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June
LGBTQIA Pride Month 
 
National Camping Month 
 
National Fishing and Boating Week (June 2-10) 


National Go Fishing Day (June 18)

American Eagle Day (June 20)

July
National Picnic Month
  
(July 21-29)
 
National Father Daughter Take a Walk Day (July 7)
 
Hop-a-Park Day (July 7)
 

 

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HomeState & Private Forestry News
June 2018   
From the Director
Kathleen Atkinson,
Area Director
(Forest Service photo)

MILWAUKEE

Leadership Note
 
This week, Forest Service employees across the nation will participate in a day-long event called Stand Up for Each Other . Leadership throughout the Northeast and Midwest will convene learning sessions on units designed to show how we as Forest Service employees can better support each other so that everyone feels valued and 
respected.
 
The Stand Up for Each Other event will fulfill our FY 2018 Civil Rights training requirement and attendance is mandatory.
 
Standing Up for Each Other - whether that is in the form of speaking up when we observe unacceptable behavior, demonstrating respect for a coworker, or investing in stronger relationships - is something we must choose to do every day. I stand alongside Interim Chief Vicki Christiansen in personally committing to ensuring that our work environment is safe, rewarding, respectful, resilient, and free from harassment and retaliation of any kind.
 
And this is just the start. In the Northeast and Midwest we have organized a group of Change Champions  around Standing Up for Each Other. They will help kick off an effort to model dignity and respect in our daily interactions through a 30-Day Challenge that will start the week of June 18. I will be participating and I encourage you to do so as well. Please visit the Change Champions website for more information  and to learn more about our Change Champions.
 
The Stand Up for Each Other event, the Change Champions network, and 30-Day challenge are building blocks to moving forward with a safe and respectful work environment. My hope is that you are eager to be part of this essential effort.
 
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on these topics or anything else, you can continue to send them to our inbox at easternforests@fs.fed.us .
 
--- Kathleen Atkinson,
  Regional Forester and Northeastern Area Director
 
Home 
Firefighters Receive Training at Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Academy

Five men stand in a row with their feet strapped to planks.
The Australian Trolley is a team-building exercise that emphasizes the importance of working together in unison to accomplish a goal. (Courtesy photo by Chad Yoder, Garrett College)
 
Firefighters Receive Training at Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Academy
More than 180 wildland firefighters participated in the Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Training Academy hosted at Garrett College in Maryland June 4 through June 9. The academy offered 14 classes essential to wildland firefighting, including fire behavior, equipment use, and leadership development. Read the full Fire Academy article .  
Welcome Midori Raymore
 
A woman poses for a picture next to the United States flag.
Supervisory Grants Management Specialist Midori Raymore (Courtesy photo by Midori Raymore)
Midori Raymore starts her new position as the Northeastern Area's Supervisory Grants Management Specialist on June 27 in Milwaukee. Midori brings a love of the forest as well as a deep appreciation of the agency's mission and a commitment to partnerships to her new job. Midori has been working in Denver, CO, since 2016 for Region 2 Acquisition Management Grants and Agreements Center of Excellence to serve State and Private Forestry and Tribal Relations groups. Read Midori's full bio.

Forestry Summit Addresses Threats to Illinois Trees
 
Illinois released a revised management plan at a statewide meeting on June 12 and 13 in Champaign. The Illinois Forest Action Plan lays out a road map for the Illinois Forestry Development Council, which evaluates the status of the State's forestry resources. Read the full forestry summit article.
Beech Leaf Disease Workshop Held in Ohio

Small beech leaves just after bud burst with symptoms of beech leaf disease.
Beech leaf disease symptoms on unraveled leaf buds. (U.S. Forest Service photo by Danielle Martin)
Devin Wanner, U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry
 
More than 40 cooperators attended a beech leaf disease (BLD) workshop at Cleveland Metroparks near Parma, OH, on May 2-3. Workshop speakers talked about BLD disease history and symptomology, the status of a metagenomics etiology project, recent research on modeling spread, BLD treatment options, and the results of annual surveys analyzing the extent of the BLD range. Read the full beech leaf disease workshop article.
National Decline in Urban Tree Cover

Eric Freedman, Great Lake Echo
 
According to a 5-year study, a nationwide loss of tree cover included all the Great Lakes States but Minnesota. Among the other Great Lakes States, Illinois, New York, and Ohio registered the largest percentage loss and Wisconsin the smallest. Urbanization and suburbanization nationwide added about 167,000 acres annually of pavement and other impervious cover, such as roads and buildings. Impervious cover can increase air temperatures, harm water quality and stream flow, increase building energy use, and emit more pollution. Read the urban tree cover decline article .

Grant Opportunities from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Highlands Conservation Act is designed to assist Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in conserving land and natural resources in the Highlands Region. Proposed projects must be consistent with areas identified as having high resource value in the Study and 2010 Update documents produced by the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry unit of the U.S. Forest Service. Closing Date June 27, 2018. Grants.gov F18AS00145
 
The U.S. Standard Grants Program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the United States that further the goals of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Projects must involve only long-term protection, restoration, enhancement, and/or establishment of wetland and associated upland habitats to benefit migratory birds. Closing Date July 13, 2018. Grants.gov F18AS00131

Editor's Note

Send items for inclusion in "State and Private Forestry News"to dwanner@fs.fed.us by the first of the month in which you want the item to appear. Include a related photo as either a jpg or tiff file with a resolution of 150 dpi or higher. As part of the text include a full-sentence caption for the photo and photo credit. If the photo is from a published or copyrighted source, also send the permission.