Skip to main content
Natural Inquirer - Homepage

Free Science Materials for K-12 Students

  • Bookmarks
  • Cart0
  • Account
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.
Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • View All Resources
    • Grade Levels
      • PreK - 2nd Grade
      • Upper Elementary
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • All Grade Levels
    • Resource Types
      • Articles
      • Activities
      • Collector Cards
      • Coloring Books
      • Glossary
      • Lesson Plans
      • Scientists & Collaborators
      • Spotlights
      • Virtual Learning Adventures
      • All Types
    • Resource Topics
      • Wilderness
      • Wildlife
      • Water
      • Climate
      • Social Science
      • Fire
      • Agriculture
      • Recreation
      • Carbon
      • Insects
      • All Topics
    • Special Collections
      • Artemis Moon Trees
      • Experimental Forests & Ranges
      • Project Learning Tree Connections
      • Globe Connections
      • Smokey Bear
      • Spanish Editions
      • Woodsy Owl
      • World's Forests
      • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
    • View All Products
    • Journals & Monographs
    • Readers
    • Collector Card Packs
    • Coloring Books
  • Educators
    • For Educators
      • Note to Educators
      • Educator Blog
      • Educator Newsletter
    • Classroom Ready Resources
      • Lesson Plans
      • Activities
      • Learning Modules
      • GLOBE Connections
      • Project Learning Tree
    • Get Involved
      • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures
  • Bookmarks
  • Cart
  • Account
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact
  • Resources
        • View All Resources
        • By Grade
          • PreK - 2nd
          • Upper Elementary
          • Middle School
          • High School
        • By Type
          • Articles
          • Activities
          • Collector Cards
          • Coloring Books
          • Glossary
          • Lesson Plans
          • Learning Modules
          • Journals
          • Monographs
          • Readers
          • Scientists & Collaborators
          • Spotlights
          • Virtual Learning Adventures
          • All Types
        • By Topic
          • Agriculture
          • Carbon
          • Climate
          • Fire
          • Insects
          • Recreation
          • Social Science
          • Water
          • Wilderness
          • Wildlife
          • All Topics
        • Special Collections
          • Artemis Moon Trees
          • Experimental Forests and Ranges
          • GLOBE Connections
          • Project Learning Tree Connections
          • Smokey Bear
          • Spanish Editions
          • Woodsy Owl
          • World's Forests
          • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
        • Download all resources - FREE!

          **Due to recent government funding changes, we currently are only able to process bulk orders.** We hope that we will be able to resolve this issue in the near future. In the meantime, please feel free to download our resources and explore the website for many great lesson plans and activities. Thank you!

          View All Products
        • Journals & Monographs

          Journals focus on a group of related articles, while monographs focus on one research article.

          Journals & Monographs
        • Collector Cards

          Learn about possible career opportunities in science!

          View All Card Packs
        • Readers

          For a PreK-2nd grade audience, each Reader focuses on one Forest Service scientist and their research.

          View All Readers
        • Coloring Books

          Learn more about science through our coloring books!

          View All Coloring Books
  • Educators
        • Overview
          • Educator Guide
        • Classroom Ready Resources
          • Learning Modules
          • Lesson Plans
          • Explore All
        • Order Materials
          • View All Free Products
          • Contact Us
        • For Educators
          • Educator Blog
          • Educator Newsletter
          • Project Learning Tree
        • Get Involved
          • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Keeping It Local: How Federal Wildfire Policy Is Implemented at the Local Level
Bookmark
Please login to bookmark Close

Please login to bookmark


Lost your password?

No account yet? Register

Keeping It Local: How Federal Wildfire Policy Is Implemented at the Local Level

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Fire
  • Social Science
  • Community Involvement
  • Fire Preparedness
  • Homeowners
  • Wildland Urban Interface
PDF preview of the 'keeping it local' article cover. It is a photograph of a Smokey Bear with a park ranger, and both are standing in front of a group of children.
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom
In the past, forest managers always put out wildfires. More recently, forest managers have discovered that fire can be a good thing for some ecosystems. Wildfires are now sometimes allowed to burn rather than always be put out. When a wildfire is threatening human communities, however, it is put out. The Federal Government passed the law to encourage communities to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan which included the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The scientists wanted to learn about the communities that made the WUI part of their plan.

Keeping It Local: How Federal Wildfire Policy Is Implemented at the Local Level

Part Of

Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

Explore Full Journal
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom
Download PDF
  • In this FACTivity, you will get together with other students and brainstorm a list of challenges or concerns at your school. These can be ongoing challenges or a challenge the...

    FACTivity – Keeping It Local

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • Action Plan
    • Community Involvement
    • Project
    • Teamwork
    In this FACTivity, you will get together with other students and brainstorm a list of challenges or concerns at your school. These can be ongoing challenges or a challenge the...
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)

    Part Of

    Keeping It Local: How Federal Wildfire Policy Is Implemented at the Local Level

Download PDF

Glossary

View All Glossary
  • ecosystem

    (ē kō sis tǝm): A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions.

  • forest manager

    (fȯr ǝst ma ni jǝr): A person who manages a forest; in the Forest Service, forest managers focus on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health (definition from USDA Forest Service).

  • professional

    (prə fesh nəl or prə fe shə nəl): (noun) A person who has specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation in a particular area.

  • public land

    (pǝ blik land): Land owned by a government.

  • resource

    (rē sȯrs): A usable stock or supply (as of money, products, or energy).

  • vegetation

    (ve jǝ tā shǝn): Plant life or total plant cover of an area.

  • Photograph of Stephanie Grayzeck-Souter standing on the rocky shore on the banks of the Napo River, next to a canoe.

    Stephanie Grayzeck-Souter

    Social Scientist

    My favorite science experience was spending a month in the tropical rainforest of Ecuador. I learned about tropical field biology while also exploring and experiencing cultures very different from my...
    View Profile
  • Headshot of Kristen Nelson.

    Kristen Nelson

    Environmental Sociologist

    My favorite science experience was working with Mayan farmers and scientists to solve problems in Chiapas, Mexico. We worked on many different projects. In one community, we worked on projects...
    View Profile
  • Photo of Pam Jakes on a sandy shore, standing in front of a group of large seals. The photo was taken in New Zealand.

    Pamela Jakes

    Forester

    My favorite science experience was living in New Zealand for 6 months. While I was there, I worked with scientists to discover what people living in New Zealand can do...
    View Profile
  • Photo of Daniel Williams hiking in the Sierra Nevada wearing a large backpack and carrying walking sticks.

    Daniel Williams

    Social Scientist

    “My favorite science experience is getting paid to visit some of the most beautiful places on Earth as part of fieldwork.” “[Another} favorite science experience is that, as I study...
    View Profile

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
  • Lesson Plans
  • Education Files
  • Project Learning Tree

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • Civic Ideals and Practices
  • Culture
  • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Power, Authority, and Governance
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

USDA and Forest Service Logos

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

  • Meet the Scientists

    Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

    Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.

  • Introduction

    Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.

  • Method

    Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.

  • Findings & Discussion

    Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.

  • Reflection Section

    Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.

  • Number Crunches

    Presents an easy math problem related to the research.

  • Glossary

    Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.

  • Citation

    Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.

  • FACTivity

    Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.


Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.


We Welcome Feedback

  • Contact

    Jessica Nickelsen
    Director, Natural Inquirer program

  • Email

    Contact us here.

Lessons

  • In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...

    Lesson Plan – Letter to a Scientist

    • Lesson Plan
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 2-3 Classroom Periods
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon
    • Citizen Science
    • Climate
    • Engineering and Forest Products
    • Fire
    • Insects
    • Pollinators
    • Pollution
    • Recreation
    • Social Science
    • Water
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Guided reading
    • Letter Writing
    • Questioning
    • Scientist
    In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)

    Part Of

    Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

  • The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...

    Lesson Plan – Forest Poems

    • Lesson Plan
    • Middle School
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Agriculture
    • Carbon
    • Citizen Science
    • Climate
    • Engineering and Forest Products
    • Fire
    • Insects
    • Pollinators
    • Pollution
    • Recreation
    • Social Science
    • Water
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Creative Writing
    • Haiku
    • Nature
    • Reflection
    The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)
    • Explore Lesson Plan
    • Download Lesson Plan (PDF)

    Part Of

    Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1

Education Files

Project Learning Tree

If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Loving It Too Much,” “Pollution Search,” “Talking Trash, Not!,” and “Every Drop Counts” as additional resources.

Back to Top
  • Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.

The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
* denotes mandatory fields
Loading
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • X, formerly Twitter
  • YouTube
  • About Natural Inquirer
  • Team
  • Partners
  • Press & Past Events
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping Policy
© 2025 - Natural Inquirer | Website Credit