WASHINGTON --- The Forest Service Technology and Development Program is reviewing the wildland firefighter fire shelter system. The aluminized cloth tent offers a firefighter protection in the rare event of being entrapped --- a situation firefighters are trained to avoid. To ensure that the most advanced solutions are being explored, the Forest Service is collaborating with leading experts in textile engineering, including those at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia; North Carolina State University; University of Alberta; and private industry. NASA engineers are developing flexible heat shields to protect spacecraft from the high temperatures of atmospheric entry; and flexible heat shields and fire shelters have common performance requirements. Watch a 5-minute video on NASA's Web site about their collaboration with the Forest Service. Get more information about fire shelters at the National Interagency Fire Center Web site. (Source: USDA Forest Service Chief's Desk --- People, Places, and Things Newsletter, July 22, 2016)

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. --- A state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, i-Tree provides analysis and benefits assessment tools to help communities of all sizes quantify the structure of community trees and the environmental services they provide. The live, interactive monthly Web-based sessions introduce i-Tree, explain how it fits into urban forest management, and provide hands-on demonstrations. Get more information and register for the free sessions at the Urban Natural Resources Institute Web site.

A special interactive session will be presented on September 8, 2016, featuring the i-Tree Landscape application, which allows you to explore tree canopy, land cover, and basic demographic information in a location of your choosing. You will learn about the benefits of trees in your selected location, see how planting trees will increase the benefits provided, and map the areas where you decide to prioritize your tree planting efforts. Preregistration is required--visit https://goo.gl/39HxXw.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. --- Navigator is a search tool that includes data from over 10 different databases: Agricola, Biosis, CAB Abstracts, Ebsco Environment Complete, Geobase, GeoRef, Medline, Zoological Record, Scopus, Web of Science, and Treesearch. More databases are being added as they become available. You can also do a search and then select just the items from one or two databases if that is what you want. To do a Navigator search go to https://dtnav.nal.usda.gov/. Contact [email protected] or call 970-498-1207 for help with DigiTop. Funding for DigiTop is provided by 10 USDA agencies, including the Forest Service.

WASHINGTON --- As part of the Every Kid in a Park program, one of the resources offered to teachers is a list of Federal lands and water sites that are suitable for school field trips. See the current list, organized by State, on the Every Kid in a Park Web site.

Heat illness is serious, and strenuous activity increases the danger. Know the signs of heat illness and learn how to prepare and pace yourself at different levels of activity in extreme heat.

KESHENA, Wis. --- Researchers and PhD students from Mississippi State University, working at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory, visited Menominee for a forestry tour in July. The Forest Products Lab, and three other Forest Service units (Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, Northern Research Station, Eastern Region) work in partnership with the College of Menominee Nation under a memorandum of understanding. The group toured with Menominee forestry management and sawmill staff, along with its mill products division. Activities included a dialogue with the interim president of the college and forestry interns, and directors of the Sustainable Development Institute and Center for First Americans Forestlands. They also attended the Menominee Tribal Enterprises Board meeting. The Menominee Nation has over 100 years of sustainable forestry practice, from forest business and management to academics.

Peter Beringer reported aboard the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry as the Durham, NH, field office's new Forest Stewardship Program coordinator, June 27. He replaced Roger Monthey who retired earlier this year.

Beringer comes from the Maine Forest Service, where he worked for 22 years out of Augusta. There, he served as the director of support services with a focus on Federal grant management, oversight of grant administration, and as a financial officer for that State agency. He also performed duties as senior support staff for the Maine State Forester. Read more.

ITHACA, N.Y. --- Cornell University will be offering a 6-week course in Reclaiming Broken Places: Introduction to Civic Ecology. Explore why and how people come together to care for nature and community in cities and after disasters around the world. Get more information.

Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference, October 17 - 19, 2016, LaCrosse, WI. Learn more and register at the conference Web site.

New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy, October 20 - 30, 2016, Upton, NY. Registration is due by September 26. Learn more and register at the Academy Web site.

Wildfire in the Northeast: Meeting the Challenge, December 6 - 8, 2016, Mystic, CT. Learn more and register at the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Commission Web site. Contact your State forest fire prevention specialist in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic.  

Forestry and Grounds Supervisor, City of Monroe, MI. Deadline is October 31, 2016. Get details at egovlink.

Forestry Ranger, Part-time, City of Rochester Hills, MI. Open until filled. Get details at the City of Rochester Hills Web page.