Trail users of all types take part in a Trails 101 course offered through CoTrails in January 2012 on the Anna Ruby Falls trail. One of the goals of CoTrails is to educate and engage a robust volunteer force to assist with trail maintenance and planning efforts. Photo credit: USDA Forest Service/Judy Toppins

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests in Georgia receive 2.2 million visitors each year, and their primary activity is use of 850 miles of designated system trails. But it’s not only hikers that take advantage of the recreation opportunities which these trails provide. Cyclists, hunters, anglers, off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and horseback riders all recreate on national forest trails– and they don’t always see eye-to-eye. Read more »

As night falls, SerVivor is led out on the trail created by the Routt Power Riders snowmobile club members. Photo courtesy Ed Calhoun

On Jan. 8, a U.S. Forest Service dispatcher radioed agency law enforcement officer Mike Seawall that members of the Routt Power Riders snowmobile club had discovered a small abandoned horse an hour and a half north of Steamboat Springs, Colo., on the Routt National Forest. Read more »

What is the Lorax?

And why do we care?

And why had the U.S. Forest Service taken us

from the far reaches of the forests to the carpets of Hollywood?

Ask the Chief. He will be there.

He knows. Read more »

America ‘s wild horses and burros have a rich history and are living symbols of the pioneer spirit of the West.  But did you know that protecting this heritage is also a part of the mission of the U.S. Forest Service?

In fact, the agency manages more than 30 wild horse or burro territories on more than two million acres in Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.

“The animals that have survived on the range are a genetic and historic remnant of the Old West,” said Barry Imler, the agency’s National Program Manager for Wild Horses and Burros. “The characteristics that were important in the Old West days are still found in our wild horses and burros — strength, endurance and reliability.” Read more »

This April, the twins (Charmaine (R), Shaneka (l) will go to Kuwait for a long-term job with a six-figure salary. Photo courtesy Katie Dunn/The Coalfield Progress.

Little did Chamain and Shaneka Hicks know four years ago that they would be off on an adventure that their high school classmates would envy. Read more »

Federal Income Tax on Timber, complete with a current update of the new tax law changes, provides timely tax reporting information for woodland owners and their advisors.

The Forest Service recently released the 2011 edition of Federal Income Tax on Timber: A Key to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions, a quick-reference guide to timber tax laws impacting woodland owners. Read more »