100 Years of Federal Forestry Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 402

1. Linville Gorge from Wiseman's View in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. (F—514676)

Highlights

World War I and World War II, during their course and in their aftermath, set into motion actions and produced events that were to profoundly affect American forestry and the operations of the Forest Service. Sentiment among foresters and the general public for some control over excessive cutting and fire damage on private timberlands increased after World War I, and the debate over Federal or State control or a combination of both raged for many years. The former Forest Service Chief, Gifford Pinchot, led the forces favoring strong federal controls over private harvesting methods. His successor, Henry Graves, favored action by the States under federal guidance.

William Greeley, who became Chief in 1920, developed the landmark Clarke-McNary Act of 1924. This Act greatly expanded Federal-State cooperation in fire control and reforestation on State and private forest lands, including cooperation in growing and distributing tree seedlings. It broadened the authority of the Federal Government to purchase private forest lands for National Forests. It provided for studies of forest taxation intended to encourage private forestry, and for cooperative educational work in farm forestry with farmers. However, it left out controversial provisions for Federal regulations over cutting practices on private lands.

State forestry developed rapidly under the impetus of both the earlier Weeks Law of 1911 and the Clarke-McNary Act. States began to revise their timberland tax policies, to regulate private timber cutting, and to set aside State forests. Timber producers gradually improved their harvesting practices, and formed more fire protection associations. The American Forestry Association carried on a grass-roots educational campaign against wildfire in the South. The Forest Service greatly expanded its lookout system and began aerial fire patrols. Many more National Forests were set up in the East, Midwest, and South. Oregon became the first State to regulate private timber cutting (1941), soon followed by Maryland, Massachusetts, and Minnesota (all in 1943), and California and Washington (both in 1945).

A comprehensive program of forest research was put into effect with the McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928, and the first complete forest survey was conducted during the 1930's. More regional Federal forest experiment stations were established to pursue all phases of forest and range land research, including studies in timber, range, wildlife habitat and watershed management, and in fire, economics, and utilization of wood products.

The 1677-page Copeland Report of the Forest Service offered in 1933 a comprehensive plan for more intensive management of all forest lands, more public forests, and more regulation of private forests.

The Civilian Conservation Corps program began in 1933. It helped to relieve the economic distress of the Depression years and brought vast improvements to the Nation's natural resources. During the 9-year life of the CCC, 2 million men planted over 2 billion trees in 8 years, fought fires, cleared trails, built campgrounds, and improved public recreation facilities.

In 1945 the Forest Service's famous Smokey Bear symbol appeared. The Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign was organized earlier during World War II when it became vitally important to the war effort to protect the Nation's supply of lumber. It was decided that if people could be reminded to be careful with fire, some forest fires would be prevented. Smokey Bear was born our of the need of the campaign for a symbol. Smokey soon became familiar to every adult and child in America and has been phenomenally successful in preventing fires caused by human carelessness.

The Forest Service grew up in the period between 1917 and 1945, meeting the challenges of America's rapidly growing needs and demands. The men and women of the Forest Service were now managing and developing the precious natural resources in their charge.

1917-1945

During World War I, many Forest Service men traded their forest green uniforms for olive drab, as members of the 10th Engineers (Forestry Battalion), U.S. Army (later merged with the 20th Engineers). They served at home and abroad in many forestry, engineering, and allied fields. 1 (top left), 2 (top right), & 3 (bottom). In early 1917, the Army's Forestry Battalion went into training and was headquartered at American University in Washington, D.C. (F—35340A, F—34833A, F—34827A)

1 (top left). At home, Forest Service women packed Christmas boxes in 1918 for the men of the Forestry Battalion. (U.S. Forest Service No. 95—G—33003A, in the National Archives) World War I created a great need for wood. Some 1918 wartime scenes includes: 2 (top center). A spruce logging operation in the State of Washington. (F—37959A) 3 (top right). Shipbuilding in Portland, Oregon. (F—37955A) 4 (bottom). The Forest Products Laboratory was called into action in 1918 to design wooden propellors for fighter airplanes. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 141 56F)

Then as now, what one saw in the National Forests was as varied as the number of National Forests. 1 (top left). Flowering dogwood in bloom in Macon County, North Carolina, in April 1941. (F—411278) 2 (top right). The trunk and bark of an Alpine fir in western Montana, September 1935. (F—308964) 3 (bottom). Damaged by the September 1938 hurricane, this 65-year-old spruce stand was on the Gale River Experimental Forest in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. (F—369672)

Sidelights (1917-1945)

The Forest Service and the War Department joined forces in 1920 when Army pilots began to patrol the California forests, spotting fires while still small. Such cooperation led to massive aerial mapping programs and later to the Forest Service's smokejumping activities. During World War II, among many special duties, the Forest Service opened up logging of Sitka spruce in Alaska for fighter aircraft, coordinated supplies of forest products nationwide, and helped farmers in California grow guayule plants for rubber.

The State Foresters formed an association in 1920 to further cooperation among States and with the Forest Service.

In 1921 a National Forest district was set up in Alaska and two forest experiment stations were opened in the South.

The Forest Service, in 1927, undertook the unusual job of rescuing the famous Texas Longhorn cattle breed from possible extinction.

Millions of trees were blown down as the Great New England Hurricane of September 1938 swept over the Northeast. The Forest Service was called in to head the salvage operations and worked closely with the State forestry agencies in the giant task of keeping fire out of the blown-down timber. In 3 years the Northeastern Timber Salvage Administration was able to save 700 million board feet of timber for market.

Under legislation of 1936 and later, the Forest Service began working with the Soil Conservation Service and other Federal agencies on flood control and river basin plans and programs to conserve soil and water resources.

In 1944 an international forestry organization under the United Nations was started in a committee headed by former Chief Henry S. Graves. It had been proposed by Gifford Pinchot who enlisted the strong support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Forest Service still provides leadership for the United States forestry delegation to this unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

". . . the public for its own protection should prohibit destructive cutting by law."

Henry S. Graves (1910-1920)

(Shortly after World War I, Col. Graves, who succeeded Gifford Pinchot, began to press for public regulation of timber cutting on private land. Many lumbermen were allowing their devastated, logged, and burned-over lands to revert to the counties for unpaid taxes. Few operators, at that time, were managing their lands to produce continuous crops of timber, called "sustained yield." However, Graves resigned early in 1920, and his successor, William Greeley, pursued a program of voluntary cooperation instead of regulation.)

1917-1945

1 (top left). Henry S. Graves, Chief of the Forest Service, 1910-1920. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) Widespread overcutting and disastrous fires running wild, unharnessed smelter fumes, improper land use generally—they all took their toll. The Forest Service, through its public forest management, research, and cooperative forestry activities, became involved. As part of its statutory responsibilities, it was, and has remained, involved in a nationwide effort to bring such lands back to productivity and stability. 2 (top right). Gully undermining a homestead in Mississippi in 1919. (F—40118A) 3 (middle right). Erosion on a treeless homesite in the Copper Basin Area of Tennessee in 1931. (F—268126) 4 (bottom right). Improperly cutover areas in northern Michigan. (F—467858)

"The national forests are no longer primeval solitudes remote from the economic life of developing regions, or barely touched by the skirmish line of settlement. To a very large degree the wilderness has been pressed back. Farms have multiplied, roads have been built, frontier hamlets have grown into villages and towns, industries have found foothold and expanded. Although the forests are still in an early stage of economic development, their resources are important factors in present prosperity."

William B. Greeley (1920-1928)

1 (top left). Col. William B. Greeley, Chief of Forest Service, 1920-1928. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) 2 (top right). Big Wheel logging, Lassen National Forest, California, 1918. (F—38500A) 3 (middle right). Skidding, Okanogan National Forest, Washington. (F—401952) 4 (bottom right). Breaking the jam. The Spring of 1937 saw this last big log drive on the Little Fork River, Koochiching County, Minnesota. (F—418293)

1 (top left). Following a prescribed procedure, the Forest Ranger or his timber sale assistant cruised the sale area (estimating in board feet the amount of timber to be sold), marked the trees to be cut, and supervised the sale operation to prevent unnecessary damage to the remaining trees and to the soil and to prevent other irregularities. As a final official act, after scaling, he stamped the "U. S." with his marking hammer or axe on each log before it left the National Forest. (Payette National Forest, Idaho, 1925). (F—199349) 2 (middle left). Through the years foresters have burned the logging slash after large timber sale operations in the West, when weather conditions were favorable, to reduce the fire hazard and aid reforestation. This snow burn took place on the Stanislaus National Forest, California, in 1924. (F—185048) 3 (bottom left). One of the forest's most precious gifts—the Christmas tree. Special areas in many National Forests have for years been designated for the production and sale of Christmas trees, as here on the Pike National Forest, Colorado, 1924. (F—401952) 4 (right). Until a permanent, living tree was selected for such use in 1974, the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., often came from one of the National Forests (December 1939). (F—397898)

The Clarke-McNary Act (1924) greatly improved forestry practices on State and private lands, especially fire protection and reforestation. 1 (top). Promoting good farm forestry, 1930. (F—248795) 2 (bottom). Lumber company reforestation effort in California in 1924. (F—208823)

1. Trees were tamped into the transplant beds like this in 1927 on the Monogahela National Forest, West Virginia. (F—219007)

"Our fundamental concern is to have forestry fit into the place that belongs to it, in the national scheme of sound land use."

Robert Y. Stuart (1928-1933)

1 (top left). Robert Y. Stuart, Chief of the Forest Service, 1928-1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began in 1933 and, for 9 years, gave needed employment to hundreds of thousand of idle young men, aided on the recovery of the national economy, and served conservation and the cause of practical forestry in tremendous measure. Participating were the Departments of Labor, War, Agriculture, and Interior, as well as many State forestry agencies. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) 2 (bottom left). Clearing land for planting pine seedlings was one of the CCC activities on the Klamath National Forest, California. (F—285358) 3 (top right). The camps were self-contained communities. The contributions to the natural resource areas made by the men living and working in these camps were many—in Alaska (then a territory). (F—412947) 4 (middle right). Idaho (view shows snags that were being felled as a hazard reduction measure.) (F—278070) 5 (bottom right). Minnesota, and many other States. (F—401002)

It has been estimated that the CCC men performed over 150 different kinds of work. The tasks varied with the type of landownership (whether park or forest, National or State, for example) and with the purposes for which the land and its resources were being managed and/or protected. 1 (top left). CCC enrollees worked hard planting ponderosa pine on the Cochetopa National Forest (now part of Gunnison, Rio Grande, and Pike-San Isabel National Forest, Colorado). (F—393450) 2 (middle left). And CCC men found time for recreation after the day's jobs were through. These men found time for recreation after the day's jobs were through. These men in a Pennsylvania camp had their own jazz band. (F—278561) 3 (bottom left). They built portable stoves for picnic areas in the Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon. (F—409167) 4 (top right). They put down a stone base for a road in Pennsylvania. (F—317172) 5 (middle right). They learned Morse code in Utah. (F—407301) 6 (bottom right). And mopped up a fire in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. (F—371158)

The most popular conception of the CCC was related to its work in reforestation. The following photo sequence illustrates the effectiveness of that particular phase of the CCC's contribution to American forestry—the planting of trees. These photos also illustrate that, with the proper attention, care, and protection, forests can and do come back! (Area shown is within the former St. Joe National Forest, now part of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Idaho.) 1 (top). Logged in the early 1930's, acquired by the Forest Service in 1938, and planted with western white pine trees by the CCC in 1939 and 1940 (1938 photo). (F—365171) 2 (2nd from top). Six years later, the young trees are doing fine (1944). (F—431541) 3 (2nd from bottom). After 11 years (1949). (F—456363) 4 (bottom). After 16 years (1954). (F—476579)

The leaving of seed trees is an alternative to planting in reforestation work. This series of photos shows how seed trees insured a future stand of timber on a cutover area on the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana. 1 (top). Note the brush piled up for burning in this cutover area (1909). (F—86475) 2 (2nd from top). Reproduction on the area after 16 years (1925). (F—204813) 3 (2nd from bottom). And in 1927. (F—221277) 4 (bottom). And the young timber in 1937. (F—354396)

"Civilizations have waxed and waned with their material resources; dwindling means of livelihood have set rolling great tidal waves of migration and have been a prolific cause of domestic disorder, class uprising, and international war; but never before have the people of a great country still rich in the foundations of prosperity sought to forestall future disaster by applying a national policy of conservation—of which planned land use is the central core."

Ferdinand A. Silcox (1933-1939)

1 (top left). Ferdinand A. Silcox, Chief of the Forest Service, 1933-1939. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) The Prairie States Forestry (Shelterbelt) Project, started by the Forest Service in 1935, proved to be an outstanding government-individual cooperative effort of continuing effectiveness. 2 (bottom left). For Kansas farm homes such as this one, extensive tree planting built a fine protective barrier against the hot winds of the prairie. (F—404367) 3 (top right) & 4 (middle right). In one severe blow-sand area south of Neligh, Nebraska, 52,000 cottonwood trees were planted in the spring of 1938. (F—369779, F—386847) 5 (bottom right). In 8 years one Nebraska shelterbelt grew 35 feet high, affording prime protection for the corn and potatoes on the north side of the belt. (F—430576)

1. Shelterbelts planted in the spring of 1939 protected farms against damaging north and west winds. In just 2 years the protection helped this Kansas field produce an excellent crop of wheat (August 1941). (F—408931)

The Great New England Hurricane of September 1938 left a mark on the land, not easily erased nor quickly restored. 1. The small lettering read: "Please do not injure trees or other plants or scatter rubbish." (Public picnic area near Petersham, Massachusetts.) (F—369798)

1 (top left). Totally destroyed were the large pine trees which once shaded this lovely home near Petersham, Massachusetts. (F—373543) 2 (top right). Following the hurricane, this maple orchard near Peacham, Vermont, held little hope for high yields of maple syrup in 1939 and immediately beyond. (F—369824) 3 (bottom). Farm woodlot owner in New Hampshire inspecting his damaged timber to asses his loss. (F—373545)

Forest Service research activities in field and laboratory began a gradual transformation from generally basic studies to more sophisticated experiments in resource management, protection, and utilization. 1 (left). Discovery of this 7-year-old, 12-foot-high longleaf pine in an old field in South Carolina in 1927 stimulated research on tree growth. Tree strains with remarkably fast growth are now growing throughout the South, as a result of this work. (F—218970) 2 (top right). Snow surveys have always been an exceedingly important part of research, especially in the mountain forest areas that are the source of water for the agricultural and industrial valleys below. In 1930, this particular project was undertaken by the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, headquartered in Ogden, Utah. (F—249517) 3 (middle right). Flammability of forest fuels (Idaho) (F—309734) and 4 (bottom right). Fire behavior studies (Mississippi) occupied the scientists in the 1930's no less than today, and they probably will for a long time to come. (F—353532)

1 (top left). Fast growth is desirable, but good quality is even more essential. An important study has involved controlled pollination for improved growth and quality. Here, in 1959, developing pine cones, following controlled pollination, were protected from squirrels by canvas sacks. (F—493525) 2 (bottom left). Box testing in the 1920's and the continuing development of such testing machines proved helpful in solving World War II crating and shipping problems. (F—162540) 3 (top right). Working with wood pulp for better use of available tree species and for improved paper products have occupied FPL scientists through the years. A 1925-1926 study involved a process especially suited to hardwoods. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 100 959) 4 (bottom right). Wood species identification at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), Madison, Wisconsin, 1921. (F—164888)

". . . scarcity of natural resources and their control by the few may pave the way through widespread human misery to despotism and dictatorship; while an abundance of natural resources, accessbile to people generally, makes for democracy and freedom.

Earle H. Clapp (1939-1943)

1 (top left). Earle H. Clapp, Chief of the Forest Service, 1939-1943. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) 2 (bottom). The first all-wood prefabricated house erected on FPL grounds was built in 1937. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 324 20F) 3 (top right). In the middle 1930's, FPL researchers developed the earliest glued-laminated arches made in the United States. The arches had to undergo exhaustive tests for durability and strength. They soon became widely used commercially. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 251 88F)

1. In World War II, to make up for enemy-held sources of rubber, the Forest Service supervised conversion of areas of the Salinas Valley, California, to grow guayule, a desert shrub, for rubber production. (F—423981)

In forest fire detection and the control of wild fires, there was also dramatic evidence of "growing up." 1 (left). Lookout tree on Turkey Knob, West Virginia, 1919. (F—40806A) 2 (top right). Fire lookout on Payette National Forest, Idaho, 1930. (F—253466) 3 (middle right). Twin Sisters Fire Lookout on the Colorado (now Arapaho-Roosevelt) National Forest, 1917. (F—35806A) 4 (bottom right). And Spruce Mountain Lookout, Medicine Bow National Forest, 1943. (F—426381)

1 (top left). Almost a quarter of a century passed between the start of a pony blimp fire patrol of the Angeles National Forest, California, September 1921. (F—156936) 2 (top right). And fire detection by plane of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, September 1945. (F—436422) 3 (bottom). The 1924 San Gabriel Fire on the Angeles National Forest, California (Mt. Wilson Observatory in the foreground). (F—194433)

1. Fires in the western forests can be very spectacular and are tough to control, especially in dry weather. They often make the headlines. This was the Malibu Fire of 1935 on the Angeles National Forest, California. (F—342637)

1 (top left). Less dramatic, generally, are the wildfires in our Eastern and Southern States, but in larger numbers, they have caused great damage through the years. This fire was in a shortleaf pine stand in Mississippi, 1933. To light the fire . . . (F—428698) 2 (middle left). Shovels and a blessed drink of water (Washington 1919). (F—44482A) 3 (bottom left). Horsepower and axes, saws, shovels, and other equipment (Montana 1932). (F—266919) 4 (top right). The limb of a tree (Louisiana 1917). (F—36684A) 5 (middle right). A bloodhound to track down the fire-setter (Arkansas 1930). (F—246334) 6 (bottom right). A cool head, calm manner, and dispatching skill (Montana 1941). (F—422297)

Forest fires can kill more than trees . . . 1 (top). Wildlife. (F—260971) 2 (middle) & 3 (bottom). People, too. Seven men died at this spot during the Blackwater Fire in the Shoshone National Forest (Wyoming, August 1937). (F—351524, F—424745)

1 (left). The Forest Service had graduated to metallic (two lines) telephone communication by 1926 on the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. (F—212185) 2 (top right). Portable radios were in wide use throughout the Service by the 1930's. (F—249319)

1 (top left). Horse power—Supervisor Kirby used the traditional pack outfit for his 1939 travels on the Tonto National Forest, Arizona. (F—380239) 2 (top right). This is how Virginia & Rainy Lake Co. General Superintendent Gilmore and Forest Service District Two Fire Protection Officer John McLaren made their way, in 1917, using the company's logging railroad (Superior National Forest, Minnesota). (F—33749A) 3 (middle right). Helen Dowe didn't spare the equipment as she started on a 1921 surveying trip into the Montezuma National Forest (now part of Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre and San Juan National Forests, Colorado.) (F—153253) 4 (bottom). Leg power—Forest Guard Perry Davis making his rounds on the Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina 1923). (F—176440)

Roadbuilding in the 1920's: 1 (top left). California, 1921. (F—158959) 2 (middle left). Kaniksu National Forest (now part of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests), 1921. (F—158593) 3 (top right). Minnesota (now Chippewa) National Forest, 1922. (F—166802) 4 (middle right). Building a pier for a 3-span bridge on the Colorado (now Arapaho-Roosevelt) National Forest, 1920. (F—45780A) 5 (bottom). The Diablo Dam on the Skagit River was under construction in September 1930. Diablo Lake is on the Mt. Baker National Forest, Washington. (F—249303)

Enough food to go around . . . 1 (top left). After spending the summer grazing in the National Forest, the cattle were driven back to the ranch in the fall (Sequoia National Forest, California, 1941). (F—436179) 2 (top right). After shedding his horns, the bull moose made his way without difficulty through 3-1/2 feet of snow. (Absaroka National Forest, now part of the Lewis & Clark and Gallatin National Forests, Montana, March 1923). (F—177158) 3 (middle right). A classic shot of Mr. Black Bear (Mt. Baker National Forest, Washington, 1929). (F—252335) 4 (bottom). In this sheepherder's camp, the packer did the cooking (Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, 1930). (F—252315)

Recreation—camping has always been popular. 1 (top). Cleveland National Forest, California, 1922. (F—164475) 2 (bottom). Cibola National Forest, New Mexico, 1924. (F—185858)

1 (top left). Deschutes National Forest, Oregon, September 1922. (F—174150) 2 (top right). Good friend. Whitman (now Wallowa-Whitman) National Forest, Oregon, July 1924. (F—188852) 3 (middle right). Pike National Forest, Colorado, 1923. (F—179895) 4 (bottom). Steelhead trout lured former President Herbert Hoover to the Klamath National Forest, California, in 1933. (Forest Service No. 95—G—285193, in the National Archives)

1 (top left). Wasatch National Forest, Utah, 1930. (F—253259) 2 (top right). Superior National Forest, Minnesota, 1921. (F—152987) 3 (bottom). Shenandoah (now George Washington) National Forest, 1925. (F—202571)

1. From the Tacoma, Washington, Daily Ledger, March 18, 1923. (F—175456)

1. Alaska—land of totem poles . . . (F—253912)

1 (top left). Alaska—land of salmon . . . (F—253239) 2 (bottom). Timber . . . In 1930, Forest Ranger J. M. Wyckoff and Regional Forester B. F. Heintzleman. (F—253186) 3 (top right). This ingenious waterwheel was used in 1926 on the Flathead National Forest, Montana, to pump water and operate a grindstone. (F—213200)

Interesting people, places, and posters . . . 1 (top). Iowa State University forestry students camped with Professor Jeffers in the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, in 1923. (F—179928) 2 (middle left). A hot time out in the Umpqua National Forest, Oregon, September 1930. (F—251074) 3 (bottom left). Former Chief Forester, Col. William B. Greeley joined 4-H Club members in a special Washington, D.C., tree planting project in 1932. (F—265944) 4 (middle right). Young man with a whistle on a sunny day in 1919, in the village of Kake, Alaska (Tongass National Forest). (F—179246) 5 (bottom right). At the 1917 National Farm and Livestock Show in New Orleans, Louisiana. Aviatrix Ruth Law found the Forest Service exhibit of special interest. (F—36172A)

1. Tourists viewing an interesting rock formation in the Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, in 1917. (F—95—G—29260A in the National Archives)

1 (top left). The 1938 Women's Logrolling Championship competition at Bloomer, Wisconsin. (American Forestry Association) 2 (top right). The Sierra National Forest, California, served as an outdoor laboratory for students of the Fresno Normal School in 1923. (F—172730) 3 (bottom). When the Forest Service photographer "shot" these hardy mountain men in 1922, somewhere on or close by the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, he had no way of knowing this photograph would turn out to be the alltime pinup favorite in Forest Service offices. Or did he? (F—518655)

1. Forest resident and staunch cooperator, Chief Little White Cloud is shown in August 1940 on Star Island in Cass Lake, Minnesota, on the Chippewa National Forest. (F—401133)

1. In 1926, the Forest Service "Showboat" stopped at Mount Lebanon School in the Cherokee National Forest (now part of the Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia) to show slides and present forest fire protection materials. The school was within the old Blue Ridge Ranger District of Forest Ranger Arthur Woody, shown with arm pointing to oldstyle poster over the door. Ranger Woody, a colorful individual and a legend in his lifetime and since, typified many of the early-day forest rangers. They were the Forest Service's "self made" and dedicated pioneers, guardians of the public forests, meriting the respect and appreciation of their fellow workers and forest users alike. (F—204272)

1 (top left). Toward the end of the "growing up" period, Smokey Bear came into being as the nationwide symbol of forest fire prevention. This was the first Smokey Bear poster, issued in 1945 as part of a continuing Federal-State cooperative effort with the sponsorship of the Advertising Council, Inc. Purpose: to reduce the number of forest and range fires caused by carelessness. (Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection) 2 (bottom). Artist James Montgomery Flagg helped the national forest fire prevention cause with his famous "Uncle Sam" painting in 1937. With Mr. Flagg (left) and President Franklin D. Roosevelt (seated), who accepted the original work, were Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace and Associate Chief Forester Earle H. Clapp. (F—356947)