Posts tagged “Recreation”

In the Eastern United States, National Forests are almost myths. People have heard of National Forests, but they don’t really know where they are or how they work. Until not too long ago, I was one such person. Growing up in Michigan, my family went on maybe a dozen camping trips with our pop-up camper at state campgrounds. I had never camped in a tent in the middle of the wilderness. I never doubted that I could, I just never had the opportunity to prove it to myself. This... (Read more…)

Have you ever stood in a field of grasses towering over your head? Have you felt small in a wide open sea of grass? Soon the majestic prairie will once again provide a sense of awe for residents and visitors alike. Less than an hour from Chicago, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie offers visitors a chance to experience Illinois, and much of the Midwest, how it once was: tallgrass prairie. From Army to Prairie Beginning in 1940, the open space of Midewin became the... (Read more…)

Here in Montana, when you mention the East to a born-and-bred Montanan, it often conjures images of skyscrapers, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and throngs of people.  This isn’t the East I know.  My East is filled with spectacular wildlands, places where you can drive for ages on dirt roads, spend a day exploring backwoods waterfalls, and look out over an endless expanse of rolling, snow-covered hills, where there is a beautiful blur between the natural and the cultural, the... (Read more…)

Around the country, National Forests are protecting more than trees. Historical places, grasslands, geological formations and more are scattered across the country. In the Chatthoochee-Oconee National Forest in northern Georgia, petroglyphs at Track Rock Gap provide visitors with a sense of mystery and a window into the past. More than one hundred symbols cover six table-sized soapstone boulders in the gap between Thuderstruck Mountain and Buzzard Roost Ridge. Native... (Read more…)

Stretching across Southeast Alaska, the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest is both the United States’ largest National Forest and the world’s largest temperate rainforest. All within this one National Forest, you can find glaciers, fjords, forests, wetlands and more. From the moment you enter the forest, you know you’re experiencing “wild” Alaska. Throughout the forest and along the trails, nature holds you every step of the way. Soaring majestically above the trees,... (Read more…)

When the economic forecast doesn’t always look sunny, spending some time outside on public lands is a great option. The recreation opportunities within our National Forests help Americans enjoy healthier lifestyles, while also sustaining local communities and their economies. National Forests offer inexpensive and often free opportunities for recreational activities. With 193 million acres in 44 states, our National Forest System offers a wild array of places to explore. ... (Read more…)

For most of June and July, national news outlets reported on the growing wildfires in Arizona. Each week, dry, hot winds increased the fires’ intensity and size, forcing residents to flee communities in the path of the blaze and decimating hundreds of thousands of forested acres. As the fires intensified, the NFF began receiving calls from residents and businesses who wanted to help. Our initial response was to simply respect the intensely hard work of firefighters and other Forest... (Read more…)

Summer 2011 will be remembered by most of the country as one of the hottest on record. While politicians and pundits may debate the underlying cause (or lack thereof) of rising temperatures, it’s hard to care about why it’s so darn hot when it is so darn hot. With temps pushing triple digits across the country, our thoughts have shifted to water - the magical, life-giving molecule that makes even the hottest temperature tolerable. Before we get into the fun stuff, it’s... (Read more…)