In 2020, we celebrated Smokey Bear’s 75th birthday as a national fire prevention icon. Many know Smokey’s message: “Only YOU can prevent wildfires,” but fewer people may know that Smokey was a real American black bear rescued, in the spring of 1950, from a raging wildfire in New Mexico. The Los Tablos and Capitan Gap […]
USDA Press Office
Posted inLife
Keep your Thanksgiving Full of Turkey and Free from Foodborne Illness
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2021 — Next week, Americans will enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends. While the COVID-19 pandemic is still top-of-mind, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds us all that it’s also important to keep family and friends safe from foodborne illness this Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times to remind […]
Posted inEnviro
USDA: Droughts longer, rainfall more erratic over the last 50 years in most of the West
TUCSON, Ariz., April 6, 2021 – Dry periods between rainstorms have become longer and annual rainfall has become more erratic across most of the western United States during the past 50 years, according to a new study published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the University of Arizona Against the backdrop of steadily […]
Posted inUS
USDA Increases SNAP Benefits Up To $100 Per Household with Funding from American Rescue Plan
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today a 15 percent increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through September 2021, providing an estimated $3.5 billion to households experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which invests federal resources […]
Posted inCalifornia
Most California Fires Occur in Area of Wildland-urban Interface with Less Fuel and More People
Madison, WI, October 24, 2019 at 6:32 AM October 24, 2019 – In California, the state with more building destruction by wildfire than all of the other states combined, new research by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service scientist and University of Wisconsin-Madison partners found something surprising. Over nearly three decades, half of all […]
Posted inUS
Forest Service Announces New Strategy for Improving Forest Conditions
WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 16, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) announced today a new strategy (link is external) for managing catastrophic wildfires and the impacts of invasive species, drought, and insect and disease epidemics. Specifically, a new report titled Toward Shared Stewardship across Landscapes: An Outcome-based investment Strategy (PDF, 3.7 MB) outlines the USFS’s […]
Posted inUS
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tidwell Closes Distinguished Forest Service Career, Announces Retirement
Washington, D.C., August 18, 2017 – U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell today announced his retirement after a 40-year career, characterized by his climb from a firefighter to a District Ranger, Forest Supervisor to the head of the U.S. Forest Service, leading more than 30,000 employees working in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico. Secretary […]