U.S. Forest Service

This fire year is on track to be as extreme as the last few. At the same time, some Forest Service areas have had a hard time hiring enough wildland firefighters.

The U.S. Forest Service recently announced a 10-year plan that includes a dramatic increase in treating forests through thinning and prescribed burns. That plan includes treating 20 million acres of Forest Service land, and 30 million acres of other federal, state, tribal, and private lands.

Wildfire activity generally slows at night as winds die down, temperatures drop and humidity rises. But a a new study suggests that's changing.

The fire, floods and massive debris flows of the past year in Glenwood Canyon could help answer an aeons-old question — where exactly does the underground source of water that feeds Hanging Lake begin?

Colorado's ski areas spend about $25 million a year in fees in exchange for being on federal land, and only a small fraction returns to those forests for management. The Denver Post reports on a bill recently introduced in Congress that would allow forests that bring in large amounts of ski fees to allocate some of that money for staffing.

The U.S. Forest Service has faced budget cuts, and underfunding for years. So, with the agency’s blessing, around 200 conservation groups around the country have created volunteer wilderness ranger programs to help patrol the backcountry. But are volunteers a good substitute for funding full-time staff?

Thousands of firefighters from across the U.S. battling dozens of wildfires burning throughout the West. It’s an inherently dangerous job that now carries the additional risk of COVID-19 transmission.

As the U.S. Forest Service prepares for the wildfire season, it must also confront COVID-19. Already the agency's put a stop to prescribed burning. And...

The U.S. Forest Service is rethinking how it employs firefighters.

A new report from Congress’s watchdog says employees overseeing public lands are facing hundreds of threats and assaults.