Texas A&M Forest Service

Our Community Forestry Grants program is now accepting applications among six grant categories offering a combined $12.4 million. These grants are designed to enhance community forestry initiatives throughout the state. Community forestry is vital to our ecosystems as it aids erosion control, water filtration to tributaries, and provides shade and lower temperatures. They also provide countless health and wellness benefits by lowering blood pressure, encouraging outdoor activity, and cleaning our air. Last year, the Community Forestry Grants program awarded 21 schools, towns, and non-profits over $15 million in funds to establish community and schoolyard forests. Click here to learn more about how your community and schools can become involved in Community Forestry: https://ow.ly/nrYN50TAiBQ

Saturday’s Sisters in Fire event was a success! The annual event aims to introduce young women to the wildland firefighting profession by immersing them into all things fire. They were split into four squads (teams) and rotated through four stations that introduced them to various topics and skills relating to the wildland firefighting profession. They learned how to suppress wildfires with fire engines, bulldozers, chainsaws, and hand tools. They also learned leadership and communication skills that are critical for wildland firefighting crews. To end the day, the girls and their families viewed a live prescribed fire demonstration, boarded a Texas Parks and Wildlife helicopter, and watched a Dauntless Air Fire Boss amphibious aircraft make two water drops. Thank you to the event cooperators: USDA Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy, Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, and The Kansas Forest Service. Read more about the Sisters in Fire event here: https://ow.ly/rl3p50TzuvP

Today, we recognized the Texas Tree Award winners at the 44th annual Texas Tree Conference alongside Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISAT) in Waco, Texas. Michael Nentwich was named the 2024 Texas Arborist of the Year. The 2024 Award for Outstanding Landscape Improvement was awarded to the City of Fort Worth Forestry Section for the Como Neighborhood Improvement program. The 2024 Arboricultural Project of the Year Award recipient is Bexar Branches Alliance for the Rita Kay Driggers Elementary School in Leon Valley. The 2024 Outstanding Community Forestry Program Award recipient is the City of San Marcos for the Friends of Trees program. Read more: https://ow.ly/zSAk50TwCE3

The Capital Area Interagency Wildfire and Incident Management Academy (Bastrop Academy) is less than a month away, and there are a few courses still available for registration. These include the Facilities Unit Leader, Finance/Admin Unit Leader, Liaison Officer, Resources Unit Leader, and Staging Area Manger courses. Bastrop Academy is a great opportunity for firefighters across the state and nation to continue their education and earn National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) training qualifications. Training assistance is available to eligible departments through our Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. Learn more about Bastrop Academy and the available courses here: https://ow.ly/v9jW50TvkxE

Today, Brown County implemented a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), making it?the latest county to adopt the plan. A CWPP aids in reducing and mitigating wildfire risks for communities by identifying high-risk WUI areas, addressing structural ignitability, and prioritizing fuels reduction efforts. Over the last five years, 540 wildfires have burned within Brown County, including the 3,456-acre Ramsey Fire in March 2022 that threatened 100 homes near Blanket, Texas. While no homes were destroyed as a result of the Ramsey Fire, the wildfire activity in Brown County highlights the need for effective fire management strategies and community preparedness. A CWPP is also a collaborative approach to wildland fire protection and mitigation. The CWPP adopted today was developed by and includes the Brown County Commissioners Court, local city officials and fire chiefs, Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District and Texas A&M Forest Service. ? Read more: https://ow.ly/4q5z50TtKwz?

During this fall semester, we are providing technical assistance to the Urban Forestry class at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Bill Green, Forester, and Carlos Garcia Patlan, Woodland Ecologist, trained the students in the proper methods to collect the data needed to complete a full campus tree inventory. The inventory process includes tree species identification, tree measurement procedures, tree geospatial location, and the use of inventory analysis software. After the completion of the inventory process of on-campus tree data, the students will compare it to 10-year-old data. This data helps to understand the value of trees to our environment, human health, and society.

Our state forests are turning 100, and we need your help to celebrate! This state forest centennial season will be celebrated with family-friendly events at the W.G. Jones, I.D. Fairchild, and E.O. Siecke State Forests. The first state forest centennial event will be held at the W.G. Jones State Forest on Saturday, October 19. This event will feature native animal presentations, forestry and educational exhibits, forest therapy hikes, and more. Our state forest centennial celebration honors a century of hard work and dedication to the science of forestry that has taken place on our state forests. Join us as we travel across East Texas over the next year to celebrate the ways our state forests benefit us and how we can give back to them. ??Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gXyA5W7v

Watershed protection plan implementation grants are now available for local governments, water utilities and non-governmental organizations. This grant program assists in implementing Texas watershed conservation methods like planting and protecting trees in riparian areas. 50% of Texas freshwater resources originate in forestlands, which treat and protect water at its origin. Texas forests help absorb rainfall, refill groundwater aquifers, slow and filter stormwater runoff, mitigate erosion,?and much more. This is referred to as the Texas forest-water relationship, and it is a process that is valued to have a $13.3 billion annual impact. Applications for this grant may be submitted until Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. Click here for more information about the program and eligibility: https://ow.ly/CfkJ50Tk98a ?

Bill Oates, Texas A&M Forest Service Associate Director, retired this month after 43 years with the agency. He is a second-generation forester who had incredible successes including establishing Operation Ponderosa, advocating for private landowner rights, and helping the agency expand across the state. Oates is a Stephen F. Austin University alum, a 43-year Texas Forestry Association (TFA) member, and the first TFA certified forester. After serving as a board member, Oates also served as the TFA president in 2015. Many will remember his outspoken personality, but they will also remember the mark that he made on Texas forestry and his leadership within the agency. ?? Read more about Bill Oates: https://ow.ly/AtAY50ThrCb

As we celebrate #LaborDay, we thank and honor the men and women who work tirelessly to protect our state and conserve our natural resources.