On October 20, 2012, twenty-five volunteers gathered on the Willamette National Forest in Sweet Home, Oregon for the community’s first Friends of the Forest Day. The volunteer stewardship event was not only an opportunity for the local community to get their hands dirty with on the ground restoration project in their “backyard forest,”  but was also a celebration of the Sweet Home Ranger District’s “All Lands Collaborative Approach” to promoting a healthy landscape (and healthy... (Read more…)

In Sisters, Oregon and throughout the Northwest, recent forest fires have reminded us just how much local forests impact our quality of life. With the Pole Creek Fire burning just 5 miles from Sisters, Central Oregonians came out in droves to volunteer at the National Forest Foundation’s Friends of the Forest® Day.  More than 115 volunteers were escorted through the fire closure area, driven past charred landscapes, and taken to the beautiful and lesser known river, Whychus Creek.... (Read more…)

On September 13, 2012 twenty-seven Cycle Oregon cyclists rode to the top of Mt. Ashland…on a yellow school bus. During “Day 5” of Cycle Oregon’s week long ride the enthusiastic cyclists volunteered to give back to one of the National Forests they had been riding through.  The project site straddled two national forests, the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest and the Klamath National Forest. The volunteers vigorously worked to deconstruct on old wood pole fence once used to... (Read more…)

On a recent spring morning, more than 100 volunteers from the Alcoa Fastening Systems Carson Operations arrived at Vogel Flat Picnic Area on the Angeles National Forest for a Friends of the Forest day. Alcoa adopted the picnic area last fall and employees were eager to continue their work. Damaged in the 2009 Station Fire and subsequent debris flows, the picnic area required a variety of improvements and repairs. Despite the presence of half a dozen or so large and... (Read more…)

Hundreds of thousands of families enjoy the Angeles National Forest each year, escaping the hustle and bustle of nearby metropolitan Los Angeles even if just for a few hours. The 2009 Station Fire swept through Big Tujunga Canyon, damaging several recreation sites that were popular destinations for weekend family picnics. Vegetation that held the loose, rocky soils in place was burned and during the winter heavy rains sent massive debris flows down into the Canyon, burying... (Read more…)

To celebrate National Public Lands Day , the National Forest Foundation teamed up with REI to bring the Forest Service and community together to help restore Big Tujunga Creek at Angeles National Forest. Volunteers from all across Southern California, including several employees from Northrop Grumman, convened at the Wildwood Picnic Area to start the Friends of the Forest day. Forest Service employees from the Los Angeles River Ranger District described the site and... (Read more…)