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October 4th, 2016|Tags: American Forests|0 Comments

By Jack Thuon, American Forests

I spent nine years of my life surrounded by trees in a small town in Connecticut, so, while I understood the importance of forests, I had a “you’ve seen one tree, you’ve seen them all” type of attitude. However, my perspective changed when my family traveled to Yosemite National Park. As I stood in the middle of a forest filled with trees 300 feet tall, I realized that forests are special and each one is unique. Each forest has its own ecosystem, plant and animal life and beauty. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the beauty and wonder of not just forests, but also everything nature has to offer— meaning that we need to keep our world clean and healthy. Since then, the environment, and thus conservation, has become one of my biggest interests.

When I first came to college in Washington, D.C. last fall, I knew that I wanted to join an organization that would do its part to fight for our planet. After a year of struggling to find a group who shared my passion and determination, I came upon American Forests. Here, not only could I work to help the environment, I could also pursue my other interests of communications and politics. It has been a dream of mine for a while now to come to D.C., learn the tools of the trade at American University and begin a career in public service, specifically in conservation. By working as an intern this fall at American Forests, I have the opportunity to get hands-on experience working with policymakers, the government and non-profit organizations who do incredible work.

While I have been to a few beautiful places around the world, there are still many, many more I want to explore. That is why my internship at American Forests is so critically important to me. Yes, this opportunity will strengthening my communication skills and advance my working knowledge of forest policy, but I am here for a bigger purpose as well: keeping our environment as beautiful in 100 years as it is right now. American Forests’ works diligently to keep our planet healthy, and I am so excited to contribute in any way I can to this important cause.

The post Why I’m Here: A Passion for Protecting the Environment appeared first on American Forests.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

What were visitors to USDA’s Farmers Market on Friday, Sept. 30, doing with the iPads they were holding?  They certainly weren’t playing Pokemon Go!  Instead, they were participating in a behavioral economics study about food choices.

The USDA Farmers Market, managed by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and located just steps from the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C., is a “living laboratory” for farmers markets around the country.  It’s also a great place to learn about the factors that influence customers’ buying decisions.

Researchers from the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR) at the University of Delaware were at the market from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. to conduct the study.  More than 150 shoppers participated in the study which enabled them to purchase food with their money in an authentic setting.  The study was funded by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) grant from USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) as part of its CONSERVE (COordinating Nontraditional Sustainable watER Use in Variable ClimatEs) Center for Excellence.

CBEAR, established in 2014 in partnership with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), conducts behavioral and experimental economics research to better understand how and why people make decisions.  This research, aimed at promoting consumer acceptance of food produced with new, sustainable farming practices, is part of ERS’s ongoing work on evidence-based policy.

We, the administrators of AMS and ERS, were pleased that so many consumers participated in this study.  We also enjoyed the opportunity to see CBEAR’s “Tuk Tuk,” an eye-catching, three-wheel electric vehicle.  Tuk Tuks are common in parts of Asia, but CBEAR’s Tuk Tuk is the only one of its kind in the United States.  CBEAR’s researchers use it as a mobile lab because the Tuk Tuk easily carries computers and other equipment needed to conduct studies in field settings such as farmers markets and on farms and ranches.

CBEAR’s Co-Director Kent Messer told us that a number of the participants he met during the day not only provided valuable input to the study, but also expressed interest in learning about innovative farming techniques that can produce healthful food while promoting water conservation.

The research report that will include the findings from this field study at USDA’s Farmers Market is scheduled to be released next year and we’ll look forward to reading it!

One of the hallmarks of the Obama Administration has been our commitment to economic growth through an expanding bio-based economy.  Nowhere is that transformation more pronounced than the success of renewable energy.   And USDA Rural Development has been a leader in that effort.

The proof is in the numbers: Domestic energy-related emissions have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years.  Our dependence on foreign oil is at a 40-year low and declining. In the last eight years, USDA has helped lead an effort to promote the domestic production and use of advanced biofuels and biobased products, supporting millions of jobs and pumping hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars into the U.S. economy.

The biobased economy and renewable energy has certainly been a boon to farmers and ranchers.  It has also lifted the economic prospects of small and large businesses and created wealth in small towns and communities throughout rural America.  Much like our continued commitment to reliable and affordable electricity through our rural electric coops which started more than 80 years ago, USDA’s investments in today’s bio-based economy and renewable energy sources are giving rural America the capacity to thrive.

In February, we visited Bear Mountain Forest Products in my home state of Oregon. Last year, Rural Development provided them with $1,437,305 in Repowering Assistance Program funds to purchase and install a biomass dryer (replacing their propane fueled drying system with a wood fired system).  The efficiency upgrade is anticipated to save the company $800,000 per year in operating costs.  That’s a big boost to their bottom line, which has allowed them to expand and create even more jobs.

Bear Mountain is part of a bio-based industry that is generating $393 billion for the U.S. economy and contributing over 4.2 million jobs each year.

For farms and small businesses looking to reduce their energy consumption and costs, our signature energy efficiency program, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses to purchase or install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements. Through this program alone, USDA has assisted over 15,000 rural small businesses, reducing greenhouse emissions that are equivalent to removing almost 1.2 million cars from the road annually.

REAP has supported over 4,000 wind and solar renewable energy projects, enough to power more than 158,000 homes annually and more than 100 anaerobic digesters to help farm operations produce and capture methane to produce electricity.

I am proud of the work we’ve done in Rural Development, and across USDA with investments in today’s bio-based economy and renewable energy sources are giving rural America the capacity to thrive.

To read more about USDA’s record of accomplishment in promoting the bio-based economy and renewable energy, visit our most recent Results Chapter on Medium.

Over the last eight years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of veterans turning to agriculture for their post-service career. While many choose farming and ranching, others seek employment in the agriculture industry as well as federal service. USDA employs more than 11,000 veterans, and we’re looking to increase that number through a new apprenticeship program.

The program, which is being launched this week by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) in partnership with the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is a registered national apprenticeship that will grow a pool of talent for USDA. Although it is open to anyone interested in a career in agriculture, we are especially proud that it offers America’s veterans one more way to join our ranks.

Apprentices in the program will receive 12 months of specialized training to become agricultural commodity graders (ACGs). ACGs are mission-critical positions for USDA. They are the highly trained USDA team members across the country who perform quality grading and inspections of the foods and agricultural products that we purchase every day.

Outside of the direct benefit to consumers, these apprentices and the other ACGs around the country help facilitate domestic and global commerce and are a vital part of USDA’s commitment to ensuring that the quality and wholesomeness of products meets buyers’ expectations.

USDA worked hand-in-hand with the DOL to develop a comprehensive curriculum that will help build the next generation of USDA technical professionals and leaders. We also worked closely with VA to ensure that veterans in the program who were eligible were able to access their hard-earned benefits. Thoughtful and dedicated work by many employees in these three agencies shows our commitment to veterans at the USDA and federal level.

We are committed to providing opportunities for American veterans, and this new program is another way for USDA to serve those who served our nation. Our new apprenticeship program will help them find opportunities in federal service. Our strong relationship with Hiring Our Heroes opens the agriculture industry and the thousands of high-skilled jobs to our veterans and we will continue to reach out to those who are interested in farming and ranching.

Since 2009, our programs at USDA have provided more than $505 million in direct farm loans to help 7,416 veterans start, maintain or grow their farming operations.

Learn more about the new apprenticeship program and other opportunities available at AMS.

The landscape modeling expertise Samuel Cushman provides as a research ecologist at the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station is in demand worldwide as human-caused disturbances impact animal distribution, connectivity and survival.

Whether it’s clouded leopards in Borneo, lions in Africa, elephants in India, snow leopards in Central Asia or European brown bears, Cushman and his partners study what aspects of the landscape are truly important to animals, how they influence movement and genetic diversity, and which conservation plans will have the most impact.

“The importance of this work is to understand how to develop conservation management plans that are most effective for species and ecosystems. And that requires knowing what controls the distribution and connectivity of populations,” said Cushman.

In fact last year Cushman published a study in Landscape Ecology in which he, and his colleagues, modeled African lion movement in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area. They found that lions are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and that strategically placed fencing and wildlife corridors may be a viable solution for lion conservation.

With the U.S. Forest Service’s additional collaborations in Borneo, Europe, India and Central Asia, the agency is on the cutting edge of international landscape modeling and conservation planning.

Over the last decade, the Forest Service developed this array of methods and models on U.S. national forest lands using bears and martens as their initial study animals. The first step in the modeling process requires researchers to collect genetic samples and place GPS trackers on animals.

Back in the lab, the genetic data provides researchers with information about how related animals are, and the GPS data allows for researchers to track how animals travel across a landscape.

Researchers can then identify what types of features (roadways, rivers, mountains, etc.) influence dispersal and population connectivity as well as what features are impassable barriers. When they pair the movement and genetic data together researchers can achieve a high level of confidence in linking the processes that govern movement to the population-level effects on gene flow and genetic diversity, which are crucial for maintaining healthy populations into the future.

The initial work on bears and martens in the U.S. evaluated the impact of overpass and highway construction in an effort to make them more animal friendly, while the African lion results and clouded leopard findings from Borneo are deeply embedded in new regional conservation planning processes. And with Cushman’s upcoming trip to India, and as other Forest Service researchers travel the globe on-demand to provide expertise, the wide applicability and impact of Forest Service research continues to grow.

Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) play a unique role in USDA’s service to rural America. They link the research and educational outreach capacity of the nation’s public universities with communities, local decision makers, entrepreneurs, families, and farmers and ranchers to help address a wide range of development issues.  USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provides core funding for RRDCs and integrated research, education, and extension activities.

By Rachel Welborn, project manager with the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University

How can rural communities compete in an ever-expanding global market?

Rural counties across the country are finding innovative ways to capitalize on their local strengths.  Through a guided process, more than 400 counties in 38 states are discovering new ways to work together to grow their economies.

Stronger Economies Together (SET) is a joint partnership of USDA Rural Development, NIFA, the four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and the cooperative extension services operated by the nation’s land-grant universities.  With the strength of this partnership undergirding the effort, regions of three or more neighboring rural counties coordinate to identify their collective economic strengths, develop an action plan and build on those assets to find a competitive edge for economic growth.

How does this work?  In one example, a region in Oklahoma had recently experienced a military base closure.  What can you do with an empty airstrip? Their answer was to transform the region into one of the newest “hot spots” for unmanned aerial vehicle research and development. By taking an underused resource and redirecting it to fit a niche’ need, the region opened the doors to a rapidly expanding new industrial market.

Also in Oklahoma, the Drying Canola Project tested the feasibility of diversified agricultural opportunities in the region. The two-day process of drying canola in peanut trailers reduced moisture in harvested canola from 30 percent to 6 percent. This will add an estimated $78 per acre of harvested canola to the sale price, which translates to $7.2 million in additional income.

North Carolina’s Green Fields Initiative is another success through SET.  Recognizing the agriculture industry as a core of its economy, the Green Fields Initiative helped establish the Sandhills Farm School, a seven-month course that educates existing and new farmers on business strategies, agriculture production and marketing best practices. In addition, Sandhills Community College is developing a certification program that focuses on local food system development.

These are just three examples drawn from the 84 SET regions hard at work to preserve and expand their regional rural economies by linking arms with neighboring counties. To date, SET regions have leveraged more than $588 million in funding to support their insightful plans.

SET regions are selected through an application process. Selected regions are coached by specially trained teams that provide the region with a breadth of community development expertise.  Visit the SET web page to learn more.

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.

This October, the Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood campaign and Hungry Pests, an initiative from APHIS, are partnering to present the first-ever Firewood Awareness Month. The cooler nights and quickly approaching fall season brings an increase in RV camping, hunting, and home heating. Firewood Awareness Month looks to raise public awareness about the potential danger of firewood movement as a pest and disease pathway at this high-risk time of year.

Tree-killing invasive insects and diseases can lurk both inside, and on the surface, of firewood. While these insects and diseases don’t travel far on their own, transporting firewood allows them to move hundreds of miles and start infestations in new places, explains APHIS Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy.

Pest infestations can impact our forests by killing trees there as well as in our parks and communities. Infestations are also costly to control or eradicate.

Everyone’s firewood choices matter, says Leigh Greenwood, The Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood campaign manager. When it comes to protecting our campsites, wildlife habitats, neighborhood trees, and other favorite places, we all have a personal responsibility to slow the spread of forest pests. Firewood Awareness Month serves as the perfect opportunity to inform the public on the different ways they can help protect the places they love.

This Firewood Awareness Month, everyone can help protect the places they love from the spread of damaging forest pests by making one of these three safe firewood choices:

1. Buy firewood near where you’ll burn it
2. Buy certified heat treated firewood (look for a state or federal seal)
3. Gather firewood on site when permitted

Anyone who will travel from one location to another, including campers, anglers, hunters, and RV owners, should not carry firewood—unless it is heat-treated and certified—to their destination. This can spread forest pests and may also violate state and federal laws, depending on the region. Plan to gather firewood on site if permitted or purchase firewood near your camping destination.

People who use wood to heat their homes or cabins can help by harvesting firewood locally or by purchasing firewood from a reputable dealer who is in compliance with state or regional firewood regulations. Some operations may be unaware of quarantine and movement restrictions, resulting in the unintentional and illegal movement of tree-killing pests.

Tourists, too, can help protect the places they love against the spread of pests. As thousands of “leaf peeping” fall foliage enthusiasts travel to view the changing leaves around the country, they should purchase firewood locally, buy certified heat treated firewood, or gather on site if allowed.

Get state specific firewood regulations and recommendations at Dontmovefirewood.org/map. Visit www.DontMoveFirewood.org or www.HungryPests.com to learn how to help stop the spread of invasive pests and report signs of them to the proper authorities, and use #firewoodmonth to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

It’s National Farm to School Month and USDA’s Office of Community Food Systems is here to help…and not just in October!  All year long, we offer research, grants, training and technical assistance to help connect child nutrition programs with local foods.  Here’s why.

Farm to school helps form healthy habits. By incorporating local foods, farm to school programs help school meal programs fulfill the updated nutrition standards with appealing and diverse offerings.  And the results are impressive.  The recent 2015 USDA Farm to School Census shows farm to school programs now exist in every state in the nation and in every type of school district – large and small, rural and urban alike. With that in mind, we plan to build on this momentum!

There are many ways USDA supports schools meals through farm to school efforts.   We offer resources to help ensure child nutrition program operators have the knowledge necessary to integrate local foods into their day to day operations.  Our Farm to School Planning Toolkit provides resources for starting or growing a program and is filled with tips and examples, insights from others, and lists of resources for further research.  There’s also countless recommendations on local foods in schools, activities like school gardens, grant opportunities, and farm to preschool tips – because it’s never too soon to start forging healthy habits.

This investment in the health of America’s students through farm to school programming is also an investment in the health of local economies.  The Census results found that strong farm to school programs can increase the number of students purchasing school breakfast and lunch, improve consumption of healthier foods at school, and reduce plate waste.  Equally important, millions of children are learning about where their food comes from and being exposed to lessons about healthy eating.  And while all these great things are taking place, our nation’s farmers, ranchers, fishermen, as well as food processors and manufacturers, benefit from the relationship with school districts.

USDA is committed to bringing more local food into school meals, promoting healthy eating habits and expanding markets for American farmers and producers. To best support that commitment, the USDA Farm to School Grant Program assists eligible entities in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. Competitive grants up to $5 million are provided annually for training, supporting operations, planning, purchasing equipment, developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and implementing farm to school programs.  And last month (September) we began accepting applications for Fiscal Year 2017 Farm to School Grant Funding.

From taste tests in the cafeteria and nutrition education activities in the classroom, to farm visits and school garden harvest parties, schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities and organizations throughout the nation are catching on to the farm to school movement. Bringing the bounty of America’s farms into schools and onto breakfast and lunch trays is one of the best ways we can ensure students are receiving nutritious and delicious meals at school.  And that’s worth celebrating all year long.

September 30th, 2016|Tags: Forest Digest|0 Comments

Find out the latest in forest news in this week’s Forest Digest!

• Killing Off Wildlife Is Destroying Tropical Forests — TakePart.com
  Recent research has revealed that the disappearance of seed-dispersing wildlife within forests and impacting those forests ability to store carbon.
• How Small Forests Can Help Save the Planet — New York Times
  With more than half of our country’s 751 million acres of forests being privately owned at holdings of 1,000 acres or less, this group of small “family forests” could serve as a large resource for combating climate change.
• Haunted Forests Around the World — CNTraveler.com
  With October rapidly approaching, Halloween filling the air and scary movies playing on television, this article gets the nature-lover in the spooky spirit with a look at some of the most “haunted” forests around the world with rich and disturbing histories.
• One Tiny Wasp Turns a Fig Tree Into a 150-Foot-High Eden — National Geographic
  A German photographer living on the edge of a rain forest helps to spread the word — and beauty — of the relationship between a fig tree and a wasp.

 

The post Forest Digest — Week of September 26, 2016 appeared first on American Forests.