Shawnee National Forest and land management partners will be hosting an open house to discuss forest resource challenges and opportunities in southern Illinois. The open house will take place in Carterville, Illinois at John A. Logan College on July 10, 2018 from 6:00 p.m.– 8:00 p.m. in Building F, Room F104.
“Everyone who manages land here in southern Illinois faces some daunting forest health challenges. We would like to share with the public how we are all working together to address these problems and let people know how they can get involved in upcoming projects on the Shawnee National Forest,” says Tim Pohlman, Hidden Springs District Ranger.
Land managers will be available to discuss forest health, invasive species, wildlife habitat, prescribed fire and other topics.
Find up to date information on the event on the Facebook event page athttps://www.facebook.com/events/319732921897398/.
About Shawnee National Forest
Administered by the USDA Forest Service, Shawnee National Forest is one of 155 national forests nationwide. As the only national forest in Illinois, the Shawnee offers numerous avenues for connecting with the natural world through its 280,000 acres of varied landscape. Whether your interests lie more in outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking or camping, or include learning about the unique natural and cultural heritage of southern Illinois, the fields, forests and streams of the Shawnee welcome you. To discover more about the Shawnee National Forest, visithttps://www.fs.usda.gov/shawnee. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shawneenf and Facebook viahttps://www.facebook.com/shawneenatlforest.
The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mission of sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service’s Eastern Region includes 20 states in the Midwest and East, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota. There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R9.
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us.
