Welcome to the new Raven About The Parks | Raven About The Forests!  This week we are starting to post about the 155 National Forests (in alphabetical order), as well as the National Monuments and National Recreation Areas that they manage (which will be three of our first five posts).  For more information about how the U.S. Forest Service is different from the National Park Service, check out our previous blog post.

There will be a few differences in our posts on the National Forests, including some new headings, like a paragraph on Watchable Wildlife and a list of Wilderness Areas.  At the top of each page, we are going to start putting the managing agency (i.e. U.S. Forest Service), acreage, and a link to the government website.  We will still link to three of our blog posts on Related Sites on our public lands, plus now the nearest of the 63 National Parks. 

Another change is the addition of a list of Conifer Tree Species (cone-bearing Gymnosperms or softwoods often called “pines” or “evergreens”) and Flowering Tree Species (Angiosperms or hardwoods that are often called “deciduous” because many species lose their leaves in autumn).  Scott has a Ph.D. in forestry and always wanted to teach dendrology, so this keeps him happy.

We will still have all the headings that simplify getting information from our blog posts, including Overview, Highlights, Must-Do Activity, Best Trail, Instagram-worthy Photo, Peak Season, Fees, Road Conditions, Camping, and the final trivia question in Explore More.

We also plan to keep up with our Top 10 Lists, so watch for those, too.

Thank you for reading.  Happy New Year!

Scott and Tiff