America's Forests with Chuck Leavell

Chuck Leavell visits Oregon, where people are embracing new ways of engaging with the woods. In Portland, they are building skyscrapers from timber; in Bend, they are fighting fire with fire; in the Siuslaw National Forest, they are bringing back the salmon.

Chuck Leavell visits Colorado, where he follows the path of clean drinking water from forests to faucets. He is introduced to innovative ways that Coloradans are embracing beetle-kill wood; then he discovers the gift of peace that comes to military veterans from fly-fishing in mountain streams.

Chuck Leavell visits South Carolina, where forests have always been an integral part of the state's identity. He learns the uplifting story of how groups have come together to create the Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention program, which have helped to make trees the state's number one cash crop.

Chuck Leavell travels on a dream-come-true trip by motorcycle to Paul Bunyan country, the Wisconsin Northwoods, where he discovers these forests, which are blessed with over 75 varieties of trees, mean big business for the state, from an array of products to unforgettably beautiful recreation and tourist destinations.

Chuck Leavell is back in the saddle - of his motorcycle - heading toward Milwaukee, where the Urban Wood movement turns city trees into heirloom furniture; to Madison's Forest Products Lab, the nation's premiere site for wood research; next, a tribute to Aldo Leopold, a pioneer in forest ecology; then an event to benefit Log-A-Load for Kids.

Chuck Leavell begins his visit to California meeting wildfire survivors from Paradise and learns of a wildfire-fighting tactic ecological forestry; in Redwood County he sees the tallest trees in the world; he discovers biomass means converting wood chips and dead trees into renewable energy; then a tribute to guitar-making legend, Leo Fender, at the Fender Instrument Factory.

Chuck Leavell and expert guides travel on horseback to the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests of Colorado in search of the perfect choice for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Follow the journey from selection and cutting to ornament making and community celebrations, as a 55-foot Engelmann Spruce lights up Washington, D.C.

Chuck Leavell begins his journey in the Arkansas Ozarks rafting down the Buffalo National River, where he learns how forests help keep groundwater clean; in Conway, he tours a mass-timber plant and learns about "forest economy"; at the U of Arkansas the topic is sustainable architecture; and after a trip to the Ozark National Forest, Chuck plays some music at an underground cavern.

Chuck Leavell couldn't resist a visit to the Delta region of Arkansas, starting in Helene, hotspot of the Delta Blues; next he visits Bayou DeView, the Big Woods, and the Arkansas Timberlands, where forest conservation is taken very seriously; then he learns of a massive project to restore an ecosystem in the Ouachita National Forest so endangered bird species can once again thrive in the forests.

Chuck does winter in Minnesota! We snowmobile through the boreal forest. We meet the folks who are restoring the pines along Lake Superior to their former glory. We find out what's being done by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to protect Minnesota's mighty moose population. And we wrap it up with a rollicking version of Minnesota native Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone.