I have spent six months as a USFS resource assistant at Kisatchie National Forest, and I've learned a lot about the Longleaf Pine ecosystem and the plants and animals that live within. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) used to span from Texas in Virginia as the...
While I work with the timber crew on most days, occasionally I get to shadow a specialist and see a different facet of Forest Service work. One day in June, I went with the district's resident wildlife biologist Emlyn Smith as she did her rounds for...
[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://cdn1.environmentamericas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26214701/Wander_Intro_vid.mp4"][/video] See some of my nature photography here....
I arrive at the USFS work center in Bentley Louisiana, within the Catahoula District of Kisatchie National Forest. The site surrounded by a seed orchard which provides seedlings to the district for planting after timber harvests. In the early morning, purple martins swoop and dive...