Welcome to the National Forest Foundation blog. Explore the various articles to learn more about our forests and places to play.
You've saved all the beautiful instagram pictures showing off grid trails, mountains drenched in a purple alpine glow, and smiley faces holding steamy mugs of coffee as they take in the view. You've even bought a fancy new pair of hiking boots, the kind with the ankle support! You are well on your way to taking your first backpacking trip. EXCEPT, where to start?
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Learn more about Karen Ramos' connection to the Los Padres National Forest and how it has influenced her life.
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Check out the winners of our National Forest Week photo contest.
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Nestled in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest, the Red River Gorge attracts thousands of outdoor recreation enthusiasts year round. Rock climbers, hikers, canoeists and campers are among those who come to enjoy and explore this rugged landscape, often referred to as simply “The Red” by its most frequent visitors.
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Camping at a National Forest does not need to be overwhelming or scary. Just follow some basic safety advice and you can avoid danger and enjoy your trip.
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Guest Author Tara Schatz recollects a memorable weekend camping at the Grout Pond Recreation Area on Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest.
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Yes, you can cook pizza on a campfire. And it’s delicious and easy. Check out step by step instructions for this tasty dinner item.
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Trails are part of the human experience and history in New Mexico. Some trails have a rich history, like the ancient trade route the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that connected Mexico City to villages around Santa Fe. The Carson National Forest encompasses a landscape etched by at least a thousand years of permanent human settlements, and every trail is part of that history and has a story. We can still hike on trails radiating out from thousand-year-old Taos Pueblo, Picuris Pueblo and Puebloan ruins.
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Visit these National Forests for beautiful and bright fall foliage.
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In discovering her passion for rock climbing and the outdoors, Gabrielle could not help but notice that her experiences as almost always the only black woman within these spaces were very different than her friends and climbing partners. These experiences pushed her to connect with affinity spaces present in the climbing community and become an advocacy leader within them.
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As part of the It's All Yours campaign, writer and photographer Diane Wesh shares her renewed connection with the outdoors and our National Forests.
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Thanks to our many tree-planting supporters, we planted an incredible 5 million trees across 18,000 acres of National Forests in 2019. That is nearly double the 2.6 million trees we planted in 2018!
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Did you know that each time you turn on the faucet, you may have a National Forest to thank? Not only do our forests provide a host of environmental and public health benefits, they are also essential to a clean, plentiful water supply.
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This June, NFF staff had the opportunity to visit a local reforestation site on the Lolo National Forest. This is what we learned.
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Trails are part of the human experience and history in New Mexico. Some trails have a rich history, like the ancient trade route the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that connected Mexico City to villages around Santa Fe. The Carson National Forest encompasses a landscape etched by at least a thousand years of permanent human settlements, and every trail is part of that history and has a story. We can still hike on trails radiating out from thousand-year-old Taos Pueblo, Picuris Pueblo and Puebloan ruins.
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On the Oregon Coast, about twenty minutes inland from the Pacific Ocean, is a trail that could turn almost any indoor kid into an all-caps HIKER. Drift Creek Falls, located in the Siuslaw National Forest (ancestral lands of the Siletz, Tillamook, Salmon River and possibly other tribes), is a three-mile out-and-back trail. Through mossy, lichen-covered, first and second growth forest, it culminates at a 100-foot waterfall in a stunning, basalt gorge.
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One thing that quickly became clear to me as we hiked is that each one of us feels a deep connection to the outdoors. It was in our words, our actions, our stories. As Latinx people, that strong relationship with the outdoors comes directly from our ancestors. We are descendants of fishermen, hunters, farmers, ranchers, lovers of wildlife and the land, true environmentalists.
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With the Forest Service and nine other outstanding stewardship organizations, the NFF launched the Find Your Fourteener campaign in 2017 to harness our collective expertise to help ensure sustainable access to Fourteeners. The Find Your Fourteener campaign goal is to increase the pace and scale of improvements to sustainable recreation opportunities on Colorado’s Fourteeners. Read on for what’s on our Fourteeners stewardship bucket list in 2019!
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Traveling through Big Santa Anita Canyon is like stepping back in time to the “Great Hiking Era.” As you walk along the paths trees and bushes give way to historic camps and cabins built from the 1890s to 1930s to ensure that the residents of the growing city would have a place to find peace in nature.
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From surfing to biking to volunteering, there are lots of ways to enjoy the great outdoors in national forests in Wyoming and some of them may surprise you.
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Are you planning that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Alaska? We’ve got the insider scoop on the best places to experience the wilderness of Alaska. Our largest National Forest in the country, the Tongass, includes more than 100 cabins available to rent. At 17 million acres, you’ll truly feel secluded. Our local experts at the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska gave us their favorite and top recommendations for cabins on the Tongass.
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2019 marks the second year of the Conservation Connect Fellowship Program. This year we have 10 Fellows from Northern Arizona University; Portland State University; University of California, Merced; University of Georgia, University of Michigan, and the University of Montana.
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Learn more about the recent work of the 5B Restoration Coalition in Idaho.
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With NFF support the Harney County Restoration Collaborative has garnered community support and consensus for local forest management practices.
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In March of 2018, more than 70 people, representing 31 organizations met to advanced watershed restoration and stewardship at the 2018 Southeast Alaska Watershed Restoration Workshop in Juneau, Alaska. The workshop was made possible by the National Forest Foundation's Community Capacity and Land Stewardship Program and organized by the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition.
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We are grateful for George’s lifetime of service to our forests, for his generosity to the NFF, and for the example he sets.
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Our tree planting partner, Atlas Services LLC, recently shared a bookmark printed in 1937 that they acquired.
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Learn more about the National Museum of Forest Service History.
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More than 1 million acres are in need of reforestation. Plant trees now to support forests for future generations.