The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass 193 million acres (780,000 km2). Major divisions of the agency include the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and the Research and Development branch.
The mission of the Forest Service is "To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations." Its motto is "Caring for the land and serving people." As the lead Federal agency in natural resource conservation, the US Forest Service provides leadership in the protection, management, and use of the Nation’s forest, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems. The agency's ecosystem approach to management integrates ecological, economic, and social factors to maintain and enhance the quality of the environment to meet current and future needs. Through implementation of land and resource management plans, the agency ensures sustainable ecosystems by restoring and maintaining species diversity and ecological productivity that helps provide recreation, water, timber, minerals, fish, wildlife, wilderness, and aesthetic values for current and future generations of people.
Air, water, food, shelter, income: nature sustains every aspect of our lives. That's why protecting and conserving nature isn't just a matter of common sense. It's the smartest investment we can make.
Since our founding in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has harnessed the power of nature to help solve our planet’s most challenging problems. And while the stakes are high, so is our resolve: to create a world where everyone thrives alongside nature for generations to come.
We do this by working hand in hand with communities around the world. By committing to a science-based, non-partisan approach that’s stood the test of time. And by bringing people together, from all walks of life, to find common ground in nature.
NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 1.3 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.
Worth Magazine has named NRDC one of America's 100 best charities, and the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau reports that NRDC meets its highest standards for accountability and use of donor funds.
NRDC was founded in 1970 by a group of law students and attorneys at the forefront of the environmental movement. NRDC lawyers helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws. Today, our staff of more than 300 lawyers, scientists and policy experts -- a MacArthur "genius" award-winner among them -- work out of offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.
The New York Times calls us "One of the nation's most powerful environmental groups." The National Journal says we're "A credible and forceful advocate for stringent environmental protection."
With the support of our members and online activists, NRDC works to solve the most pressing environmental issues we face today: curbing global warming, getting toxic chemicals out of the environment, moving America beyond oil, reviving our oceans, saving wildlife and wild places, and helping China go green.