https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-availability-of-environmental-assessment-for-train-operations-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin has announced that an Environmental Assessment (EA) for Supai Camp Improvements is now available for public review and comment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/environmental-assessment-for-improvements-at-supai-camp-within-grand-canyon-national-park-available-for-public-review-and-comment.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin today announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Assessment of Effect (FEIS/AEF) to update the park’s Fire Management Plan. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-releases-final-environmental-impact-statement-and-assessment-of-effect-to-update-grand-canyon-national-park-fire-management-plan.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact was signed on August 28, 2009, by Michael D. Snyder, Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service, for Train Operations at Grand Canyon National Park https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/news_2009-08-31_trainea.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact was signed today for improvements to Supai Camp at Grand Canyon National Park. These improvements will be funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/news_2009-09-03_supai_fonsi.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin has announced that an environmental assessment for the construction of a new Science and Resource Management Facility in the park is now available for public review and comment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/news_2009-11-19_sandrm.htm

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin has announced that a revised environmental assessment (EA) for the construction of a new Science and Resource Management Facility in the park is now available for public review and comment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-availability-of-revised-environmental-assessment-for-new-science-and-resource-management-facility-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

The National Park Service has released an Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Closure Plan and Environmental Assessment for projects to correct health and safety hazards associated with abandoned mines in four national park system sites in Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2010-02-12_mines_ea.htm

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-availability-of-environmental-assessment-for-mule-operations-and-stock-use-in-grand-canyon-national-park.htm

Grand Canyon Announces Public Meeting Schedule for Mule Operations and Stock Use Environmental Assessment https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-public-meetings-to-discuss-mule-operations-and-stock-use-environmental-assessment.htm

In spite of the rapid response time, park emergency responders were not able to revive 72-year old John Debelack of Saddlebrooke, Arizona. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2011-06-29_death.htm

A type III incident management organization is currently working to suppress the New Water Fire (previously referred to as Grand Wash Complex Fire) which include lands within the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, as well as lands managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs –Truxton Cañon Agency, the Bureau of Land Management - Kingman Area Field Office, and the Arizona Division of Forestry. This lightning-caused fire was reported at approximately 5 pm on Wednesday, August 3. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/new-water-fire-being-suppressed-on-the-south-rim-of-the-grand-canyon.htm

On Armed Forces Day (Saturday, May 19), Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga issued the park’s first two American the Beautiful Passes for Military to Sergeants Lozier and Morse of Camp Navajo. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2012-05-21_pass.htm

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2012-10-10_mva.htm

The National Park Service Comprehensive Fisheries Management Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) for waters between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead within Grand Canyon National Park (Grand Canyon) and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Glen Canyon) is available for public review and comment. Comments will be accepted from May 9 through June 10, 2013. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-availability-of-comprehensive-fish-management-plan-environmental-assessment.htm

Grand Canyon National Park and the entire National Park Service join the nation in mourning the tragic loss of 19 firefighters, including 18 elite firefighters from the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew based in Prescott, AZ. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-expresses-deepest-condolences-on-19-firefighter-deaths.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has announced a 30-day public comment period seeking input on changes to the scope of the Bison Management Plan at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-bison-ea.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA), which evaluates management actions related to bison on Grand Canyon’s North Rim, is available for public review and comment. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bison-ea.htm

The NPS has announced that it will extend the public comment period on the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will now be available for public review and comment through June 14, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/initial-bison-herd-ea.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public review of a site plan/environmental assessment that proposes to modify facilities at Desert View to create an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-ea.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on the Maswik South Rebuild Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will be available for public review and comment for a 30-day period from October 25 to November 25, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/maswik-south-rebuild-ea.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service for the rebuild of the Maswik South lodging complex and the construction of new roads near Maswik South at Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/fonsi-signed-for-maswik-south.htm

A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service (NPS), for a site plan to transform Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park into an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site and share a unifying message from the park's traditionally associated tribes: "we are still here". https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/finding-of-no-significant-impact-signed-for-the-desert-view-inter-tribal-cultural-heritage-site.htm

Yesterday, the Ikes Fire grew to approximately 4,297 acres and has 87 resources assigned. Despite gusty winds and dry conditions, the fire spread across the planning area with low to moderate fire behavior. The weather will continue to be drier than normal with no chance of precipitation in the forecast. Light winds are expected out of the southwest at 8-10 mph with gusts up to 18 mph. Smoke from the Ikes Fire, along with other fires in the area, will be visible throughout the surrounding area. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/ikes-fire-progresses-at-steady-pace-20190818.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking public comment on a proposed Telecommunications Plan and Environmental Assessment from Dec. 2, 2019 until midnight on Jan. 6, 2020. If approved, the plan would provide a framework and guidance for the future construction and operation of telecommunications infrastructure. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/nps-requests-public-input-on-a-telecom-plan-and-ea-at-grca-20191202.htm

This first-of-its-kind study zeroed in on the optimal amount of time the average person could spend in contact with nature in order to enjoy its benefits.

The post Stressed? This Study Says You Simply Need a 20-Minute ‘Nature Pill’ appeared first on Good News Network.

If you're enduring a period of anxiety or uneasiness, this study from the University of California says that Tetris is the perfect solution.

The post Next Time You’re Feeling Particularly Stressed or Anxious, This Study Says You Should Play Tetris appeared first on Good News Network.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the exciting milestone on Twitter with a picture of his workforce and the company's new Model Y.

The post Tesla Becomes World’s First EV Company to Assemble 1 Million Cars appeared first on Good News Network.

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset management company has pledged to invest its trillions of dollars in capital to maintaining the health of the planet.

The post Trillions of Dollars Now Being Leveraged to Protect the Earth, Thanks to World’s Largest Asset Manager appeared first on Good News Network.

These two siblings from New Jersey have managed to raise more than $2,200 in order to benefit their local businesses and healthcare workers.

The post New Jersey Teens Take Matters into Their Own Hands to Help First Responders and Small Businesses Amidst COVID-19 Crisis appeared first on Good News Network.

Wood decay elements include snags, down wood, root wads, tree stumps, litter, duff, broomed or diseased branches, and partially dead trees, all of which contribute to ecological processes and biodiversity of the forest ecosystem. Down wood can serve as reservoirs for moisture and mycorrhizal fungi beneficial to the health and growth of commercial tree species. Decaying wood, leaf litter, small twigs, and roots contribute nutrients and structure to humus and soil organic matter, and host microbes that play beneficial roles in nitrogen cycles and other processes. Snags and down wood provide nurse functions for tree and shrub species, and can aid in restoration of degraded forest environments. Various elements of wood decay provide habitat for many species of wildlife including invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Fire can influence the amounts and distributions of wood decay elements and enhance or detract desired ecosystem processes, depending on severity, charring, soil temperature, and other factors. Managing wood decay elements for ecosystem processes entails better understanding decay dynamics, the role of coarse wood in soil, the role of wood decay in carbon cycling and sequestration, and other considerations.

The spitfires will be flying over 11 locations across the three counties

Changes in forest management have detrimentally affected the economic health of small communities in the Blue Mountain region of Oregon over the past few decades. A build-up of small trees threatens the ecological health of these forests and increases wildland fire hazard. Hoping to boost their economies and also restore these forests, local leaders are interested in the economic value of timber that might be available from thinning treatments on these lands.

In rural Alaskan communities, high economic, social, and ecological costs are associated with fossil fuel use for power generation.

Increasing concern over the management and harvest of special forest products (SFP) from national forest lands has led to the development of new Forest Service policy directives.

National forest lands encompass numerous rural and urban communities. Some national-forest-based communities lie embedded within national forests, and others reside just outside the official boundaries of national forests. The urban and rural communities within or near national forest lands include a wide variety of historical traditions and cultural values that affect their process of economic development. National-forest-based urban and rural communities participate in numerous economic sectors including nontraded industries, resource-dependent traded industries, and non-resource-dependent traded industries. These communities represent microeconomic environments. Cluster theory provides an explicit framework to examine the microeconomic relationships between national forests and their embedded and neighboring communities. Implementation of economic cluster initiatives in national-forest-based communities could improve their overall social well-being through increased competitive advantage based on innovation and higher productivity. This paper proposes establishing an Economic Clusters research team within the Forest Service. This team would dedicate its efforts to the analysis and improvement of the determinants of competitive advantage affecting national-forest-based communities.

This update reports changes in the Nation's timber resource since the Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States was completed in 2003. Prospective trends in demands for and supplies of timber, and the factors that affect these trends are examined. These trends include changes in the U.S. economy, increased salvage of British Columbia beetle-killed timber, and a stronger U.S. dollar. Other prospective trends that might alter the future timber situation are discussed including changes in U.S. timberland area, reductions in southern pine plantation establishment, impacts of climate change on forest productivity, increased restoration thinning on Western public lands, and the impact of programs to increase carbon sequestration through afforestation. Various management implications such as the influence of prices on forest management, concerns about changes in forest area, the emerging open space issue, forests as a set of commons, seeking to find greater compatibility in forest management, and the stewardship agenda are discussed.

Public land managers are confronted with an ever-growing and diversifying set of demands for providing recreation opportunities. Coupled with a variety of trends (devolution of governance and decisionmaking, population growth, technological innovation, shifts in public values, economic restructuring) and reduced organizational capacity, these demands represent a significant and complex challenge to public land management. One way of dealing with this situation is to use a framework to assist in working through this complexity. A framework, for the purpose of this report, is a process using a set of steps, based on sound science, that assists managers in framing a particular problem, working through it, and arriving at a set of defendable decisions. Several such frameworks exist for providing recreation opportunities on public lands. These include the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, Limits of Acceptable Change, Visitor Experience and Resource Protection, Visitor Impact Management, and Benefits-Based Management. The report traces the development of each of these frameworks, describes the fundamental premises and concepts used within them, and provides an assessment of the experience with their use. Each of the frameworks has been used with varying success, depending on the organization's will, its technical capacity, the extent to which the process is inclusive of varying value systems, how open and deliberative the process is, the extent to which the organization is concerned with effectiveness, and the extent to which issues are confronted at the systems level.

This study gives an overview of the current inventory status and the projection of future forest inventories on other public timberland. Other public lands are lands administered by state, local, and federal government but excluding National Forest System lands. These projections were used as part of the 2005 USDA Forest Service Resource Planning Act timber assessment update. The projections were made by region and forest type by using the modified Aggregated Timberland Assessment System and the forest inventory data with methods and procedures consistent with the methods used for private and national forest inventory projections. Although the projected inventory volume differs by region, both softwood and hardwood inventories on other public timberlands in the United States are projected to increase over 60 percent during the next 50 years. Forest net growth exceeds harvest in most regions pushing inventory volumes up. The one exception is the Pacific Northwest East (ponderosa pine region) where the softwood inventory is expected to decrease until 2030 owing to lower softwood net growth and then slowly increase. The mature and old mature stands for both softwood and hardwood are projected to increase significantly for all regions especially in the South region where proportion of mature and old mature increases from 9 to 54 percent for softwood and 4 to 55 percent for hardwood.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed to create jobs and jumpstart the economy while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, received $1.15 billion in recovery funding to support projects in wildland fire management, capital improvement and maintenance, and biomass utilization. This volume contains eight individual case-study reports that describe how Forest Service economic recovery projects from around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural communities and investigates how forest restoration, conservation, and rural community development goals can be linked to promote healthy forests and healthy communities.

Greenhouse pot studies were conducted to quantify the competitive abilities of three native perennial grass species to inhibit development of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link ) seedlings: spike bentgrass (Agrostis exarata Trin. ), blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus Buckley), and western fescue (Festuca occidentalis Hook. ). In single-species stands (1) soil water content decreased with increasing grass density, (2) soil water depletion per plant differed among species as ratios of 2.4:1.3:1 for bentgrass, fescue, and wildrye, respectively, and (3) average percentage of ground cover per plant was ranked by species as bentgrass (14 percent), wildrye (8 percent), broom (8 percent), and fescue (5 percent). Regression models predicted 90, 85, and 72 percent reductions in average biomass per plant of broom when grown with approximately 250 plants/m2 of bentgrass, wildrye, and fescue, respectively. Bentgrass and wildrye were more competitive than fescue because of their early-season depletion of soil water and rapid development of cover.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) aimed to create jobs and promote economic growth while addressing the Nation's social and environmental needs. The USDA Forest Service received $1.15 billion in economic recovery funding. This report contains key findings and lessons learned from a socioeconomic assessment of Forest Service Recovery Act projects. The assessment examines how Forest Service economic recovery projects at eight case-study locations around the United States are contributing to socioeconomic well-being in rural counties affected by the economic recession of 2007-2009. It also investigates how Forest Service mission-related work can be accomplished in a manner that creates local community development opportunities. This report is a companion to general technical report PNW-GTR-831, which contains the full case-study reports.

Existing models and predictions project serious changes to worldwide hydrologic processes as a result of global climate change. Projections indicate that significant change may threaten National Forest System watersheds that are an important source of water used to support people, economies, and ecosystems. Wildland managers are expected to anticipate and respond to these threats, adjusting management priorities and actions. Because watersheds differ greatly in: (1) the values they support, (2) their exposure to climatic changes, and (3) their sensitivity to climatic changes, understanding these differences will help inform the setting of priorities and selection of management approaches. Drawing distinctions in climate change vulnerability among watersheds on a national forest or grassland allows more efficient and effective allocation of resources and better land and watershed stewardship. Eleven national forests from throughout the United States, representing each of the nine Forest Service regions, conducted assessments of potential hydrologic change resulting from ongoing and expected climate warming. A pilot assessment approach was developed and implemented. Each national forest identified water resources important in that area, assessed climate change exposure and watershed sensitivity, and evaluated the relative vulnerabilities of watersheds to climate change. The assessments provided management recommendations to anticipate and respond to projected climate-hydrologic changes. Completed assessments differed in level of detail, but all assessments identified priority areas and management actions to maintain or improve watershed resilience in response to a changing climate. The pilot efforts also identified key principles important to conducting future vulnerability assessments.

We developed a process to address terrestrial wildlife species for which management for ecosystem diversity may be inadequate for providing ecological conditions capable of sustaining viable populations. The process includes (1) identifying species of conservation concern, (2) describing source habitats, and other important ecological factors, (3) organizing species into groups, (4) selecting surrogate species for each group, (5) developing surrogate species assessment models; (6) applying surrogate species assessment models to evaluate current and historical conditions, (7) developing conservation considerations, and (8) designing monitoring and adaptive management. Following the application of our species screening criteria, we identified 209 of 700 species as species of concern on National Forest System lands east of the Cascade Range in Washington state. We aggregated the 209 species of conservation concern into 10 families and 28 groups based primarily on their habitat associations (these are not phylogenetic families). We selected 32 primary surrogate species (78 percent birds, 17 percent mammals, 5 percent amphibians) for application in northeastern Washington, based on risk factors and ecological characteristics. Our assessment documented reductions in habitat capability across the assessment area compared to historical conditions. We combined management considerations for individual species with other surrogate species to address multiple species. This information may be used to inform land management planning efforts currently underway on the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests in northeastern Washington.

On February 4, 2014, a seven-member expert panel provided objective technical information on the potential effectiveness and feasibility of activities to manage raptors (northern harriers and great horned owls) to aid the recovery of western snowy plovers.

Moss accumulates pollutants from the atmosphere and can serve as an inexpensive screening tool for mapping air quality and guiding the placement of monitoring instruments. We measured 22 elements using 346 moss samples collected across Portland, Oregon, in December 2013.

The Forest Landscape Assessment Tool (FLAT) is a set of procedures and tools used to rapidly determine forest ecological conditions and potential threats.

This assessment evaluates the effects of future climate change on a select set of ecological systems and ecosystem services in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and Chugach National Forest regions. The focus of the assessment was established during a multi-agency/organization workshop that established the goal to conduct a rigorous evaluation of a limited range of topics rather than produce a broad overview.

Southeast Alaska is a remote area, located approximately 700 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Most of the region’s goods are imported by barge, creating logistical and economic challenges not faced by many other parts of the United States. In this context, we used life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the potential environmental impact on global warming potential (GWP) of converting home heating systems from heating oil to wood pellets in southeast Alaska. Once the current level (status quo) was established, we evaluated imported pellet utilization at 20-, 40- and 100-percent penetration into the residential heating oil markets. We also modeled local production of wood pellets in southeast Alaska, assuming a 20-percent penetration. Our research found that reductions in GWP resulting from the conversion to wood pellets ranged from 10 to 51 percent, with the greatest reductions being associated with the highest levels of imported pellets. The scenario of producing wood pellets in southeast Alaska to meet local needs had a reduction in GWP of 14 percent (versus the status quo).

This update reports changes in the Nation's timber resource since the Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States was completed in 2003. Prospective trends in demands for and supplies of timber, and the factors that affect these trends are examined. These trends include changes in the U.S. economy, increased salvage of British Columbia beetle-killed timber, and a stronger U.S. dollar. Other prospective trends that might alter the future timber situation are discussed including changes in U.S. timberland area, reductions in southern pine plantation establishment, impacts of climate change on forest productivity, increased restoration thinning on Western public lands, and the impact of programs to increase carbon sequestration through afforestation. Various management implications such as the influence of prices on forest management, concerns about changes in forest area, the emerging open space issue, forests as a set of commons, seeking to find greater compatibility in forest management, and the stewardship agenda are discussed.