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Last updated on Monday, September 18, 2017
(UNDATED) - The U.S. Forest Service is urging people to get outdoors, spend time in rural communities and urban forests, and enjoy one of nature’s most spectacular seasons with its fall colors 2017 campaign.
"America's public lands, particularly our Eastern national forests, are among the most spectacular places to view the changes in fall colors," said acting U.S. Forest Service Eastern Regional Forester Mary Beth Borst. "I encourage you and your family to spend some time outdoors in the coming weeks and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of nature this fall."
Shades of fall colors are starting to appear across the East and Midwest. For the most current fall color reports, photos and events go to .
Fall colors provide an economic boost to many communities across the United States. The New England area receives an estimated $8 billion annually in local revenues from fall visitors. In the Midwest, millions of visitors hit the road to enjoy the sights, and in the West, the mountains offer destinations filled with tourists seeking views of shimmering gold aspens.
The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mission of sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service's Eastern Region includes 20 states in the Midwest and East, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota. There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R9.
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation's clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us.
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