience, being in the woods at night, is something they will always remember" said Forest Service coordinator Mary Nordeen. "National Forest's can still be that place where kids can be out, at night, making noise and having fun!"

Families were greeted with a bonfire at the top of the Shingobee Sledding hill, and then hiked down to the chalet. They received a "scavenger hunt" card with critter questions, and then followed their way down the trail to six different critter stations. Once back at the Chalet, they roasted marshmallows with a Walker teacher and Smokey bear! There was hot chocolate and "Wild Thing" activities in the chalet. At 7:00 p.m., the kids read "Where the Wild Things Are" and then went to the hill and howled to all the kids on the trail!

The Chippewa National Forest utilized materials from the National Wildlife Federation's "Be Out There" campaign, which promoted the new "Wild Thing" movie to get more kids outside. The evening was not just fun for the kids. Most of those who helped make the event a success had returned from the 2009 event! Altogether, 54 volunteers and staff participated, including school teachers, community education directors, students, local community members and Chippewa National Forest employees.

Special thanks go to High School Biology teacher Kyle Duclos and his mammology class. Those 23 students played a key role in setting up for the event, including carving animal tracks in our pumpkin lanterns, setting up the six critter stations, using GPS and doing a safety run-through on the trail. What a fantastic group! The Leech Lake Boys and Girls' Club also added their talents to the pumpkin carving project!

Equally great is the Forest Service staff and families, including Mitch Bouchonville, Loree Albright, Kim Rawnsley, Ann and Kaila Long-Voelkner, Deb and Scott Overton, Paul and Kory Nordeen, Mike Rice, Tasha Woodwick, and Steve Frick.

It was the best wild rumpus! The historic Shingobee Hills will be the site of more "Wild" activities this winter as we continue our "Wolves In the Woods" education programs with the Walker community. Hope to see you out there! Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

"Being involved with the wild horses that live in the Ochoco Mountains east of Prineville, Oregon, I've become somewhat familiar with the territory where these amazing symbols of our heritage live," writes Ochoco National Forest volunteer Kate Beardsley.

For the most part, the approximately 73 individual horses that comprise this local herd live in a beautiful area that could be called Horse Heaven. Yet just this spring, I observed a month-old filly get caught in downed barbed wire from a long forgotten fence line running through this otherwise lovely national forest.

The Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition is a non-profit group that exists to help the Forest Service manage these and other wild horses. As a board member of the group, I stay pretty darn committed to our mission. Many in the coalition are aware of wire hazards on the forest, so someone hatched a plan to help the Forest Service get some of them cleaned up. Knowing a good idea when I see one, I got my volunteer agreement form signed and sent in right away.

When I heard that volunteers Linda Hadley and Gayle Hunt were heading out for a first attempt at rolling up old barbed wire, I just had to get in on the action. Of course, while horses weren't necessary for transportation, I preferred to bring my pack string, figuring, one horse or four, the fuel costs the same for my truck. Soon, the location of our first project was chosen. It was perhaps a mile past a gate marking a wildlife closure for all motorized vehicles. Sure enough, we'd need horses to pack the wire out from where we found it.

I have packed horses for a long time. And my horses are good.

But barbed wire? Ya gotta be kidding me.

We've packed gear, food for fire fighters, tools, rafts, parachutes, gravel, dirt, toilet paper, water, and live fish. But barbed wire? I knew my horses wouldn't care, but it was up to me to make sure the load was safe. I put in a call to a local resource who I knew had pulled fence in remote areas before and got as many tips as I could.

On a Sunday morning in October, we met on the edge of town and headed out to the site, finding a great parking location near where some hunters were packing up their camp.

Linda had her trusty and beautiful mare Capri. Gayle brought her gelding, Fargo, a formerly wild horse from the very area we were in. I brought my Haflinger mare, Mocha, as steady as they come, and my three pack horses, Granite, Duncan, and Otter - three more of America's wild horses.

Granite has Nevada blood in his veins, but Duncan and Otter were captured two years prior from the very area we were to ride in. And the four mustangs present were plain bay mustangs. Nothing special to look at, really, but four much loved and trustworthy steeds.

A short ride past the closed gate got us near the area. Linda, who has been honing her skills with a GPS, led us perfectly to the site - there it was, barbed wire sticking up in tangles both directions in the dappled sunlight throughout the ponderosa pine covered hillsides.

Our horses all stood well in the comforting sunshine when we tied them for the project, and we three started right in on rolling up any section of barbed wire we could find. I'm sure that someone installed that fence with great care a very long time ago, but it has long since fallen into disuse, much of it completely under a layer of pine needles, grass, and soil.

Unfortunately, much wire was also exposed in dangerous protruding loops, just waiting to ensnare a passing animal or hiker. Being warm enough to be almost comfortable in a long sleeve T-shirt, I realized how lucky we three were; spending a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in a magical place, doing easy work that directly benefited wildlife.

Many times as we handled the awkward material, we observed elk, deer, and wild horse tracks and scat in direct contact with the old fence. We found where trees had grown completely around the wire - many decades of growth by the look of it. And we found sheep wool on portions of fence, presumably from the sheep that graze this area for part of the year.

We fell into a pattern easily, and soon we had amassed quite a pile before we agreed that it was late enough to begin heading home.

Our shared lunch fueled us for the process of packing the wire on our horses. Gayle, in her infinite wisdom and creativity, had created A-frame-like pack frames that could be positioned over any saddle, to which our prickly loads could be strapped.

We brought four with us - three on my packhorses, and one tied behind the saddle of Gayle's Fargo.

When Gayle had described them over the phone to me, with the warning, "well, I don't know if they'll work…" , I made plans to bring my pack boards, which I use to pack odd loads and keep my horses safe, just in case. Once I laid eyes on Gayle's creations, I thought we'd give it a go. They worked wonderfully.

We loaded Fargo first. He'd never packed before, so it was imperative to make his first experience a comfortable one.

Having only eyes for Gayle, Fargo was not interested in me doing the loading, so Gayle methodically went through the process of desensitizing Fargo to the sound of the tightly rolled wire on his pack frame and before we knew it, Fargo was loaded and happy. My three mustangs we loaded next. I don't know how we did it, but we ended up with the exact right amount of wire to be packed on four horses.

Realizing that if my horses, who travel tied together, decided to crowd one another, we might have a mighty big wreck, I wanted to move off immediately after loading. So off we headed. Linda rode Capri, snapping photos along the way. I rode leading my string, with Gayle following behind leading Fargo.

Looking back was a beautiful sight - four plain bay mustangs with four matching loads, walking single file down the slopes, weaving through the trees and down on the road.

Whenever I look at my pack string, I feel pride. This time, looking back at this line of matching mustangs, packing out hazardous material like four great big porcupines, was almost beyond description.

There they were, America's Legacy, quietly doing their part to make the world a safer place for wildlife and for other wild horses. I relaxed once we got going and simply couldn't stop looking at our beautiful kids.

Our arrival at our trailers with our dangerous load was properly received. A wild stallion and mare came running out of the nearby trees, nickering to our animals.

Our three horses that had been captured from the local area all nickered back. The wild horses stayed grazing nearby, perhaps quietly communicating their approval and gratitude for the work we had done.

(By Kate Beardsley, Central Oregon, courtesy Ochoco National Forest PAO Virginia Gibbons)

Volunteers from Southern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University School of Engineering Mining and Mineral Resources, the Shawnee National Forest Master Trail Stewards class, Carbondale Community High School Environmental Club, the Sierra Club, a local attorney and a local organic farmer joined Kelly Pearson, Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District Trails and Volunteer Coordinator, for trail work on the Crooked Tree Trail in LaRue Pine Hills. The group enjoyed the cool temperatures and majestic fall back drop of the bluffs and the Mississippi Valley as they worked to improve the trail tread, clear brush away from the trail and install water bars.

From the oldest to the youngest, 14 members of the Prairie du Rocher Saddle Club offered a hand in the removal of ten foot bridges and the repair of one foot bridge in the Johnson Creek Recreation Area. Volunteers also picked up trash on road ways and trails in the area.

While the men toiled to remove the bridges, the ladies, the future volunteers and Trails Technician Kay Bushno worked on trail improvements within the area. The work-day was a huge success. We take our hats off to Prairie du Rocher Saddle Club for all of their hard work.

The Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Geography Club spent the beautiful fall afternoon working on Little Grand Canyon Trail. Adopted by the Geography Club for the past three years, Little Grand Canyon Trail is by far the most visited trail on the west side of the Shawnee National Forest. Their work day included a hike of the trail to mark locations on a map where trees had fallen across the trail, installing signs and taking measurements of holes in the trail tread resulting from the May 8, 2009, severe wind storm. The Geography Club will be returning to Little Grand Canyon on November 7, 2009, to assist the Forest Service in repairing the damaged trail tread.

If you are interested in participating in other volunteer events on the Shawnee National Forest please contact the Shawnee Volunteer Corps at 618-687-1731 ext. 125. The Shawnee National Forest's excellent volunteer program is a perfect way to connect citizens to the land, while demonstrating ways to protect ecosystems across boundaries.

The LLBO Division of Resource Management (DRM) has been coordinating the treatment and through the grant has hired two tribal members to operate the mechanized equipment. The equipment is a "skid steer" with an attached power head that grinds and reduces the smaller diameter fuels. Less available fuel means less chance a wildfire would spread from tribal or national forest land, decrease the intensity by keeping the fire near the ground, and increase the success of suppressing a wildfire and protecting homes. Mechanical fuel treatment can treat a large area in a short time and is cost effective.

The areas being treated are near rural homes on the Leech Lake Reservation near the town of Ball Club. Because homes and fuels are closely intertwined in this area, it was identified as a "wildland urban interface environment" with potential high fire hazard to the local community and businesses. Pine stands throughout the community have now been commercially thinned and the residues have been masticated. Additional areas have been treated by mechanized equipment to reduce the amount of fuel on the ground that could lead to an intense ground fire or catastrophic crown fire. Because of the work of tribal members on their native lands, decomposition is initiated faster and soil productivity can increase the crown heights. Thinning and masticating helps reduces the crown canopy or bulk density and causes disturbance that could be beneficial for blueberry restoration, an important plant to tribal members.

By working cooperatively, both resource management agencies improve communications, sharing data and a success that can grow future projects and tribal employment. There is agreement to continue to seek out additional funding when it becomes available.

The current project will be completed by October 31, 2012…. But many good results will happen before then.

The second most dramatic experience was climate change: it was an unusually cool fall in northern Minnesota, 41 degrees with a good chance of freezing rain, though all faces were very sunny on field trip day. With a meeting theme of landscape-scale conservation, the group headed out to experience the landscape.

The RLT field day around the Chippewa involved two buses, travelling the same circuit in opposite directions to visit sites near some of Minnesota's largest lakes, and hear from partners in this landscape of highly mixed ownership. The day began for one group on a breezy pontoon boat trip across Lake Cass to Star Island, where the group walked to a significant Indian heritage site and saw 49 of our 286 recreation residences, almost as old as the 101 year old national forest. To be on the Chippewa National Forest is to be on the water.

Another half of the RLT group wove their way into the Forest, to an area in the heart of a Minnesota watershed with high development pressure, but also the highest ability to produce clean drinking water. At the Pigeon River dam, north of giant Lake Winnibigoshish, partners talked of their involvement in stimulus and wildlife habitat projects, and at Tamarack Point on Lake Winnie the group learned more about ongoing research in Experimental Forests and fuels management efforts affecting the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Leaders of the Leech Lake Band joined the group at lunch, and for a presentation and tour of the Camp Rabideau National Historic Landmark and its restoration and reuse by youth in need. Partners demonstrated how youth service providers, agencies, and communities can collectively achieve success by pooling their resources. While youth help restore historic buildings, they are also developing a people's garden, completing high school course work and learning skills and habits for a lifetime.

To be on the Chippewa, is to be part of a larger community, and the RLT enjoyed being included. As you can see by their faces, everyone had a great time!

The Little Wolf Bridge was originally built in 1950 using Larch log sills with creosote treated log stringers. Forest managers closed the Little Wolf Bridge to traffic on September 15, 2009 because the bridge deck was collapsing under the weight of loaded gravel trucks. Work on the Little Wolf creek bridge replacement began on October 5th. Little Wolf Creek was rerouted using dewatering pumps while the bridge structure was removed and the arch pipe installed. Work on the Little Wolf Creek culvert was completed on October 9, 2009 creating a safe, sturdy bridge and reducing sediment in the stream from failing culverts.

The Jackson Creek Bridge, originally built in 1949 utilizing a similar design, will be replaced during the 2010 construction season due to early winter conditions.

This project including replacing destination signs and alert/warning signs along Forest Roads 100, 250, and 247. Various other signs including route identifiers, Motor Vehicle Use signs on the Palouse Ranger District, and the Lolo Trail National Historic Landmark sign were also installed. Sign placement benefits sightseeing travlers and the motorized and non-motorized users of Forest roads providing an element of safety and comfort in knowing where you are.

During one hard-working week the crew installed a new fence around the Lolo Creek Campground. The fence project around the Lolo Campground provides a barrier to exclude cattle in the area from the campground to keep it cleaner and improving the aesthtics for visitors.

At the Kooskia Ranger Station, two of the crew demolished an old building and improved the looks of the area with a general cleanup of the compound. Two other crew members placed rock around the Weitas Guard Station helping preserve the foundation and provide drainage away from the building. With the crew's hard work, Forest employees and visitors benefited by the compound cleanup of Kooskia Ranger Station and drain field maintenance at Weitas Guard Station.

Known as the oldest, toughest, meanest rally on the circuit it is run every year in late October and has two of several race stages run on Ottawa National Forest roads. Every year our recreation program assists the race organizers by providing a Special Use permit allowing for road closures and associated administrative arrangements that allow for the race to take place.

If you have never had the opportunity to attend a race it is an event you are not likely to forget. The event consists of a pre-designed route of travel with several designated race stages where cars race against time. The race takes place over a number of days, during the day and night, rain, sleet, snow, or whatever may come. It is a sight to behold. High speed, professional drivers traveling dirt roads that otherwise would host much slower more careful travel. The spectacle is especially spectacular after dark, in the quiet of the night.

With lots of high energy lights and speed, out of the dark, here …. zoom … gone.

Over the years there has been some controversy over the Ottawa National Forest hosting such an event but in providing a diversity of recreational opportunities and concern for economic support for local communities it was decided to allow for the event to continue.

This is not quite your silent sports event.

For four hours, once a year, a small town in the Ottawa National Forest comes alive with noise, cars, people, and national news attention. You gotta be here to see it! It is quite the event.

One such expressive spirit on the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina did that quite literally, infusing colorful new life into the agency's last-functional-seemingly-indispensable-wood-and-glue-citadel to public knowledge in a digital age: the information board. Often the final point of contact with the public, the information board remains the on-site communication mainstay around which visitors gather to learn about the national forests they explore.

Jannah DuPre, Deputy Director of Sewee Visitor and Environmental Center and forest recreation program manager, was quick to point out that it was a regional information board team that came up with a new exciting and informative look for boards across Region 8, but certainly DuPre's painting and design skills are prominently featured in them. She painted jazzy, colorful, watercolor images of people engaged in every facet of recreation, of forest animals, plants, landscapes and symbols.

"The synergy of the team just came together under the leadership of Anne Christensen in the Southern Regional Office," said DuPre. "She formed a team of people to look critically at boards across the Region because she recognized the need for eye-catching graphics and a consistency of messages to recapture the public's interest in our posted information. And she obviously wasn't alone. It just clicked from the beginning; we had writers and editors and people volunteering in all different ways to pull it together."

The team won a Regional Forester's award for its development of attractively illustrated information posters made available on the intranet for use across the Region, or for that matter, across the nation, as DuPre hopes.

"We're really proud of the site. It kind of walks you through as if you had a shopping cart. If you need a safety message, here's two poster sizes you can choose between, here are the images you can draw from, here's the existing verbiage and you can add your own if you like." Indeed the site is structured to supply appealing ingredients and allow the land manager to arrange and tailor them. Please check out the direct link to the information board web page at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/boards/.

But DuPre's interpretive talents shine closer to home as well. She created an interactive 'backyard' butterfly garden at the Sewee Center to demonstrate how easily people can create beneficial habitat for creatures in their own backyards. She converted parking medians to native plant habitat, and organizes programs to introduce the public to local sweet grass basket makers of lowcountry South Carolina's historic Gullah community, emphasizing the connectedness of the land and its people.

Her design skills enhance interpretive signs along certain forest trails, trails that might otherwise be mistaken for any other pleasant walk in the woods. Gently guiding the steps of an inquisitive visitor back in history along the Sewee Shell Ring Interpretive Trail, the signs highlight native plants used by American Indians for medicinal and practical purposes. Then suddenly the marsh landscape opens to reveal a 4,000 year-old shell ring thought possibly to have been a year-round village site for ancient hunter-gatherers.

DuPre's wide ranging skills recently won her the Gifford Pinchot Regional Interpeter of the Year Award, and put her firmly in the running for the national Gifford Pinchot Excellence in Interpretation Award to be announced in November of 2009.

Originally a landscape architect and later a recreation officer on the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California, DuPre managed to weave her personal passion for art and interpreting nature into her career duties regardless of her on-paper role. For instance, while she juggled a demanding recreation program, she created a desert native plants garden to introduce visitors to the natural landscape of the desert southwest environment.

"I was thinking about my first connections to nature," remembered DuPre. "I grew up on farms in Indiana and North Carolina. Our biggest entertainment was going on walks in the woods with my dad. As we passed trees and flowers he would point them out, no matter how small, and tell us their names."

"I guess at the age of about 10 I was amazed that anybody knew so much. My dad was a city boy and my mom a city girl. I have no idea how he knew all that, maybe he made it up as he went along." she joked, "but each time it was like going on a treasure hunt, looking for wildflowers and trying to figure out what they were."

Asked for a comment on the honor of being nominated for, and ultimately named, regional interpreter of the year, DuPre blushed, averted her eyes, then responded in classic agency fashion.

"I was thinking I don't do anything that special. I really didn't think I did, but it's kinda cool that the Region thinks I do. Honestly, I've always taken these things on just because I love them."

The winner of the national interpretive award will be announced in an awards ceremony in Hartford, Connecticut on November 19, 2009

So it was without question a challenge for dozens of Oregon Job Corps students this September and October when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ARRA) provided them with construction projects in Northern California. It was there where crews of Job Corps students, rotating in and out about every two weeks, renovated a Ranger Station built in the 1950s on the Plumas National Forest.

"There it was just a fast pace," said Emily Beirnes, 21, a cement masonry trainee from the Wolf Creek Job Corps facility located east of Roseburg, Ore. "There was always something to do."

Fittingly stationed in Challenge, Calif., about 50 students at a time - including students from the Angell and Timberlake Job Corps - honed their skills in the trades of carpentry, cement masonry, plumbing, and painting.

Essentially, the old Ranger Station got a makeover.

"It was the fastest-paced job and the hardest job they've been on in Job Corps," said Tony Longbrake, instructor of cement masonry at Wolf Creek.

On the job for 10 days, Sept. 14-25, Longbrake's nine-man crew accomplished about five times' the work for which it was slated. Instead of pouring 70 feet of new sidewalk, the crew poured and smoothed 380 feet of new sidewalk. In addition to the three concrete ramps it was assigned, the crew also formed three concrete slabs that will serve as parking areas and a barbecuing area for the Ranger Station.

In all, the Wolf Creek masonry crew poured 40 cubic yards of cement. The 10-hour workdays also gave crew members ample time to hone their job skills in a real work environment.

"I learned how to make radius forms (curving sidewalks)," said Kevin Crow, 21, of Wolf Creek.

Beirnes said she learned how to make box forms, forms to hold concrete in place while it sets.

And Cesar Ramos, 19, of Wolf Creek, said he learned how to work at a fast pace, "like in the real world."

Instructors faced the challenge of having the foresight to anticipate and bring the tools they might need - without having the luxury of previewing the project. But crew members quickly adapted and organized themselves through teamwork, stated Longbrake.

Situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at 3,000 feet, a much higher elevation than Wolf Creek's foothills of the Cascades, the Plumas Ranger Station presented a new environment to the Job Corps students. And the bugs and mosquitoes really stood out.

"If it flew, it was in your face," said Alex Townsend, 20, of Wolf Creek.

Although most Wolf Creek Job Corps students come from all over the Pacific Northwest, most of them had never before visited the Challenge and Plumas forest areas, which are about a seven hours' drive south. On one particular day they visited and drove across the nearby Bullards Bar Dam, which is essentially a masterpiece of masonry and engineering on the Yuba River.

"That was kind of shocking because we were expecting some sort of rinky-dink dam," said Townsend, "but it was massive."

While camping at Young Life's Woodleaf Towne, a retreat center in Challenge, Job Corps students were also able to enjoy the facility's swimming pool, game room, basketball court, sand volleyball court, lake and "intense rope swing" during their evenings.

"It was actually pretty nice," said John Burns, 17, a carpentry student at Wolf Creek who was one of the first to visit Challenge as part of a nine-man crew from his class.

Besides fun and games, Burns said he enjoyed the work immensely. While learning the basics of roofing on a barracks, he removed old shingles and applied new plywood and metal sheeting; he also hammered in the framework for a rotten bathroom floor that needed a new double joist.

"It was so bad that I could take my hammer and just tap it and the wood would fall apart," Burns said.

Above all, the work opportunities funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave the Job Corps students the realization that they can take their training into the real world.

"We'll accept new challenges and we'll conquer them," Kevin Crow said.

By Adam Pearson, freelance writer residing in Roseburg, Oregon

This year's 15 winners were selected from nearly 200 nominations. This award, announced by the Office of the Environmental Executive, recognizes outstanding achievements of Federal employees and their facilities for efforts in promoting environmental stewardship.

Deer River District Ranger Joe Alexander and Associate Deputy Chief of Business Operations Jacqueline Myers accepted the award on behalf of those involved in the project at the June 17 awards ceremony in Bethesda, Maryland. The plaque was signed by President Obama. It was an incredible honor for the District office to be recognized among such a distinguished group of awardees.

Deer River Ranger District challenged itself to an Extreme Makeover to help reduce its environmental footprint. That effort was captured on film, and the resulting DVD, patterned after the popular Extreme Makeover television program, portrays an answer to the question of how the Forest Service can connect the benefits of land stewardship practices to reducing resource consumption. The Deer River District condensed its vehicle fleet size, replaced inefficient toilets and a furnace, and made other changes that have already reduced both financial and energy expenditures. For example, changing 346 fluorescent light bulbs to T-8 bulbs lessens the district´s carbon emissions by over 36 tons while saving $3,000 annually when combined with sensors

"Acting on existing opportunities that reduce a district´s environmental footprint can have a tremendous effect if replicated across the agency," Alexander said. "The project is actually achieving exactly what we had hoped it would, which was to start a conversation at all levels and all branches of the Forest Service about what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and conserve resources."

Earlier in the year, the Deer River Ranger District's Makeover team was also awarded the Deputy Chief's Business Operations Award for Sustainable Operations. The awards also came with a responsibility: to continue their good work by spending $7,500 award winnings.

A copy of the DVD was sent to every district office, supervisor's office, regional office, research station, and Washington office unit across the agency in time for Earth Day, April 22.

Volunteers did an excellent job in a number of different capacities from staffing registration to providing food to trash collection to staffing educational booths. They were able to find quick and simple solutions to time consuming and tedious tasks.

The efforts of the volunteers contributed to the success of this safe and memorable event that made a tremondous impact on the condition of the Lower Salt River.

This summer's "Stimulus" work is a continuation of fuels reduction work that has been underway for nearly a decade. The counties continually assess wildfire risk and design and implement projects to mitigate the risk.

The resulting forests are more fire resistant, healthier and more resilient to insect and disease infestations and with the funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, individual families and communities are economically healthier and more resilient as well.

Economic Recovery Project Details

ARRA Funding: $2,300,000

Project Reference #: WFM-01-1. First 10% Project

Jobs Created: 58 seasonal jobs are being created to develop protective fuel breaks near Bonners Ferry, Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, and St. Maries, Idaho.

October 2009 Project Update: Boundary County, one of four rural counties involved in this project, has completed nearly 90% of their ARRA-funded work! 45 people have been employed throughout the summer, completing hazardous fuel treatment projects on 410 acres to date. Since wildfires are occasionally started by locomotives and vehicles traveling through this part of the country, the fuel reduction projects have been concentrated along critical transportation corridors. Other projects have reduced fuels on private lands, tying in with recently completed projects on neighboring National Forest System lands, thus increasing the effectiveness of both Forest Service and private landowners' treatments.

Much of the remaining ARRA funding will be used to create fuel breaks in forests adjacent to a public high school and the nearby residential neighborhoods.

The resulting forests are healthier and more resistant to fire and resilient to insect and disease infestations and with the funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, individual families and communities are economically healthier and more resilient as well.

Economic Recovery Project Details

ARRA Funding: $4,000,000

Project Reference: #WFM-0460-04WTE

Jobs Created: Supports retention and expansion of 50 person workforce with short-term construction and long-term mill and logging jobs.

Project Update: Over 30 people are employed in the construction phase of the Emmett Saw and Shavings Mills project. Emerald Forest Products has purchased used equipment from 4 different sawmills, stretching from Wyoming to Oregon, and most of their 'new' equipment has already been delivered-all 30 truckloads!

In addition to the construction crews, this project is gearing up to provide long-term employment for up to 45 people at the saw and shavings mills plus additional people in the logging and trucking industries. Emerald Forest Products has agreements with a national hardware and lumber chain store to provide lumber for the 8' - 12' board market, helping ensure the long-term viability of the operations.

Furthermore, the on-site power plant will produce 19 megawatts of energy, enough to cover mill site operations with excess sold to Idaho Power. If those aren't benefits enough, a locally invasive juniper will be used for fuel, thus restoring the local ecosystem while providing a sustainable source of energy.

"Our feasibility study indicated a strong market for a small efficient mill," explains Dick Vinson of Emerald Forest Products. "We plan to be operating in the 1st Quarter of 2010!"

Evergreen Forest Products produces lumber at their mill in Tamarack, Idaho. They currently need to haul the green lumber 112 miles to their other mill to dry and plane the boards before marketing them. Adding the dry kiln at their Tamarack site will reduce processing and overall trucking costs, providing more funds for purchase of raw material and for wages. The dry kiln will be heated with wood energy. The wood comes from treatment projects on private, state and federal lands, including the Payette and Boise National Forests. These treatment projects protect communities at risk from unplanned wildfires and improvement to forest health. In addition, a co-generation plant fueled by biomass will heat the dry kiln and produce excess energy that will be sold to Idaho Power.

Adams County has a current unemployment rate of 15% and a net rate change between 2007 and 2008 of 6.6%.

Economic Recovery Project Details

ARRA Funding: $2,500,000

Project Reference #:WFM-0460-01 WTE

Jobs Created: 150 short- and long-term jobs are being created and supported in construction, lodging & restaurants, equipment manufacturing & sales, and mill & logging operations.

October 2009 Project Update: Construction of dry kilns began at the Evergreen Forest Products site a couple of months ago. Its estimated that over 150 people have already benefited from employment opportunities associated with the construction of the dry kilns, manufacturing of steel and equipment for the facility, and even the town's service industries ~ motels and restaurants. Evergreen spokesman Rodney Krogh indicates they expect the cost savings from the efficiencies gained in drying and transporting lumber will be available to secure more raw timber supply and for increased wages for the additional people they anticipate hiring at both the sawmill and planer, in order to keep up with the mills' increased processing capacity.

"Everybody was hungry… You don't know how appreciative folks are.. Motels and restaurants have had steady business for the summer. Businesses as far away as the steel source in Portland (OR) are benefiting from this funding." Rodney Krogh, Member of Family Owned Evergreen Forest Products

It was an absolutely beautiful day to work, with cool temperatures, no bugs, and the start of great fall colors. The event was based out of the Walker Ranger District's Shingobee Hills Recreation Area. Volunteers met at the historic Shingobee chalet, a 1930's CCC building. This historic structure offers a wonderful venue for group gatherings, and Forest Service employees Tom Schackman, Ray Burpo, Steve Frick, Mona Patzer, Paul Schott, Wade Sandstrom and Jan Marjamaa were there to welcome everyone. After a safety meeting discussing projects, tools and terrain, the volunteers were split into five work groups, each led by a Forest Service employee.

The crews tackled a variety of needed projects, including:

* Installing a North Country Trail (NCT) sign on a newly constructed trailhead kiosk at Shingobee

* Installing barrier posts on the NCT and rehabbing trail damage by Diamond Lake, north of Hackensack

* Rehabbing trail damage between the Paul Bunyan State Trail and MN-34

* Rehabbing the trail tread & moving a backcountry campsite by the former Woodtick Impoundment (where the natural hydrology has been recently restored)

A fall interpretive hike along the Shingobee Hills trail was also offered for visitors who weren't sure they wanted to do trail work on a beautiful fall day! Following the day's work, some of the participants stuck around for a cookout dinner sponsored by the NCT Association through the generous contributions of Walker North Country Marathon racers.

Thanks go to the Forest Service's Walker Ranger District staff as well as the 25 volunteers, including: Star of the North and Itasca Moraine members John Leinen, Harlan Liljequist, Barb & Brian Pavek, Jerry Trout & Harold Cotant, scouts from the Pine River-Backus Troop 73 led by Denton Newman & Clyde Oliver, and Cass Lake-Bena High School Science Club students led by teacher Nancy Howard. Thanks to Regional Trail Coordinator Matt Davis for coordinating the day with the Forest and sharing this Success Story with us!

The work done on the trail also helps prepare for the upcoming Howl-O-Ween at Shingobee event on October 23. Thanks to everyone who participated in National Public Lands Day!

The Lincoln-Douglas project was a multiple-day event with a dinner the evening before the Saturday programs. The highlight of the event was a re-enactment of the debate of September 15, 1858, between Abraham Lincoln and Judge Stephen A. Douglas in a grove of trees that became the "Old Jonesboro Fairgrounds" and is now the Lincoln Memorial Picnic Grounds located at the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger Station. Many people attending the event were dressed in period costumes.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is particularly proud of the citizens of Illinois who give unselfishly of their time, money and efforts to make their communities better places to live and work. Volunteers are making a difference in Illinois by creating a positive climate in which businesses and families want to live and work. Yet, their efforts often go unheralded by their fellow citizens, even though these efforts contribute to the overall quality of life in the community. When you give of your time, donate materials or reach into your pocketbook to help guide youth, look out for seniors, feed and shelter the homeless and reach out to conserve our natural resources, you are making Illinois a better place for all of us.

The Forest continues to work with partners in ways that connect citizens to the land.

Built in 1906, the same year Teddy Roosevelt designated the Grand Canyon National Game Preserve, Jump Up Cabin is the oldest existing ranger station on the plateau.

This work is made possible by an allocation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for restoration efforts at Jump Up, and on the Dry Park Cabin and structures at Big Springs. Contracts will go to bid later this year for the other two projects.

The restoration largely consists of: replacing the old flooring, repairing interior walls, installing a new wood stove, some foundation repair, and exterior staining.

Fredonia resident John Azar is performing the restoration with assistance from the North Kaibab Ranger District. Materials have been purchased locally from Lumber Plus Home Center & Builders Supply, Heat Wave Fireplaces & Spas of Kanab, and Canyon Country Mill & Resources Inc. of Fredonia.

According to North Kaibab Archeologist Connie Zweifel the cabin was one of a handful of structures across the plateau built for forest rangers, each cabin about a day's horse ride apart. Only two remain today; the other is at Jacob Lake.

"The original building materials came off the Kaibab," Connie said, "with windows and roofing brought in by wagon from the railroad station at Marysville, Utah."

Over the years the cabin has been used often by ranching permittees, and more recently as a camping shelter by forest visitors. The cabin sits at the trailhead for Ranger Trail #41 that explores Kanab Creek Wilderness.

Work on Jump Up Cabin is expected to be finished sometime this year. The work at Dry Park and Big Springs will likely begin in the spring. Under federal guidelines, all projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act must be completed by September 2010.

To learn more about bidding on government contracts, go to www.fbo.gov.

For additional information on the North Kaibab Ranger District, please contact Patrick Lair, Public Affairs Specialist (928-643-8172).

Students ages 14-19 are eligible and are chosen for the program based on application materials and interviews. In addition to gaining interview and jobs skills, students learn forestry-related skills and gain a deeper understanding of natural resources, career options, job skills and teamwork.

"When we first started many of the kids did not know their way around the forest and had never been to many of the popular places," says Forest Service coordinator and Cowlitz Valley recreation technician Steve Hoecker. "Now they not only know where they are, they have gained an appreciation for them."

In 2006 the team received the Region 6 People Serving People Partnership Award. There are also Americorps volunteers that accompany the crews and provide positive role models for the kids. Partners of the program are White Pass School District, Morton School District, Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, Lewis County and the Cispus Americorps team. The program is funded through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act and projects are coordinated by Forest Service personnel.

A total of 76 positions were designated for community service on public lands, including 10 students who worked at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Students worked 30 hours a week for six weeks in departments such as Civil Rights, Urban Youth, EEO/Dispatch, Wildlife and Fisheries, Fleet, and nonprofit. While duties were mainly administrative, the goal of the program was to provide an environment where youth could develop basic job skills, such as accountability, punctuality and responsibility, while learning about job fields of interest. They also received job skill training, including workshops on communication, behavior, dress code, resume development, interview tips, and employer expectations.

"The knowledge I've gained working for the SYEP has brought me one step closer to the goals I have set for myself," said SYEP Mount St. Helens Institute Intern Isioma Odum. "It has enabled me to establish relationships with people who have become influential figures and role models. This alone has exposed me to a variety of skills that I will use to enhance my future career options."

The program ran from July 14 to August 21, 2009. Anyone between the ages of 14-24 who met the Department of Labor guidelines for low-income students was eligible to apply. More than 130 students applied for the 76 positions.

"For most of our students this was their first paid summer work experience," said SYEP Program Administrator and Natural Resources Staff Officer Earl Ford. "Their hard work and dedication to the team certainly exceeded my expectations."

Other partners of the program included the City of Vancouver Parks and Recreation Department, Washington State Department of Transportation, Clark County Clerk of Court, Community Services, Public Works and Human Resources departments and Rosemeare Neighborhood Restoration and Clark County Public Utilities District.

Rod Fahl, and I came to give a one day pack mule demonstration, the purpose of this was to explain how we (Hoosier National Forest) use pack animals in the Wilderness area for trail construction and maintenance, also to explain the purpose of wilderness and how it differs from other natural areas. We had many people stop by and ask questions and look at the mules (Ruth & Jack) and other tools we use in the wilderness (plow, grader, and crosscut). Many people did not realize we had such a great resource in the state, and also many were amazed at the required use of the primitive tools.

Stacy Duke also attended and sold conservation education items offered through the ENFIA nature store outlet. Stacy also passed out Forest information about the recreational opportunities that we provide here on the Hoosier National Forest. Needless to say the event went off without a hitch, other than the one we used to pull Ruth and Jack.

John Roth, OTA founder, was killed in a farming accident July 2009. Roth started the association in 2002 to help repair and expand the approximately 350-mile trail connecting St. Louis to Arkansas through Mark Twain National Forest. The trail was named a National Recreation Trail in 2008 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Roth was a former computer business owner who sold his St. Louis-based company in 1999. He was a frequent OTA user. After finding much of the trail in disrepair, his interest and energy led him in 2002 to found OTA.

OTA Crew Leader Kathie Brennan of Cape Girardeau, Mo., said Roth's dedication continues to provide inspiration to volunteers who travel hours to build trails.

"His personality was infectious," she said. "He was one of those cool guys. Everyone considered him their best friend."

Brennan started working with OTA five years ago and has participated in more than 41 trail-building events. She said building a trail gives volunteers a vested interest in the Ozark Trail.

"I hike what I build," Brennan said. "You get a thrill about what you've helped create along with so many others. It is a great feeling to say 'I built this.'"

OTA works with various land agencies and assists with laying out the trail following tree line contours, near scenic way points and around the land's natural features. They also minimize damage to existing vegetation and prevent erosion. The proposed trail is then reviewed and approved, an in some cases, initial construction is assisted by a small trail bulldozer. OTA event volunteers do the hand work to complete the trail.

Brennan said workers spend a lot of time on "finessing the trail," which includes removing debris, stones and invasive plants, then "masking" the finished trail.

Once the trail is completed, it is signed with Ozark Trail signage to indicate the path.

Volunteers at many OTA builds are of all ages and experience levels. For some, it is a family activity. Volunteers on the weekend builds are provided free camping. Following the build, there are planned activities including a barbecue, raffles, a bonfire and bluegrass music. That mix of work and play attracts many volunteers.

"My whole family does it," Mark Seesing said. "It is one of the most family-oriented activities. It is a neat bunch of people and so much camaraderie and companionship."

The Cape Girardeau resident has been active with OTA since 2002. He and his children, Hannah, 17, and Kirkland, 14, enjoy hiking the trails they build. Seesing said OTA and similar organizations inspire him and others to help their community, particularly on National Public Lands Day.

"This is my opportunity to give back," he said. "It is such a beautiful trail."

More information about the Ozark Trail Association and volunteer opportunities with the group is available at www.ozarktrail.com.

This award is the highest honor given to a person for their outstanding research, preservation and management of native plants.

Nelson received the award September 2009 while attending a symposium commemorating the 30 year Anniversary of the Missouri Native Plant Society.

Dr. Julian Steyermark wrote the exhaustive 1,700 page Flora of Missouri published in 1963. The award nomination said Nelson was among a group of distinguished botanists invited to meet Steyermark in the early 1980's prior to his passing away.

That visit inspired Nelson to write The Terrestrial Natural Communities of Missouri, a classification system now widely accepted in the academic and resource management fields, that best describes Missouri's diverse ecosystems.

Nelson has also served as lead illustrator of ten botanical books including Ferns of Arkansas, Ferns of Missouri, Trees of Missouri, Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri, contributing artist to Volume 2 of Yatskieyvich's Steyermarks Flora of Missouri, and four volumes of the Illustrated Flora of Illinois published by Dr. Robert H. Mohlenbrock.

His contribution to Missouri botany and ecosystem management is unmatched by his institution of employing prescribed fire as a management tool to woodlands in the early 1980's, according to Rex Hill, Missouri Native Plant Society president. His persistence in implementing the natural fire process for resource management in Missouri remain one of the great attributes for the ongoing restoration of native landscapes and plant communities.

Rich Hall, Mark Twain National Forest planning director, said Nelson set Mark Twain National Forest on a course for large-scale woodland and glade restoration by identifying key parcels of land.

The Award nomination goes on to say Nelson's "tireless efforts have served us well, and will continue to do so for many years to come."

"This caused frustration for the victims who were not receiving restitution which was owed them, frustration for the probation officers, frustration for the court/judge, and frustration for the youth who may want to restore their victims," said Aric Fromdahl, assistant director of the Douglas County Juvenile Department.

Fromdahl and the juvenile department resolved the situation by asking for a $23,000 grant from Title II funds through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. Juvenile offenders can now pay their restitution while removing litter from over 300 miles of road in the Diamond Lake, North Umpqua, and Tiller ranger districts.

"Our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service has resulted in our community addressing and filling a gap in our juvenile justice system. Prior to the JRWC and our partnership with the US Forest Service, youth between the ages of 12 and 15 did not have many avenues to earn money to pay restitution to their victims," said Aric Fromdahl, assistant director of the Douglas County Juvenile Department.

Outside of the road miles of litter removal and paying restitution, the project also accomplishes some vital, intangible goals.

"Not only does the JRWC fit our mission by holding youth accountable, but it also addresses our mission to provide youth with opportunities to restore their victims and our community. Victims may also feel a sense of reassurance that the youth who caused them harm are being held accountable and turning their negative behavior into positive change," said Fromdahl.

The $23,000 Title II grant was the third that Douglas County Juvenile Department has received from the Rogue-Umpqua Resource Advisory Committee. For more information about Title II visit, http://tiny.cc/zLsjA. To view photos of this project, visit http://tiny.cc/dnsoK .

Written by Eric Zubriski, public affairs intern on the Umpqua National Forest.

The Hyalite Canyon drainage received new guardrails in the lower portion of the watershed. Crews also installed a traffic light to regulate vehicles. The guardrail work is expected to be complete by September 30.

Other construction work occurring in the Hyalite drainage includes the construction of a pavilion at the Blackmore parking area, in conjunction with Montana State University and the renovation of Hood Creek Campground. Hood Creek Campground was closed from about the end of July thru the end of

October to accomplish the upgrades. Langhor and Chisolm campgrounds are both open.

Crews began graveling and installing drainage on the upper Taylor Fork and Cache Creek Roads (about 7.8 miles) on July 6th and finished in mid September. The Cache Creek Road was improved in mid July. Cache Creek Road was in need of a great deal of work because it is very erosive, easily rutted, and has substantial use and safety issues when wet.

In the Shields River drainage, north of Livingston, Montana reconstruction work on the Smith Creek and Shields River Road included replacing four existing

culverts in the Smith Creek Road to ensure adequate fish passage during high flow. This project will ultimately reconstruct and upgrade 5.6 miles of the Shields River Road from the end of the park County Road to the Deep Creek Bridge and install a parking area near the Sunlight Road junction to address erosion and safety issues. Visitors and homeowners using the Shields River Road did experience some delays in travel but the improvements to safety and the natural surfacing of the road was well worth it.

On the Mill Creek Road, crews replaced the Anderson Creek and Main Mill Creek

bridges, replaced the Colley Creek Culvert, resurfaced the road from the Upper Bridge to Colley Trailhead, and installed armored drainage dips.

These safety and resource protection projects were sorely needed in these popular areas and made possible through the additional ARRA funding recieved in early 2009.

The six are members of a trail crew funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) program. During the last remaining days of summer they have taken on the physically demanding job of clearing and improving the trail - which often has meant clearing fallen trees, moving large rocks and placing them where they can help prevent trail erosion, and digging trenches to place water bars that will channel water off the trail when the rain and snow finally come.

For each trail on the district, recreation specialists maintain a file that contains data on the trail condition, when it was last surveyed and needed work. The trails program also maintains and improves trails according to a national standard - for example, trails that allow horses should provide a corridor about eight feet wide and ten feet high to prevent riders from having to squeeze through tight spaces.

That type of clearing work is a part of what the crew at Goat Lakes has been working on. They are expected to finish up the Goat Lakes Trail in another week and then move on to other projects on the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District, continuing to work until the cold and rain of fall stops them.

The six-person team not only works all day together, but also shares responsibility for preparing meals and other duties in their backcountry camp near the trails they are working on.

The ARRA funded work has allowed the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District to expedite their trail maintenance and improvement program by leaps and bounds - and also hire local youth. This year's six person crew is three-times the usual summer trail crew size, and next spring and summer the district plans to double that with two six-person crews - also with ARRA funding.

The district is typically able to clear - or "log out" - the high use trails on its 300 mile trail system in the average year with the two-person crew. Significant trail improvement work like the installation of water bars and trail tread repairs is often limited. But the recent funding has allowed district recreation program specialists like Mark Smith to take on larger improvements, such as the Goat Lakes trail. The project will also include trailhead widening to allow horse trailers to turn around.

Other projects include the Wilkes Creek trail, where this year's crew will soon begin to replace and repair old wooden walkways - or puncheons - in wet and swampy sections of that trail. Some of those wooden structures, Smith noted, have been in place for more than 25 years.

"It's (ARRA funding) been a big help to our trail program because it is allowing us to hire larger trail crews and take on work that we would normally not be able to accomplish with the regular program," Smith said.

He noted that the district has to prioritize which projects to implement each year and some of the work now planned for next summer might have taken as long as 15 years to accomplish without the ARRA funding.

For trail crew members like Joey Ogburn the work has meant the opportunity to work closely as part of a team and see every day the result and the benefit to the public.

"It's fun, but it's hard," said Ogburn, who is from Noxon. "We all have something that we bring to the table and we all learn something from each other. And it feels good seeing the progress and just making that trail look perfect. It makes you feel good seeing the result...there were five kids who made it all the way to the lake on this trail today and that makes you feel good."

Firefighter and trail crew member Joel Thomas said the new project work has meant staying on with the district after the end of the fire season. Thomas, from Camas Prairie, was discharged from the Marine Corps in 2006 and has been a firefighter with the Plains/Thompson Falls district for the last two seasons.

"Last year I was laid off at this time, so it's nice to have this work," Thomas said. He echoed the importance of working as a member of a team, with everyone sharing the responsibility to help each other and keep each other safe. "You live and die by the team," he said.

The additional trail projects have also benefitted the local economy. Smith said the district has spent thousands of dollars at local businesses to purchase food for the trail crew, lumber for trail improvements, needed tools, and other supplies.

* Stahl Peak Lookout, a D6 cupola ground building, constructed in 1926 on the Fortine Ranger District.

* Ant Flat Ranger Station Office, a framed building, constructed in 1922 on the Fortine Ranger District.

* Sylvanite Ranger Station House, a framed building, constructed in 1912

on the Three Rivers Ranger District.

The work consists of repainting the exterior of the buildings, including cleaning and preparing surfaces, minor siding repair, and painting all previously painted exterior siding and trim including doors, soffits and fascia.

As of September 29, 2009, the Ant Flat office has been completed. MCC is currently working on the Sylvanite house and is expected to have that project completed by October 13th. Weather constraints will push the painting of Stahl Peak Lookout to the summer of 2010.

Florence Pridgen, serving for the final time in her capacity as the Eastern Region SCEP Program Manager, created a spectacular and very full four-day agenda that included highly inspiring and motivating talks from outstanding leaders such as: Terry J. West, Sr. - Eastern Region Civil Rights Director; Lee Nightingale - Eastern Region Deputy Regional Forester; Pridgen - 1890 National Scholars Program Manager; Kurk Morine - Law Enforcement and Investigations; Monica Alexander - USDA/1890 National Scholars Program Manager; Sharon Crittendon - Southern Region Students Program Manager; and, Jim Paige - President of Pioneers in Education Organization.

Forest Service employees spoke on topics such as: Human Capital Management (HCM) Benefits; HCM Center of Learning - Career Counseling; Civil Rights Programs - Alternative Dispute Resolution; Employee Relations - Ethics and Conduct; Resume' Writing; GovTrip; and, Forest Service Fire and Aviation.

Defensive Driving Certifications were given to those students who attended the 8 hour training. Those students that had already received their Defensive Driving Certifications received a Regional Office tour and the opportunity to attach a face to a name they might have heard or read about.

Each and every student remained attentive and engaged throughout the four days of a jammed-packed schedule. To those of us who attended, we believe that several of the young people in the audience would emerge as strong Forest Service leaders with the ability to bring innovation to the Forest Service mission, vision and Agency priorities. Many students already displayed quality characteristics of performing as a leader in whatever discipline they were presently working in. Throughout the room there was constantly an air of enthusiasm, excitement and possibilities. It was contagious.

What was the best part of the entire Orientation, you ask? To simply sum it up, the Forest Service walked away from the phenomenal 2009 SCEP Orientation with an impressive return on its investment of funding and time! To keep this substantial return multiplying and prospering, all Eastern Region Forest Service employees must continue to strive to foster an environment of acceptance, patience, empathy, truth and integrity, so that our students, and other new or potential employees, feel valued and empowered to work toward exceeding their own.

In an economy of "doing more with less," who wouldn't want to work for the Forest Service, a professional agency that fosters growth and support to future leaders?

This is the YMCA's second year working with community partners to provide 3000 school children with backpacks filled with school supplies. Last year, Target Stores served as a huge benefactor and provided 3000 new backpacks for the event. However, due to the economic downturn they were not able to participate at the same level this year.

Over the summer the Eastern Region's Employer of Choice Community Service Champions partnered with the YMCA in collecting school supplies and backpacks for the "Backpacks for Strong Kids" initiative. To promote regional office employee support, the Community Champions sponsored a Backpack/School Supply Drive and Ice Cream Rally, where employees received an ice cream cone for their donation. Deputy Regional Foresters Logan Lee and Lee Nightingale championed our event and played a major role by serving as our "Chief Ice Cream Servers."

As a result, regional office employees and the employees of the Department of Labor's OSHA Milwaukee Area Office donated a total of 2025 school supplies, including 33 backpacks, along with a cash donation. On August 28, the YMCA held the "Backpacks for Strong Kids" event where backpacks were distributed to Milwaukee area children.

More than 3000 backpacks filled with schools supplies were given to children from needy families. Representatives from the Forest Service along with Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl attended the event to help pass out the backpacks while educating the children about fire prevention and conservation.

This initiative was accomplished through the efforts of the Employer of Choice Community Service Champions, a regional initiative dedicated to making the US Forest Service Eastern Region "The Employer of Choice." The Community Service Champions mission is to provide opportunities to engage regional office employees in community service activities in the city of Milwaukee.

The Community Service Champions is chaired by Montez Ashley. For more information on how to get involved, call Ashley at 414-297-3150.

The Solution - Urban wood waste was recycled and put to good use in the Nation's Capitol. On Earth Day 2009, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the first phase of the People's Garden on the grounds of the USDA headquarters at the Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, DC. A landscape architect for the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry unit of the Forest Service joined a colleague from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and a landscape architecture student intern to develop the site plan that will eventually cover six acres. The site will include a children's gardens, a memorial walk, an education plaza, stormwater tree pits, and a green roof.

While creating the Phase I Organic Vegetable Garden, the designers contacted the District of Columbia's Urban Forestry Administration about using recycled urban wood on the site. The Urban Forestry Administration provided logs from locust trees, which decay more slowly in soil than most trees, and red oaks. The logs were then taken to a facility and milled into beams for raised garden beds, stepping planks, and trellises for the People's Garden.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments staff coordinated the milling. This group received a grant from the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Wood Education and Resource Center to identify ways to utilize urban wood and keep it out of the landfill. The site's developers will provide onsite information that highlights the use of urban wood in the garden.

Resulting Benefits:

* Using black locust and red oak logs to create value-added products from urban wood that would otherwise have been processed into mulch or dumped into a landfill;

* Storing carbon in the wood;

* Encouraging the public to reuse and recycle wood; and

* Strengthening collaborative partnerships with USDA and Washington, DC, agencies.

Sharing Success - The project is providing national exposure about the opportunities to recycle urban wood. The Whitten Building is the only government office building with frontage on the National Mall, which is visited by 25 million people every year.

"Our hope is that with the People's Garden, we not only have USDA facilities expand garden opportunities but [that] people and communities take a look at churches or schools or even vacant lots…converting them into something that may be trash ridden today but could be a beautiful garden tomorrow" - Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Students worked 30 hours a week for six weeks. While duties were mainly administrative, the program goal was to provide an environment where youth could develop basic job skills such as accountability, punctuality, and responsibility while learning about job fields of interest.

The young people also received job skill training, including workshops on communication, behavior, dress code, resume development, interview tips, and employer expectations.

This project has been in the planning stages for many years as a partnership between the USDA Forest Service, the Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC), and the Truckee Donner Land Trust. Thanks to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding provided to both the Forest Service and the TRWC, the meadow restoration project was able to begin in August 2009.

Work building mini earthen barriers (plugs) on a stretch of the upper meadow was contracted to Hat Creek Construction, which completed this project in six weeks- two weeks ahead of schedule.

During the winter, these plugs will cause the stream to flood over the meadow, which will help raise the water table three feet or more, making the water more accessible to the vegetation enhancing meadow health and various wildlife species habitat.

Similar work is proposed for the middle meadow next field season.

The projects will create or protect 100 jobs over the next two years. Partners for the projects include the tribe, the USDI Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the State of New Mexico.

One project continues work that was started under Tribal Forest Protection Act (TPFA) authorities. It improves forest health while reducing hazardous fuels and associated fire risk to tribal lands, the community of 16 Springs, and the Village of Ruidoso; rated the most at-risk community in New Mexico and number two on the list of most at-risk communities in the nation.

The project provides specialized employment in harvesting, transporting, and processing commercial saw logs and small diameter biomass. Currently, the commercial saw logs provide jobs at small local sawmills and a pallet mill in El Paso, Texas. The project is generating small diameter biomass that will provide raw material for a new wood pellet mill, currently under construction.

In the future, the biomass will provide the Mescalero Apache Tribe material to operate a six mega-watt power generation facility. The project, which is expected to create 44 jobs, has a cascading effect on maintaining and creating jobs within local tribal communities and area municipalities.

The Mescalero Apache Forest Products sawmill, closed since January 2009, is the last remaining large scale infrastructure to process woody biomass in southern New Mexico. Funds will be used to re-engineer the mill to process smaller diameter material, develop and improve business management systems and capabilities through training and improving workforce skills, and improve worker safety through modernization. The project will help the mill become more economically stable and return laid-off workers to meaningful, family-wage employment.

Another project will develop a wood pellet production plant and a six mega-watt power generation facility in conjunction with the Mescalero Apache Tribe's sawmill to enhance the tribe's ability to fully utilize biomass material from both Tribal and National Forest System lands. The project will create new jobs within local tribal and non-tribal communities and municipalities.

Project planning began long before the students arrived; center staff conducted site visits and met with forest staff at the work site. The project bagan after the team developed a deployment plan and handled logistics (meals, housing, transportation, etc.).

On September 13, carpentry, electrical, and cement mason crews from Angell, Timber Lake, and Wolf Creek JCCCCs in Oregon traveled to northern California to begin the work. The students and instructors stayed on the project for 10 consecutive days, where they replaced old shingle roofs with new metal style; upgraded windows to new energy-efficient types; installed sidewalks, ramps, stairs, and parking areas; built a deck; replaced electrical panels and weather heads; and upgraded wiring on several work center buildings.

On September 28, floor covering crews from Collbran JCCCC (Grand Junction, Colorado) and San Diego Job Corps joined plumbing, carpentry, and painting crews from Angell and Wolf Creek JCCCCs for another 10 days of retrofitting the site. They pressure-washed structure exteriors and painted inside and out. The plumbers and carpenters remodeled kitchens and bathrooms while the floor covering crew leveled floors and installed carpet and linoleum in the Forest Service housing units and visitor center.

This project was a culmination of efforts by instructors and field coordinators from the Carpenters, Painters, Cement Masons, and Floor Covering unions who provide professional instruction to JCCCC students, along with the electrician trade field coordinator from Home Builders Institute, another national training contractor for the Job Corps programs.

Seventy students and 22 Job Corps and Forest Service staff were involved in the project. The work quality and volume, as well as operational efficiency the students and staff demonstrated was beyond the scope of the original plan, according to Herman Wendell, Plumas National Forest project manager. Wendell played an integral role as the overall site manager and construction superintendent.

Experience Works is a national charitable, community-based organization that helps older adults get training to find good jobs in their communities.

Lorraine Loy, of Raymondville, was presented the award September 22, 2009 in Washington DC by 8th Congressional District Representatve Jo Ann Emerson and Cynthia Mezler, president and CEO of Experience Works.

The 60-year-old and her husband, who suffers from health problems, moved from Louisiana to Houston, Missouri, in search of a better life shortly after Hurricane Rita.

Lorraine turned to Experience Works and was given an opportunity to update her job skills through on-the-job training assignments at a local food pantry and Mark Twain National Forest's Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek Ranger District office.

In June, 2008, she accepted a permanent full-time position with the Forest Service and, for the first time in five years, began receiving health insurance benefits.

"Experience Works gave me an opportunity to prove myself," Loy said. "I am eternally grateful."

http://www.experienceworks.org/site/PageServer?pagename=2009_Wall_of_Champions

The USFS was approached in 2007 by the concessionaire, Ed Prince from Allegheny Site Management, to correct a streambank erosion problem that he felt was a hazard to visitors to the site. Bradford Ranger District employees completed a categorical exclusion with these specific objectives: 1) stabilize eroding streambanks along Willow Creek; 2) improve instream habitat; 3) restore up to 1 acre of wetland; and 4) and decommission 1100 feet of an old campground road.

The Forest designed the project and provided oversight while WPC served as "general contractor" for the project. Funds were obtained through the Ohio River Basin Candidate National Fish Habitat Partnership. The project began on September 11 with the installation of a 40' temporary bridge and was completed on September 21 when the structure was removed.

To stabilize 1,000' of eroding streambank and adjacent campsites, and improve instream habitat, nine fish habitat improvement structures were constructed, undercut streambanks were re-graded, and the area was seeded and mulched using native grasses.

The second phase of this project was to restore up to 1 acre of a floodplain wetland that was filled in approximately 40 years ago during construction of a campground loop. To maintain wetland characteristics, an area 200' x 200' was excavated to a depth of ~1.5 - 2 feet to be below the surrounding water table. Within that area, three deeper pools (approximately 2.5 - 5 feet in depth) were also created and large wood was added throughout the pools.

In addition, the former campground loop road which led to the wetland was decommissioned.

As part of this project, approximately 65 tri-axle loads of topsoil/fill and 80 loads of rock were hauled to a staging area one mile away. These materials will be used later this fall by the Forest and US Army Corp of Engineers as they work to stabilize the Corydon Cemetery site along the Allegheny Reservoir.

Thanks to the hard work and professionalism of everyone involved the Willow Bay campground area is now safer for forest visitors who use it, and the stream improvements and wetland restoration will provide excellent habitat for wildlife and floodwater storage for Willow Creek.

A certificate in the back was completed by the ranger, then a ceremony honoring the new Junior Ranger was performed including the Junior Ranger taking the oath put forth by the national program. Participants received a pin and patch with their certificate and booklet and their names were written on a Forest Service shield and placed on a 2009 Junior Ranger acknolwedgement board in the Visitor Centers.

Particpants were asked to fill out a feedback form allowing us to better serve them through future revisions of the booklet. Activities included forest products word searches, benefits of a forest word scramble, recreation coloring and grid search pages, alternative energy fill-ins,a natural history alphabet page, and an interview-a-ranger page, among many others.

We had to go into a second printing of the booklet due to its popularity with not only the general public but with summer camps and scout groups. We are looking to update the book in 2010 and expand our Junior Ranger activity section on the Forest website in order to maintain contact and momentum with these new Junior Forest Rangers now and into the future.

"Our intent is to open a dialogue," said Clif Dils, forest supervisor for the Umpqua National Forest. According to Dils, the demonstrations are the first of their kind on national forest system lands.

Douglas County Commissioner Joe Laurance spoke optimistically, theorizing that pyrolysis could start a new era of forest resource management. The Rogue-Umpqua Resource Advisory Committee, created by the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act, also saw potential in pyrolysis and allotted $98,000 of Title II funding for the demonstrations.

Successful fire suppression coupled with the retired practice of overplanting tree stands significantly increases the chance of wildfires. The Forest Service now thins crowded tree stands to prevent fire. Fast pyrolysis could allow this at-cost process to become profitable.

Referring to the use of waste wood for pyrolysis, Mike Cloughesy of Oregon Forest Resource Institute says, "This is making lemonade out of lemons. We are not going to make bio-oil instead of lumber or plywood,"

Bio-char's potential as a soil amendment, which could increase moisture retention, nutrient retention and the productivity of poor soils, drew initial attention to pyrolysis.

Forest Service soil scientist Jim Archuleta learned about bio-char from a co-worker who wanted to use bio-char to increase productivity on elk food plots. Archuleta, after some research, decided he wanted some bio-char, but couldn't find a way to get it by itself.

"We could obtain this bio-char only by producing another more desirable product (i.e. energy from bio-oil) at the same time. The concept for the demonstrations formed to fill that void," said Archuleta.

Fast pyrolysis' ability to create bio-oil, a possible energy source, shows greater promise, because of Oregon's energy consumption goals. In fast pyrolysis, around 60 percent of the wood becomes bio-oil.

While pyrolysis could create jobs in rural communities, help maintain forest health and create a useful soil amendment, obstacles remain. Like nearly every other bio-fuel, the cost of transporting the feedstock to a processor can undermine the value of the fuel. Renewable Oil International (ROI) hopes to mitigate this cost by creating pyrolizers that can move to the feedstock. However, malfunctions at the demonstrations created some skepticism.

"To paraphrase Alan Greenspan, I used to consider myself as 'irrationally exuberant' about the process. That exuberance has waned a bit, since producing bio-oil and bio-char is not quite as easy as I first thought," said Archuleta.

Phil Badger, president of ROI, explained that the problem was with a sensor in the furnace that broke while in transit. At the Lemolo demonstration, the pyrolizer managed to produce some bio-oil.

Badger has worked in bio-fuels since 1980 and from the beginning of his bio-fuel career, had more than profit in mind.

"I started in bio-energy back in 1980 before it was sexy, because I believe in it and because the country needs it. I have always thought that we need to develop renewable energy. I guess I'm also worried about future generations. Sure, we aren't going to run out of fossil fuels in my lifetime. We have already have crossed the peak production of oil internationally. It's a social thing too, and I feel like I can contribute socially, which is good cause I am not making any money right now."

Badger also refrains from employing a pitchman, a somewhat infamous element of the renewable energy scene.

"You wouldn't believe how many people will come to you and want to hook-up with you basically to raise money. They don't have any money, but they will get you money. If I could have penny for every one of those people, I could retire right now."

The demonstrations also featured researchers from University of Idaho (Mark Coleman, Kristin Mcelligot and Debbie Page-Dumroese) and University Montana (Tyron Venn and Nate Anderson). OFRI organized registration, paid for buses and lunches and facilitated pre-demonstration talks.

For more information about Title II, visit http://tiny.cc/zLsjA. To see photos of the fast pyrolysis demonstrations, visit http://tiny.cc/eit4F.

Two VYCC crews dug fifteen 2' x 3' x 3' soil pits in August 2009 as part of the Long-term Ecosystem Monitoring Project (LEMP). The north wall of each pit was carefully constructed and smoothed to prepare for description by a soil scientist. Soil takes center stage in the LEMP, but monitoring of trees, forest-floor plants, lichens, and down woody material is also an important undertaking.

The LEMP is a 50-year monitoring effort that will examine the long-term effects of broad-scale environmental changes-particularly changes in climate, air quality, and non-native invasive species. These changes may be indicated through variations in soil chemistry, plant composition and abundance, and lichen tissue chemistry.

Throughout the next 50 years, soil, trees, plants, lichens, and downed woody material will be sampled at regular intervals-typically every 10 years. Soil monitoring protocols are based on those used by the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative, while the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Protocols are used for monitoring everything else.

These plots are all established in places that have not been recently disturbed by humans and that are reasonably protected from future disturbance. The first 10 LEMP plots, which were established in 2008 and 2009, are located in the Breadloaf Wilderness, White Rocks National Recreation Area, Peru Peak Wilderness, French Hollow Ecological Special Area, Lye Brook Wilderness, Glastenbury Wilderness, and George D. Aiken Wilderness. In the next few years, 10 more monitoring plots will be established throughout the GMNF.

Partners with the GMNF in this project include the US Forest Service Northern Research Station (project design and soil analysis), the VYCC (pit digging), a Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientist (horizon description), and a Green Mountain College intern (project implementation and lichen surveying). The State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, the University of Vermont, and the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative are completing long-term monitoring projects similar to the LEMP.

For more information on the LEMP, FIA, and other soil, water, and air resource projects on the Forest, contact:

Nancy Burt

Soil Scientist

231 N. Main St.

Rutland, VT 05701

nburt@fs.fed.us

Mary Beth Dewey

Biological Technician (Intern)

marybethdewey@fs.fed.us

or deweym@greenmtn.edu

He responds, "I'm at 70. We captured a female Indiana bat and put a transmitter on her also."

"Yeah, right!" she answers. It was way above the norm for one night of trapping. As it turns out, the 8th Annual Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Bat Blitz was a huge success - even more so than anyone was expecting. One team leader captured 101 bats the first night of trapping, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The blitz took place August 9-12, 2009, after nearly two years of planning. Three federal agencies and one state agency hosted this event, including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Missouri Department of Conservation. The Southeastern Bat Diversity Network, a non-profit organization, spearheaded the occasion.

The Southeastern Bat Diversity Network has been organizing and promoting bat blitzes across the southeast since 2002. A new challenge this year was how to safely handle bats with the recent discovery of white-nose syndrome. Although this fungus has not been confirmed in Missouri thus far, bat enthusiasts wanted to make sure their actions did not jeopardize any of the cave-dwelling species that could be at risk for contracting this cold-loving fungus.

All equipment and gear was disinfected prior to entering the state of Missouri, and disinfectants were on hand with each group to make sure gloves and equipment were sanitized during trapping operations. State bat specialists were closely involved in the permitting system and requirements within those permits.

Overall, 64 participants, including 16 team leaders from 15 states, traveled to southeast Missouri to assist in gathering bat data on four different agency lands. Some of these individuals have attended bat blitzes previously, but for others, this was their first. Students, private consultants, agency personnel, wildlife rehabilitators, and other individuals with no prior bat experience were enthusiastic about the blitz. Over 600 bats were captured, and 12 species were identified.

These results far exceed those gathered at any other blitz. An enormous amount of data is now being entered into the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network database and can be used by all agencies for monitoring efforts. Until now, bat use was unknown on the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and two state conservation sites in the swamplands of southeast Missouri. The endangered Indiana bat, gray bat, uncommon Rafinesque's big-eared bat and southeastern bat were all captured in those areas where the Ozark Mountains give way to the Mississippi lowlands.

This was an incredible opportunity to trap bats in a variety of habitats, gain additional experience with handling and identification, and make new connections in the bat community. A good time was had by all and will not soon be forgotten. Thank you to all the committed team leaders and participants that made this event a success!

Volunteers caravanned 10 miles from the Big Bear Discovery Center into the Butler Burn (of 2007) to plant 437 containerized locally grown native plants onto a dozer-line and a recently reconstructed alpine meadow to prevent future erosion and unauthorized vehicle use from occurring. The weather was great, and the atmosphere was charged with the happy, smiling faces of those eager to give back to their public land.

After a brief introduction to the burn area and safety talk, groups were directed into three projects: one group cut and potted up several hundred willow cuttings to be grown in the Big Bear Ranger Station native plant nursery (to be out-planted next year); another group hiked into the wet meadow habitat and planted 37 potted native riparian species (deer grass, elderberry, and willows); and the last and largest group planted the remaining four hundred plants (sage, sagebrush, flannel bush, squirrel tail grass, and mountain mahogany) onto the dozer line. The day was long and everyone worked hard. It was rewarding to see the project's completion.

A voucher for a free day Adventure Pass and a free lunch were provided to all participants. A thanks for our successfully executed day goes out to all San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) employees who worked diligently to make this project day a success, and to our partners SBNF Association whom we couldn't have done without. Special thanks goes to Subway of Big Bear Lake for providing free sandwiches, and to the Dickey Family for bringing a full dessert bar (including root beer floats)! Funding for the safety vests, kids gloves, and watering backpacks were purchased from a special Forest Service Washington Office National Public Lands Day fund. Also thanks to TreePeople for letting SBNF borrow 100 hard hats and to Station #16 who dug a lot of holes for us.

Our local event has grown exponentially from that one project site to several projects throughout Grand County to include shared resources from the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Trails, National Park Service and the US Forest Service. Our event also receives support and expertise from special interest groups including Headwaters Trails Alliance, Colorado Mountain Club, Continental Divide Trail Alliance, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado and Fraser Valley Partnership for Trails to name a few. Our NPLD event has become very popular with all types of outdoor enthusiasts because of the variety of projects, and has generated volunteers from all parts of the country.

According to Robb Hampton, National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) NPLD Coordinator, our site is one of the longest, continuous running and largest events nationwide. This year celebrates our 15th year participating in NPLD and holds a special meaning with the dedication to Tim Rau, a local 17 year old teen and long time NPLD volunteer who passed away over the July 4th weekend. In Tim's memory, a new motorized trail was named Tim's Trail (M144) for his dedication to NPLD and our local community. We hope to continue this volunteer tradition and land stewartship well into the future.

Event Day, 26 September 2009:

We had a gorgeous autumn day in the mountains!! Our event began at Sol Vista Basin Ski Area (Granby Ranch) bright and early at 7:00am (some of us a little bit earlier and not so bright!). Sol Vista Basin donated their building for registration, volunteer gathering and appreciation dinner. First Transit provided a bus for one of the larger sites and vans from Fraser and Grand Lake Recreation Districts, Home James, Grand Adventures and Arapahoe Lodge transported volunteers to the other work sites.

Our volunteer numbers traditionally averages around 200 participants. This year we had 225 participants of all ages (ranging from 3 to 80 years young) working hard and long to assure that project goals were accomplished at all work sites. Cash donations were made available to our NPLD event from Grand Adventures, Headwaters Trails Alliance, Fraser Valley Partnerships for Trails, Circle G Auto, Beacon Landing Marina, Second Hand Grand Thrift Store, Big Valley Construction, Power World, Mountain Parks Electric, Grand Mountain Bank and Wildfire Mitigation and Restoration. In addition, 103 local businesses provided in-kind contributions in the form of food, drink, equipment, sanitation and other necessities. Others offered up goodies and door prizes as special thanks to our volunteer work force, including Smokey pencils, T-shirts, backpacks, knives, hydration packs, binoculars, first-aid kits, ball caps, radios, lodging, golf sessions, lift tickets and more. Gary Keys serenaded volunteers as they returned from work sites and then sat down to a catered lasagna dinner from Winter Park Resort. All in all a great and successful day! Below are our accomplishments by project site. The Grand County Event Committee extends our heart-felt thanks to all of you for making NPLD 2009 a reality. This event would not have been successful, much less possible, without your generous donations and contributions. We invite you to join us again next year, so mark your calendars! The date is September 25, 2010! Thank you again for your support and providing "Helping Hands for America's Lands"!

Accomplishments by Project Sites

Total number of Participants: 225 working an average of 8 hours each

Estimated Cost Savings for Agencies: $47,600 (total of all sites combined)

Estimated Time Savings for Agencies: 9 weeks (total of all sites combined)

1. Colorado River Cleanup - Kremmling Field Office, BLM. Objective: To remove trash in and along river shorelines and dispersed camping areas.

* 26 participants

* $3,600 in cost savings

* Two weeks for a crew of three in time savings

* Removed 12 tires and one sunken dory

* Cleaned out 25 fire pits from dispersed river campsites

* Gathered and removed trash along 15 miles (both shorelines) of river

2. Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST) - Rocky Mountain National Park, NPS. Objective: To provide an easier access between NPS and USFS portions of the CDNST in order to move trail off a motorized section of trail.

* 49 participants

* $9,600 in cost savings

* Two weeks for a crew of eight in time savings

* Constructed 1,600 feet (approximately 1/3 mile) of new trail

* Removed, hauled and dispersed 50 downed trees from trail alignment

* Removed/pulled 33 stumps from new trail

* Rehabilitated jobsite

3. Gore Canyon Trail - Kremmling Field Office, BLM. Objective: To rebuild crib wall that was destroyed by a debris slide and to reroute user-created trails into one maintained trail for angler and boating access to the Colorado River.

* 30 participants

* $3,000 in cost savings

* One week for a crew of five in time savings

* Rebuilt 2,100 feet of full bench trail

* Constructed 6 sets of stone steps

* Cleaned out five fire pits from dispersed camping areas

* Constructed 10 feet of crib wall

4. Stillwater Campground - Arapaho/Roosevelt NF, Sulphur Ranger District, USFS. Objective: To reforest a decimated campground after tree removal from a major mountain pine beetle infestation.

* 54 participants

* $23,000 in cost savings

* One week for a crew of 12 in time savings

* Planted 360 lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) saplings (approximately 3' tall) throughout campground

* Watered, back-filled and laid mulch material around new saplings

5. Tim's Trail - Arapaho/Roosevelt NF, Sulphur Ranger District, USFS. Objective: To establish an authorized motorized trail system in the Upper Beaver Creek area by combining existing logging roads while protecting wildlife, wetland areas, and stream quality.

* 47 participants

* $5,400 in cost savings

* Three weeks for a crew of four in time savings

* Constructed two 15 foot bridges with approaches

* Constructed one 40 foot boardwalk and joined to one 15 foot bridge

* Built 150 linear feet of buck-n-rail fence

* Installed 15 water bars (trail drains) along 1/3 mile of new trail

* Installed two new trail signs (Tim's Trail, M144)

6. Logistical Support

* 19 participants

* $3,000 in cash savings

* Three weeks for a crew of five in time savings

* Filled 250 volunteer goody bags

* Prepared 250 sack lunches

* Registration setup

* Picked up and delivered food from donors to venue and other sites

* Staffed registration tables

* Party preparation for volunteer appreciation dinner

* Monitored kitchen facilities during breakfast and dinner

* Served catered lasagna dinner

* Transported participants to work sites

* Monitored work sites for safety

* Provided music for volunteer appreciation dinner

* Administered steering committee

The purpose of the project was to repair resource damage and improve trail conditions at both locations. It involved spreading road base material along the two sections of the Outlaw ATV trail to elevate and harden the trail, making it more sustainable for All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use.

By all counts, the project was a Success!

check out these numbers:

*30+ volunteers worked more than 154 man-hours

*192 tires, weighing just under 15,000 pounds cost $1850 in disposal fees (at least they will eventually be recycled into rubber mats, playground surfacing, etc.)

*3,000 pounds of scrap metal were hauled to a salvage center in Ironwood, Michigan

*500 pounds of trash were taken at NO charge by the Presque Isle Transfer Station

*2 illegal dump sites were eliminated

These amounts don't even include the bags of aluminum, glass, and plastic that went into recycling bins, or the old antenna tower, pallets, aluminum poles, or cement blocks that were taken by volunteers to be re-used.

The clean-up was spearheaded by Forest Service Botanist Ian Shackleford, who coordinated all aspects of the project and garnered additional funding and support from our national headquarters. It was the only NPLD event in the UP, with volunteers hailing from Land o'Lakes, Presque Isle, Bessemer, Ironwood, Wakefield, Watersmeet, other area towns, and even, Illinois.

While the day dawned gray and a bit gloomy, the mood of crew was bright and uplifting; folks had come to do a great deed and to have a good time. After a quick briefing, safety session, and a round of donut bribery, about a dozen volunteers undertook the very awful task of digging out and loading the nearly 200 rotten, split, water-logged, mud-infused, critter housing, and incredibly FOUL-smelling tires. Most of the tire gang wrestled them from the woods - some with trees growing out of them - and up a long, slippery ramp. Three or four of the tallest, strongest, (and most gullible) volunteers stacked the tires to the ceiling of a rented 26' moving van. This was truly no place for the faint of stomach, with years-old goopy water pouring from the tires as they were shoved into place. (Yes, as gross as you can possibly imagine.)

Just in front of the moving truck, another batch of workers loaded an impressive array of scrap metal into Forest Service trailers and pick-up trucks: an ancient riding mower, fencing, a mangled boat trailer, an old stove, a barrel, gas tanks (empty!), siding, and unidentifiable hunks of steel. They jumped to lend a hand whenever a fellow worker discovered a much too buried, bulky, and/or disgusting item. Still others combed the woods, finding and bagging stockpiles of glass bottles and aluminum cans. Another half dozen more drove to a second dump site, a short distance from the first, where bed springs, more metal, a pile of garbage, and a sack of ripe animal guts were waiting. Ah, the treasures people leave in the woods…

By noon, it was done. Behind faces lined with sweat and rather stenchy ah, dirt, everyone was smiling! They showed-off jeans and shirts that may NEVER come clean and gloves that should probably be burned. The Best Clean-up Crew in the World re-grouped at Bobcat Lake Beach for lunch, where they devoured several dozen bratwurst, baked beans, potato salad, watermelon, cookies, and a plateful of the most amazing turtle brownies.

It was, in all respects, an AWESOME day! Thank you Ian Shackleford for your leadership and dedication. Thank you Sam's Salvage and Presque Isle Transfer Station employees for taking our 'stuff'. Mostly, Thank you Land o'Lakes Fish & Game Club and all the other volunteers who gave so much back as they were helping us haul so much away. I am awed, and humbled, by your efforts.

(By the way, dumping garbage on National Forest Lands is illegal and will be fully prosecuted. In addition to fines, those responsible are usually billed for the clean-up - in this case, about $2,000. Most folks don't even realize how much personally identifiable stuff is in their garbage…)

Morrison Run is classified as an Exceptional Value stream by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection and holds a good population of eastern brook trout. It is also a major tributary to Browns Run and ultimately the Allegheny River, which is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River. The forests and waters of the watershed are recovering from decades of past exploitation from unsustainable timber harvest and industrial development. Today the watershed is prized by the local community for its recreational resources, timber base, and as a native Brook Trout fishery.

On September 26, twelve volunteers worked to construct a modified mudsill and a multi-log vane deflector using hand tools. These two are the first of seventeen structures planned for installation in the mainstem to stabilize eroding streambanks and enhance instream habitat for area fish and wildlife.

Despite the dreary economy, the enthusiasm and warmth within the Forest Service booth was contagious and the majority of attendees could not pass up the opportunity to see what it was all about. Many chose to participate in a simple Forest Service trivia game in which they would answer a question and be awarded a Smokey Bear or Woodsy Owl prize. Others lined up waiting to speak with Hotshot Crew Supervisor, Rick Moreno, who answered questions about the Forest Service's Fire Operations.

Ann, Jasmine and Holly circulated the floor drawing in attendees and educating them on the Forest Service's mission, vision and Courageous Conservation goals, while addressing the attendee's specific skills and how they could fit into the Agency. Even the employees working other booths had to stop by to say hello and inquire about the Forest Service! It was a fabulous way to connect the citizens to the land!

Some say that success is determined by the impressions one leaves behind. It is without a doubt that Ann, Jasmine, Holly and Rick's hard work in planning and carrying out the recruiting mission left the impression that the Forest Service is an awesome Employer of Choice Agency!

On Saturday, August 22, I was camped at the base of Skookum Rock on the Ochoco NF with friends, co-workers, and their families. Jackson, my 3-year-old, 24 lbs sheltie, was playing frisbee with some children in the camp and I was packed and ready to make the 5-hour drive home to Lakeview as soon as the kids were done playing with the dog. Without warning, a nearby camp fired off some shots, which frightened Jackson, and he took off so quickly that none of us realized he was gone until it was too late.

We spent the rest of Saturday and part of Sunday searching in vain for Jackson. By noon on Sunday, we had not found Jackson or even a trace of him, but we had seen coyotes in the area. Before leaving, my fellow campers encouraged me to leave something of mine behind, in this case a towel, and some food in the area I had been camping. Some friends I was camping with, a local rancher and his wife, volunteered to come back to the camp as often as they could during the next week to look for the dog. They even placed a message on the local radio station.

I left camp and went to Prineville where there I contacted the Ochoco National Forest, in particular, Forest Service employee Aaron Martin, Fisheries Biologist. Aaron graciously took all my information, sent a message to all forest employees, and assisted me in finding the local veterinarian's and Humane Society contact numbers. I then returned home to Lakeview and work on the Fremont-Winema NF.

On Monday, Fremont-Winema NF employees began to contact other Ochoco NF employees, friends and family in the Prineville area asking for their help to search for Jackson. Having received a photo of Jackson and a map of the camp's location, Ochoco NF employee Denise Reinhart, G & A Specialist, forwarded on the information to all Ochoco NF employees. She included a plea to help find Jackson and a note that I am also a Forest Service employee who needs their help.

Martina Keil, Range Specialist on the Fremont Winema NF, listed Jackson as missing with her Oregon Outback Humane Society contacts and networks, just in case another person found him.

On Thursday, Jackson was still missing and there were no leads. Kimberly Conley, Fisheries Biologist, Fremont-Winema NFs, offered to go back to the camp with me and search again, adding that if I did not want to go, then she would take a copy of the map and try to find him herself. After hearing this little glimmer of hope, I agreed to get my camping gear and leave after work. On the way out of the office, Al Hahn, our District Ranger, commented that he also thought Jackson would be found.

Kimberly and I drove from Lakeview to Skookum Rock and arrived at the camp late Thursday night. Oh, did I also mention that this was the start of bow-hunting season? There was already one hunter camped at Skookum Rock and we knew more were on the way, so we would have to find Jackson quickly.

At first light Friday morning, we checked the towel that I had left behind at the camp. The food was gone, but the towel had what looked like small dog foot prints on it. We thought that maybe that was a good sign, but I didn't want to be too hopeful, because it was a long shot that they were Jackson's prints.

We searched all day, driving the roads and walking on foot. We checked with other groups camping nearby and most of them told us that Forest Service personnel had already told them about the lost dog. Jackson had been missing for 7 days; I really was starting to believe we would not find him.

Friday night in camp, I was asleep in my truck at the camp. Sometime around midnight, something woke me up by scratching at the sides of my truck. I flipped open the window on the camper shell and in disbelief, caught Jackson in mid-air as he attempted to jump high enough to get in the back of the truck. The dog was soaking wet (it had been raining), covered with stickers, muddy, foul smelling, cold and shaking and but otherwise alive and well. How Jackson survived we will never know (he's a dog and he's not talking!). When I woke Kimberly from her tent, she could not believe it was true until she came out to see Jackson for herself.

I am so grateful to all of the people from the Forest Service and the public that cared enough to spend their time in the effort to search for a lost dog, and Kimberly who took the time to go back to the camp with me in order to find Jackson. I appreciate that dedicated employees on the Ochoco NF, like Aaron and Denise, were so willing to help any way they could. It is awesome to have Jackson back.

Jackson is a frequent visitor to the Lakeview Hospital Long Term Care Facility. The patients at the care unit are glad to have Jackson return to their lives as well. As one patient stated she is so relieved to have Jackson back; she said she was just tired out from worrying, after learning that "our little dog" as she refers to Jackson, was lost in the woods. Now that Jackson is safe, she thought she would be able to rest easy once again.

"We're pleased to have the opportunity to employ some of Oregon's finest," said Steve Sappington, Lead Engineer for the Detroit Ranger District.

"This has been a great project to be a part of in improving such a popular route within our Forest infrastructure."

"ARRA is a new and very important program, but the idea of putting rural America to work has long been a part of what the Forest Service does, I'm proud to play even a small role in that tradition," adds Steve.

Local contractors and their employees have worked hard over the past several months to improve the highway for public access.

"This project has put a lot of people to work who may have otherwise been sitting at home," said Al Thomas, Contractor's Representative for the project.

"It just pays for everyone to work together. People should get out and take a drive to enjoy the road."

Those interested in bidding on ARRA work must be registered to work as a federal contractor (see GCAP.org for assistance). Contracts are listed on the website fedbizopps.gov.

Courtesy Jennifer O'Leary, Detroit Ranger District. Contact Judy McHugh, Public Affairs Officer, at (541)915-5372 for more information about this project and other ARRA-funded projects on the Willamette National Forest or visit http://fs.usda.gov/recovery.

A crew from the local company - Hanson's Garden Village, LLC - hand-planted about 1,400 plants from 30 native species. Using native plants, which are adapted to local climatic conditions, has multiple benefits, including cost savings as they require less maintenance and watering. They also provide a valuable resource for native pollinators such as butterflies and bees.

The native plant garden has special significance as some of the plants in the garden were grown from seed collected from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The plants were started by students in the greenhouse at Prentice High School and then tended by CNNF employees and retirees at their homes until the green bed was ready.

Seeds from this native garden may eventually be used to re-plant priority areas on the Forest. The CNNF uses native plants for a variety of purposes, such as stabilizing stream banks, reducing soil erosion and sedimentation, reducing the spread of non-native invasive plants, improving wildlife and fisheries habitat, and mitigating the effects of wildfire and other types of disturbances. The CNNF hopes to partner with a local school on seed collections from the native plant garden as a unique educational experience connecting citizens to the land.

Native plants benefit the environment by providing an important source of nectar, pollen, and seeds that serve as food for butterflies, insects, birds, and other animals. Due to the CNNF's commitment to using native plants and seeds in restoration efforts, all of the CNNF's administrative offices have a native plant garden!

For more information, contact Mathew St. Pierre at 715-362-1385.

Outdoor work is an integral part of the school's strategy. Many of the students attend because mainstream high schools didn't provide an opportunity for more involved learning. Kennedy extends the opportunity to work outdoors to students who have regular attendance.

"It's a lot better than being indoors. I was raised out here. My dad was a logger forever, so I might as well work out here and enjoy the scenery. I'd hope to do this pretty much for the rest of my life. It's good work. It's good to be outside," said student Devun Stalder.

Matt Hall, a crew leader, emphasized how the Title II money benefited the students saying, "This six weeks has been work, but it has been really enjoyable with a group of young people that are hard at work. The incentive is a little different when they know that they are getting paid. It makes a big difference for a few of them that are struggling."

The school also teaches about the history of Umpqua National Forest's wildlife and resources as a part its sustainability focus.

Most of the time in school, we learn about all of the past things that went on [for example] what happened to all the salmon -- like over-fishing and all of the lands slides, contaminated water and clear-cut forests -- all that crazy stuff," said Stalder.

Al Kennedy Alternative High School provides training and education to students who are at high risk of dropping out of high school. The summer conservation corps program allows at-risk, low income students to develop workplace skills while earning minimum wage.

To learn more about Al Kennedy Alternative High School visit http://blogs.slane.k12.or.us/kennedy/about/.

To see photos of the schools work on the Umpqua National Forest, visit http://tiny.cc/fEqPZ. For more information about Title II visit http://tiny.cc/zLsjA.

Written by Eric Zubriski, public affairs intern on the Umpqua National Forest.

Thanks to several partnerships and local/regional volunteers and community support coordinated through the Wrangell Ranger District, Wrangell will soon have its first road accessible public rental cabin--the Middle Ridge Cabin. Builders have just completed installing the roof decking of the cabin. The exterior of the cabin should be complete by mid-October, with interior work scheduled for the spring and summer of 2010. The cabin is slated to be available for rental by the public by mid-late summer 2010.

The Middle Ridge Cabin was constructed from second growth Sitka spruce logs through a partnership with the University of Alaska, Sitka campus. The Wood Utilization center at the campus hosted a two-week log cabin building course in May of 2009, during which the logs were hand scribed, cut, and fit together in Sitka. At the end of the workshop, the cabin was disassembled and shipped to Wrangell. Assembly at the cabin site began Sept. 8.

The cabin is located about 20 miles from Wrangell, Alaska, off the Pat's Valley Road. The 1,500 feet elevation means year-round recreation opportunities in the vicinity of the cabin, including snowmachine, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, berry picking, firewood gathering and deer hunting.

When complete, it will be the second young growth cabin on the Tongass National Forest.

Forest Service crews patrolling in the area were the first to arrive at the scene. Quick response from the Luzerne and Tri-Town Volunteer Fire Departments, as well as the Oscoda County Sheriff, contributed to the timely and effective management of the wildfire.

Five homes that were in the path of the fire were evacuated as a precaution. Due to successful containment efforts, however, there was no structural damage. In total, the fire consumed more than 10 acres of land.

"If a few factors had been different, this could have been a very different story," said Incident Commander Grant Gifford. "If there had been higher winds or if there had been a delayed response in suppressing the fire, the conditions were present for this to go big."

Among the Forest Service personnel that responded during initial attack on the Deeter Road Fire were five members of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Fuels crew that is based on the Mio Ranger District. One crew member was essential in operating the heavy equipment to put in over half of the fire line and all of the crew worked to hold the fire line and prevent the spread of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The event, emceed by Forest Supervisor Tom Schmidt, began with the historic interpretation provided by the Dodworth Saxhorn Band and its singers/interpreters. The group, situated under a bigtop type tent, provided a historical musical prelude to the celebration.

In addition to about 17 Forest employees, a variety of people attended including individuals from the offices of Senators Levin and Stabenow and Congressman Bart Stupak. Each presented the Forest with special recognition. Schmidt read a special letter on behalf of Regional Forester Kent Connaughton. Forest Archaeologist John Franzen provided a brief history of the Forest, and District Ranger Steve Christiansen also reflected on the Forest's past and present partners, re-reading President Roosevelt's original proclamation.

A highlight of the formal ceremony was the Centennial Awards presentation. Forest Supervisor Schmidt recognized individuals and organizations who have been longterm contributors to the Forest's success in a variety of ways. Those recognized included Hiawatha Interpretive Association (support for numerous interpretation and conservation education projects), Jane & Randy Ryan (visitor services volunteers on Grand Island), Rudy Johnson (Sault Ste Marie Trash Pickup organizer), Tom Briggs (St Ignace Trash Pickup organizer), Wildlife Unlimited Delta County (support for numerous wildlife, fisheries, and conservation education projects), Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (Clear Lake Education Center partner), Marquette Alger Regional Educational Service Agency (Clear Lake Education Center partner), and three Peninsula Point Monarch Butterfly project volunteers (Gina Badgett, Pat Landry and Therese Fix).

Following the awards, the Dodworth Saxhorn Band and singers provided a historical musical review, inviting the audience to travel back in time to the era when the Forest was dedicated. Their presentation definitely added a celebratory aire to the day.

After the awards and music, refreshments were served, Smokey Bear made an appearance (much to the delight of the younger members of the crowd), and attendees toured the Hiawatha's history exhibit in the nearby pavillion. In addition, Archaeologist Franzen provided a slide presentation about the Forest's history, including an excellent selection of historic photos.

Many partners and volunteers, boy scouts and visitors attended the event. And behind the scenes, many individuals contributed to the success of the day. Everything went so smoothly that even the rain held off until after we were done.

The Hiawatha had its beginnings in 1909 when President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Marquette National Forest, the lands of which make up a portion of the present-day Hiawatha National Forest's east unit. In 1918, the lands of the Marquette NF were transferred to the Huron National Forest, and together they became the Michigan National Forest. But 1924 passage of the Clarke-McNary Act allowed for additional land acquisition in the U.P., so that in 1931 President Hoover re-established the Marquette National Forest. The West Unit of the Hiawatha National Forest was also born in 1931, but it wasn't until 1962 when the lands of the Marquette National Forest were transferred to the Hiawatha National Forest, creating the Forest we know and love today!