Earlier in the month, I attended the National Environmental Justice Conference (NEJC) in Washington, D.C. Over the span of the conference, I was able to hear from people from all over the country who are working on environmental justice issues. Some of the speakers had been working on environmental justice for half a century! A [...]
It’s been a busy week for those in the urban forest community. To start the week, the National Academy of Sciences held a workshop on urban forestry. Experts from around the country gathered to discuss the benefits of urban forests and how to best leverage them to move research and policies forward. On Wednesday, the [...]
According to the U.S. Forest Service, Washington D.C., is often referred to as the “city of trees” because of its unique layout and landscapes. A huge component of the city’s urban forest is the National Mall. Millions of people visit the National Mall and its surrounding memorials and museums each year. On January 20, 2009, [...]
Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that $323 million will be allocated to 41 states and Puerto Rico as part of a one-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS). For those of you who aren’t familiar with the SRS bill, it first passed in 2000 at a time [...]
Last week’s fiscal cliff deal included a nine-month extension for the Farm Bill. While the deal doesn’t provide mandatory funding to energy programs in the Farm Bill, it does extend most conservation provisions that are already (or set to be) expired, like the Wetlands Reserve Program and Healthy Forests Reserve Program. Other programs like EQIP, [...]
As most people celebrated the New Year with confetti and champagne, Congress was on Capitol Hill trying to reach a last-minute agreement. The New Year’s negotiations finally ended when House Republicans agreed to a deal passed in the Senate, which was pulled together by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). But even though [...]
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) wrapped up last week in Doha, Qatar. Here’s a recap of what happened. In the final hours of the conference on Saturday, representatives from nearly 200 countries decided on a final deal called the Doha Climate Gateway, an extension of the Kyoto Protocol until 2020 with the hopes of [...]
A new report from Headwaters Economics is out that highlights a growing trend: Talented workers are choosing to move to the West. The report, “West Is Best: How Public Lands in the West Create a Competitive Economic Advantage,” identifies the West as 11 states: Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington [...]
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a final rule as part of a comprehensive recovery plan for the northern spotted owl. The rule designates critical habitat for the species that’s based on a feedback from regional scientific experts, public comments, and land management agencies. 9.6 million acres will be set aside to [...]
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to give a big ‘thank you’ to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who is set to retire at the end of the year. While thinking about everything we’re thankful for, I think it’s fitting that we also give thanks to those leaders who have prioritized our nation’s forests and [...]
