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Incident Management Teams

An Incident Management Team is a group of trained professionals that responds to national, regional or local emergencies.  Although the primary purpose of an Incident Management Team (IMT) is for wildfire response, an IMT can respond to a wide range of national and international emergencies, including wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami, riots, spilling of hazardous materials, and other natural or human-caused incidents.

Fire Rehabilitation and Restoration

After some wildfires, the Forest Service may need to implement rehabilitation and restoration activities. Rehabilitation and restoration is a long-term process that focuses on repairing infrastructure and natural resource damages caused by the fire.

The objective of the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program is to identify post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands and take immediate actions, as appropriate, to manage unacceptable risks. This stabilization work begins before the fire is out and may continue for up to a year.

Energy

Dependence on petroleum and other fossil fuels threatens U.S. energy, economic, and environmental security. A nation with insecure or inadequate energy resources is at risk of being unable to feed and house its people, care for its environment, and sustain its economy. The Forest Service strives to find alternative renewable energy sources in order to become less dependent on our current energy resources.

Forest Products

A forest is so much more than trees. Not only does it serve as a place of refuge for humans and habitat for many species, it also provides economic benefits. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, the forest products industry accounts for approximately 4.5 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing gross domestic product, manufactures approximately $190 billion in products annually, and employs nearly 900,000 men and women.

Strategic Energy Framework

The Strategic Energy Framework publication provides specific Forest Service goals and charts a course to achieve these goals. This framework helps the Forest Service become more energy efficient, demonstrates effective sustainable management, and sets standards of energy practices for Americans to follow.

Forest Products Laboratory

Research at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis. helps further USDA goals and provides advanced alternatives to many products, services, and energy sources in use today. Strategic research areas include: advanced composites, advanced structures, forest biorefinery, nanotechnology, and woody biomass.

Heliotrope

Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) produces dense, flat clusters of deep purple, lavender, or white flowers with a vanilla fragrance and deeply crinkled dark green leaves. It's sometimes called cherry pie plant because of the cherry undertones to the vanilla scent. Heliotrope is a tender perennial that can be grown all year outdoors in Zones 9-11 (in Zones 8 and colder, grow it as an annual).

Stock

Stock (Matthiola incana) and evening stock (Matthiola longipetala) may sound like soup bases, but they're clove-scented biennials (plants that take two years to set seed and die) that are often grown as annuals. The dense clusters of white, yellow, red, pink, or blue fragrant flowers are favorites for bouquets. Evening stock is more sprawling, with more narrow flower petals that open in the evening.

Flowering Tobacco

Two types of flowering tobacco, Nicotiana alata and Nicotiana sylvestris, offer fragrance in beds, borders, and containers. Old-fashioned varieties are your best bet; many newer hybrid bedding-plant varieties carry little scent. All are relatives of tomatoes and peppers, with white, pink, red, or pale green blooms that offer scent in late afternoon or evening.

Four O'Clock

Four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa) earned its common name because its fragrant flowers open in the late afternoon. A tender perennial hardy in Zones 9-11, but grown as an annual through most of North America, four o'clock's trumpet-shaped blooms are red, pink, white, or yellow and sometimes striped.

Sweet Alyssum

It's too bad that sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) grows so low to the ground: The mounded masses of tiny white, pink, lavender, or violet blooms smell like honey. You can bring this groundcover closer to nose level by planting it in containers, window boxes, or hanging baskets.

Moonflower

The white morning-glory flowers of moonflower (Ipomoea alba) appear to glow at night when its luscious sweet scent attracts pollinators. The blooms of this annual vine open in the evening and close each morning. Grow in full sun.

Petunia

Grow old-fashioned varieties of petunias (Petunia selections) for a spicy, clove-like scent. The funnel-shaped flowers come in many sizes and color patterns.

Sweet Alyssum

Producing mounds of tiny, fragrant flowers in pink, white, or lavender, sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is a favorite cool-season flower for garden beds and containers. It's usually grown as an annual, but is a short-lived perennial in Zones 9 and warmer. It can withstand temperatures down to about 28° F if well established.

Calendula

The cheery yellow, cream, or orange blossoms of calendula (Calendula officinalis) light up a garden. Also known as pot marigold (though not related to marigolds), calendula flowers are edible. The peppery petals may be used as a garnish for salads or stirred into cream cheese or dips. For the best winter show, look for newer varieties that have better cold tolerance and a longer bloom time such as 'Winter Wonders Amber Arctic'.

Honeywort

This may be the most unusual-looking winter-blooming flower. Native to the Mediterranean, honeywort (Cerinthe major purpurascens) has silvery blue-green leaves and blue-purple tubular flowers and bracts. Honeywort is considered a hardy annual or short-lived perennial, depending on where it grown. It blooms in winter in Zones 9 and warmer. In Zones 7-8 it can be planted in fall for an early spring bloom. The plant can tolerate light frosts but a hard freeze will kill it.

Sweet Peas

Annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)  prefers cool temperatures to bloom, but won't survive hard freezes. Keep the flowers blooming in winter by mulching the plants well and covering them during frosts. Some varieties are earlier flowering, such as the Winter Sunshine and Winter Elegance series, both of which can bloom through winter in the warmest regions of Texas, California, and Florida.

Pansies

Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are the reliable standbys for cool-weather blossoms. Their engaging "faces," or top petals, come in bold or pastel colors. Remove spent flowers to promote repeat blooming. Although they're technically perennials, pansies tend to be short-lived because they don't tolerate heat well (some varieties are more heat-tolerant than others). Pansies will bloom all winter in warmer climates.

Pinks

Pinks (Dianthus species and hybrids) are named not for their color—although many are pink—but for their serrated leaves, which look like someone cut them with pinking shears. The blooms often smell like an aromatic spice, such as nutmeg or cloves. Many types of these short-lived perennials, including China pinks (Dianthus chinensis), grow in 6- to 12-inch mounds of grasslike blue-green foliage. Sweet William (D. barbatus) reaches up to 2 feet. Cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) and maiden pinks (Dianthus deltoides) are also part of the family.

Winter Jasmine

You'll love the early burst of color from winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), a fast-growing evergreen shrubby plant that's native to Tibet and China. This cold-weather perennial offers an abundance of creamy-yellow flowers that bloom on bare stems in January or February. While it is the hardiest member of the jasmine family, it is not fragrant.