Forest Service

19 Stories

College Students' Lake Trip Has Park Service Peeved

Thousands of students converged on California's Shasta Lake—and left heaps of trash behind

(Newser) - SFGate gets right to the point in a recent headline: "Thousands of college students trashed a California lake." About 3,000 of them, according to Debbie Carlisi of the US Forest Service's Shasta-Trinity National Forest, who says crews at Shasta Lake spent six hours scooping up...

Forest Service Chief Says Arrest of 'Burn Boss' Was 'Highly Inappropriate'

Oregon sheriff arrested federal employee after controlled burn went wrong

(Newser) - The head of the US Forest Service has denounced the arrest by an Oregon sheriff of a Forest Service employee after a planned burn in a national forest spread onto private land. Rick Snodgrass, the US Forest Service "burn boss," was arrested on Oct. 19 and transported to...

'Wizard Rock' Returned Weeks After It Vanished From Forest

1-ton boulder went missing from Arizona forest

(Newser) - A 1-ton boulder known as Wizard Rock disappeared from Prescott National Forest in Arizona and then "magically" reappeared weeks later. The United States Forest Service says visitors reported around two weeks ago that the well-known rock, a black boulder with white quartz running through it, had vanished from its...

Trump Wants to Build Roads in Biggest National Forest

Move would open up much of Alaska's Tongass to loggers

(Newser) - The Trump administration says it wants to lift the Bill Clinton-era "Roadless Rule" in a national forest bigger than West Virginia. The United States Forest Service said Tuesday that it would like to see an end to all restrictions on road building in Alaska's Tongass National Forest, a...

Forest Cop on Bike Died After Surprising Grizzly

He had no time to brake, investigation finds

(Newser) - A federal report on the tragic death of Forest Service officer Brad Treat is out and the message is clear: Beware of what could be around the corner when you're mountain biking. The 38-year-old officer was mauled to death by a grizzly bear he surprised while mountain biking with...

7% of Trees in Colo. Forests Are Dead
7% of Trees in
Colo. Forests
Are Dead
Feb 16, 2017 12:29 PM CST

7% of Trees in Colo. Forests Are Dead

That's terrible news for those fighting wildfires

(Newser) - Colorado's beetle-infested forests are peppered with an estimated 834 million standing dead trees that threaten to worsen wildfires and degrade vital water supplies that flow from mountains, officials say. Roughly one in every 14, or about 7%, standing trees in the state's forests is dead, with the total...

Nestle's Been Bottling Calif. Water With Expired Permit

Environmental groups file suit against US Forest Service

(Newser) - In the midst of a historic drought, Nestle bottled approximately 68,000 gallons of water from California's San Bernardino National Forest every day last year. It paid only an annual fee of $524 for the privilege. Oh, and its permit to do so expired 27 years ago. The Desert ...

Aggressive Goats Get Idaho Trail Closed

It seems they expect food from humans

(Newser) - The US Forest Service has temporarily closed a northern Idaho hiking trail over concerns about aggressive mountain goats after one animal bit a hiker and others reportedly tried to head-butt or charge visitors. Scotchman Peak Trail, which leads to the summit of Bonner County's tallest mountain, was closed Friday,...

77-Year-Old Hit With $6.3M Bill for Sparking Forest Fire

Forest Service says he let fire in barrel get out of control

(Newser) - One minute you're burning twigs and paper in a rusted-out old barrel on your son's property; then, before you know it, five square miles of national forest have burned and you're being charged $6.3 million. Such is the saga of James G. Anderson Jr., the 77-year-old...

We're Fighting Fires With Antique Planes

US Forest Service also uses parts pulled from museums

(Newser) - When the US Forest Service battled wildfires near Yosemite National Park in August, it did so with a fleet of restored tankers first built in the 1950s. The planes help firefighters on the ground by dropping thousands of gallons of retardant ahead of blazes, but critics say the tankers are...

Brush That Last Burned in 1929 Is Fueling Calif. Fire

3K evacuated in Powerhouse blaze

(Newser) - A California wildfire has burned some 35 square miles north of Los Angeles and prompted evacuation orders for almost 3,000 people. Part of its fuel: "extremely old and dry" brush that last burned in 1929, a US Forest Service official explained yesterday, per the AP . Some 2,100...

Forest Service Axes 30-Year Ban on Night Flights

Rule blamed in disastrous 2009 Station fire

(Newser) - California's disastrous 2009 Station fire made wildfire authorities rethink their approach to battling blazes at night—and now they're uplifting a longstanding rule. For the first time in about three decades, the US Forest Service will allow night flights to combat flames, the Los Angeles Times reports. "...

Forest Service to Hack Up Frozen Cows

Creepy detail: Crews will spend the night at Colorado cabin

(Newser) - If the idea of cows creepily frozen inside a mountain cabin sounds like the stuff of horror movies, bad news: The tale's ending is no less macabre. Crews with hand saws and knives plan to carve up the cattle before the carcasses thaw. A group of US Forest Service...

Utah Men Busted for Deadly Traps on Hiking Trail

Booby traps were designed to harm hikers, police say

(Newser) - Police in Utah believe it was only luck that prevented booby traps set up along a popular hiking trail from killing or maiming somebody. One trap was designed to swing a 20-pound spiked boulder at a hiker's head while the other would cause the victim to fall on sharpened...

Forest Service May Blow Up Frozen Cows

Cows got stuck in remote Colorado cabin

(Newser) - It's not your typical Forest Service problem: The agency is considering explosives to move a bunch of frozen cows that died after getting stuck inside a cabin at 11,000 feet in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. The carcasses were discovered by two Air Force Academy cadets when they snow-shoed...

Wildfires Blazing in West Texas
 Wildfires Blazing in West Texas 
Feb 28, 2011 2:24 PM CST

Wildfires Blazing in West Texas

Hundreds evacuated; kennel fire claims dogs

(Newser) - Wildfires continued their blaze across West Texas today, though calmer winds allowed firefighters to make some headway. The weekend brought fierce gusts that carried the fires across 120,000 acres, reducing 80 homes to ashes and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Firefighters, support helicopters, and tanker planes are...

Smokey Bear's Fire Still Burning at 65

But some criticize his simple message

(Newser) - He turns 65 this year, but Smokey Bear’s nowhere near extinguished, the Los Angeles Times reports. The mascot remains as fiercely beloved by baby boomers as he is fiercely protected by the government: Federal law keeps his image from unauthorized use, which can result in a $150,000 fine....

As Temperatures Rise, West's Trees Dying Faster

New study paints dire picture for US forests which are releasing carbon dioxide—not storing it

(Newser) - America’s trees are dying at an alarming rate in the nation's western forests, a new study says. Death rates have more than doubled over the last two to three decades, Time reports, even in seemingly healthy locales. All types and sizes of trees, and at all elevations, have been...

Workers Charge Laptops to Lingerie on Fed Credit Cards

Audit: Nearly half of purchases broke rules

(Newser) - Millions of dollars government employees charged to federal credit cards went for less-than-appropriate perks ranging from digital cameras to dating services, sexy lingerie, laptops, and a $13,000 postal party, reports the Washington Post. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that 48% of major purchases on federal credit...

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