Almost equidistant between International Falls, Hibbing and Grand Rapids lies a wide expanse of privately owned working forestland within a patchwork of state and other public lands. The area – which comprises almost a half million acres of forest – is a critical part of Minnesota’s booming $16.7 billion annual recreational economy. The private and public timberlands here are a sustainable and healthy source of both jobs and  timber, with forest management practices that create near-perfect ...

Many people call the Tongass National Forest “America’s Salmon Forest” because so much of the pristine freshwater that feeds the vast salmon spawning grounds of Southeast Alaska originates in the high country here and is filtered through the dense coastal forests. Admiralty Island, a part of the Tongass National Forest, was designated a national monument in 1978, in part because the island – it is huge, 90 miles long and 35 wide – is sacred to the Angoon Tribe of the Tlingit people. With ...

In the mountains just east of Missoula, Montana, in and around the Lolo National Forest, lie 6,140 acres of private lands owned by a timber company that has allowed public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. The private lands are part of the Western lands “checkerboard” that dates back to the opening of the frontier, when the U.S. government awarded sections – square miles, or 640 acres – to various private companies (such as the railroads) to log and develop, while keeping ...

There had to be a solution. A timber company called Pope Resources – the largest landowner in the region – wanted to sell off thousands of acres of its holdings at the eastern end of Swift Reservoir, along the southern slopes of the spectacular Mt. St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington. The timberland was worth millions and would be worth even more if developed into as many as 395 20-acre lots. The problem? Such development would forever change a working forest – one producing more than ...

If a single landscape can embody the true wonder of the Land of Enchantment, it is the Valles Caldera National Preserve, in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. The caldera is the result of an ancient volcanic eruption that created a yawning high-altitude system of richly-grassed valleys over 13 miles wide, with a high point of 11,253 feet at Redondo Peak. The preserve is managed by the National Park Service and is open to some of New Mexico’s most breathtaking big game hunting ...