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.
Welcome to Self-Help! Follow us on Linkedin for regular updates about our research and policy development work and our fair lending practices and products for homes, businesses and nonprofits, green initiatives and community real estate development.
Also, check out our SERVICES TAB to learn more about our integrated approach to community development.
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Self-Help is a family of nonprofit organizations whose mission is to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all. Since Self-Help's founding in 1980, it has grown to include two credit unions, a loan fund, and a research and policy development group that supports those outside of the economic mainstream.
Specifically, we:
* Help borrowers build wealth by providing fair and responsible mortgages and small business loans in North Carolina, California and other parts of the nation.
* Strengthen under-served communities by financing affordable housing, childcare centers, public charter schools, faith-based organizations, and community-focused commercial real estate projects.
* Research and report on financial markets to support policies and industry practices that lower the cost of poverty and promote ownership.
As a leader in affordable housing and community development, we work to create opportunities for lower-income people to live in affordable homes in safe, sustainable neighborhoods that are healthy places for families to grow. Headquartered in Washington, DC, we operate through a national office, two regional offices and seven district offices.
Please visit us at www.neighborworks.org.