National Forests

Capitol Christmas Tree, Choose Outdoors, Joy To America, National Forests, On Assignment, Public Land, U.S. Forest Service / 16.11.2021

This weekend I will be in Washington D.C. to deliver and photograph my seventh U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. As one of the greatest honors of my life, each year I am tasked to tell the story of the United States Forest Service and its efforts to protect and preserve our natural resources through the harvest and transport of a tall evergreen tree from one of the 154 national forests to our nation’s capital. Known as the People’s Tree this majestic conifer stands as a monument to our shared...

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Adventure Activism, Black Lives Matter, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Ice Age Trail, Madison, National Forests, Podcast, Public Land, ReThinkOutside, Wisconsin / 13.01.2021

The Black Men Northwoods Retreat Hey everybody. Happy New Year! I know things seem to be getting off to a rocky start. How’s that for an understatement. But I sincerely believe that by working together we can get past our differences and move forward toward a brighter future. We just need to come up with creative solutions to our many extremely complicated problems. For example, in the spring of 2020 I was asked by the National Forest Foundation to create a storytelling project.  They asked me to create a series...

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Capitol Christmas Tree, Choose Outdoors, Environmental Journalism, Joy To America, National Forests, Public Land, U.S. Forest Service / 06.11.2020

On November 5, 2020 members of the United States Forest Service successfully harvested the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre Gunnison National Forests of Colorado. Despite the tumult of the global COVID-19 Pandemic and a contentious presidential election these dedicated men and women in partnership with corporate sponsors, small private businesses, local government agencies and nonprofit organizations coordinated the complicated task of extracting an 55-foot tall 82- year-old Engleman Spruce Tree for safe transport by truck to Washington D.C. Taken from the GMUG, the ancestral...

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Diversity, Essays, Guest Contributor, National Forests, Outdoors For All, Private Land, Public Land, ReThinkOutside / 09.10.2020

I am African-American.  Feels important that I say that up front.  Born in New York city and raised by black parents on land belonging to a wealthy, Jewish family, I was “homeschooled” emotionally and spiritually on a diet of black power, black striving and black possibility.  I often joke with people that I lived with Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali whose presence my father invoked on a regular basis.  My parents, Henry and Rose, grew up in Floyd, Virginia – poor and black with a high school education. ...

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Commentary, Diversity, Everyone In A Park, Hiking, Ice Age Trail, National Forests, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Public Land, ReThinkOutside, The Adventure Gap, Wisconsin / 21.09.2020

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Immediately after breakfast, our little group sat discussing what would happen next. A steady rain had been falling since late the night before and the prospects of the hike we had planned appeared grim. Holding up my iPad I showed everyone an image of the local weather radar map. “As can see there’s a bit of window opening up,” I said pointing to a clear spot in a mass of swirling colors ranging from yellow/orange to deep red. “If we start now,...

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Everyone In A Park, Everyone Outside, National Forests, National Monuments, National Parks, Public Land / 18.09.2020

Last year on my birthday I celebrated by giving the gift of an annual National Park and Federal Recreational Lands Pass to a complete stranger. Thanks to the generosity of private donors in 2019 I was able to extend that same gift to 5 other people in our community throughout the month of September! Today I am thrilled to announce that I have another 5 passes to give away donated by my friends at USParkPass.com. This $80 value for each pass will help to reduce the financial barrier...

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