100 Years of Federal Forestry Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 402

1. Sugar pines, Sequoia National Forest, California. (F—504980)

Highlights

On July 1, 1876, the population of the United States, as then constituted, was roughly 46.1 million.* On July 1, 1975, our population was estimated by the Census Bureau to be 213.5 million, including the Armed Forces overseas. With this increase of 167.4 million men, women, and children in 100 years, and with our natural resources less abundant than a century earlier, there was need to stretch these resources, especially the forests, to their greatest possible, practical use. To accommodate the demands of the ever-growing population (there were 34.7 million more people in the country in 1975 than in 1961), the National Forest System was called upon to yield more wood, more water, more recreation, more range forage, and more wildlife habitat than ever before. Other Federal outdoor areas and the privately owned forests also felt the pinch.

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*Historical Statistics of the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce).

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As a consequence, the period from 1961 to 1975 was one of greater challenges for the Forest Service than it had faced before. A change of direction was needed to meet the needs of the new era efficiently and effectively. This changeover was characterized by a gradually quickening shift from short-term management concepts to fully planned, longer range management. This conscious effort to keep up with the time brought notable advances.

The Forest Service instituted the principles of the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act (1960) throughout the National Forest System. The purpose of the Act was to insure that all possible use and benefit might be extracted from the public forests and grasslands without endangering their future usefulness and productivity.

The activities of Forestry Research and State and Private Forestry intensified, and emphasis on the use of interdisciplinary teams increased. These teams represented a wide range of specialities, for example, wildlife biologists, landscape architects, soil scientists, range experts, engineers, and foresters. The teams began working to meet current demands on the Forest Service and to prepare plans designed to better mesh human needs with a sustained supply of natural resources for the future.

The Nation became more conscious of its environment, in a spirit akin to but more refined than that of the first decade of the 20th century. There was a new appreciation of environmental values and of the need to protect them, achieving expression in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which profoundly influenced Forest Service planning and programs. In response to the heightened public awareness of federal activities, the Service launched a program in the early 1970's to "inform and involve" the people in the decisionmaking process as it affected their interests in the forests. The goal was meaningful public involvement in developing better land and resource management.

The most ambitious planning initiative of the Forest Service involved 3 years of extensive effort culminating, in mid-1974, with "A Long Term Forestry Plan (Draft)—Environmental Program for the Future." This was a comprehensive plan involving the National Forest System, Research, and State and Private Forestry. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (PL 93—378) of August 1974 coincided with the Environmental Program for the Future and was one of the most significant Congressional conservation actions in many years to have so great an impact on the future of American forestry. This Act represented the first legislative recognition by Congress that management of our natural resources can be fully efficient only when planning and funding are done on a long-range basis, not year-to-year.

The Resources Planning Act covered all Forest Service areas of responsibilities and activities—the research and cooperative programs and National Forest System management. It required periodic analyses of present and anticipated uses, demands for, and supply of renewable resources. The international resources situation also had to be incorporated. The Act required that the first national assessment and program be submitted to Congress by the end of 1975. In complying, the Forest Service was able to draw on its own Environmental Program for the Future for pertinent material on outdoor recreation and wilderness, wildlife and fish habitat, rangeland grazing, timber, land and water, and human and community development. The experience of the first century of federal forestry thus in a blueprint for the next century.

1961-1975

Signs— 1 (top left). Colorado. (F—503670) 2 (middle left). California. (F—513408) 3 (bottom left). New Hampshire. (F—515783) 4 (bottom center). Mississippi. (F—515920) 5 (top right). Montana. (F—515566) 6 (2nd from top right). Oregon. (F—519209) 7 (2nd from bottom right). Puerto Rico. (F—522904) 8 (bottom right). Washington. (F—514484)

1 (top). Water for a hundred purposes . . . (Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington). (F—516462) 2 (bottom). Wood for a thousand uses . . . (Ozark National Forest, Arkansas). (F—504877)

Sidelights (1961-1975)

During this period an interesting trend began to develop, a trend with favorable portents for American forest conservation and for the Forest Service of the future. There was a special accent on youth through the Job Corps and the Youth Conservation Corps, a new emphasis on State and Private Assistance through forestry incentive programs, an introduction of modern techniques in forest management and forestry research, and an offering of new services and opportunities for all Americans—a general upgrading of both environmental and human resources.

The Job Corps program, starting in 1965, gave young men from deprived backgrounds basic schooling, training in skills, and valuable job experience.

The Youth Conservation Corps was launched in 1971 as a 3-year pilot program featuring summer conservation work-learn activities for young men and women from all parts of the Nation and from all walks of life. The Corps was continued beyond 1974 as a permanent entity because of its success in providing gainful employment, in accomplishing needed conservation work, and in arousing its youthful participants to a new understanding and appreciation of their Nation's environment and heritage. By 1975, State-operated projects on non-federal public lands were in full swing along with projects being carried on in National Forests, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and on other public lands and waters.

In 1971, new survey techniques came into being as satellite photos and imagery were used to make a sample survey of 12 million acres of forests in the Southeast.

Also, in 1971, Smokey Bear was joined by a new comrade, Woodsy Owl, a symbol for wise use of the environment that quickly captured the attention and cooperation of millions of outdoor-loving Americans. The Woodsy Owl symbol and slogan, "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute," are authorized and protected by law, just as Smokey Bear is.

"As the population of the country rises and demands on the timber, forage, water, wildlife, and recreation resources increase, the National Forests more and more provide for the material needs of the individual, and the economy of the towns and States, and contribute to the Nation's strength and well-being. Thus the National Forests serve the people."

Edward P. Cliff (1962-1972)

1 (top left). Edward P. Cliff, Chief of the Forest Service, 1962-1972. (Drawing by Rudolph Wendelin) Domestic stock and wildlife . . . 2 (middle left). Fish. George Washington National Forest, Virginia. (F—514850) 3 (middle right). Deer. Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina. (F—494694) 4 (bottom). Sheep. Carson National Forest, New Mexico. (Forest Service, Region 3, Carson National Forest)

1961-1975

In 1974, the Golden Anniversary of a priceless concept was observed when the Gila Wilderness Area in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, marked its 50th birthday. (Ten years earlier, in passing the Wilderness Act, Congress had legally endorsed a long-standing Forest Service policy of establishing and maintaining wilderness areas.)

The 50th anniversary of the Clark-McNary Act was also observed in 1974, reflecting a dramatic evolution of State and Private Forestry through the years, with ever-closer ties between the States and the Forest Service for the good of the public and the forest resources.

Recreation to fit every taste . . . 1 (top). Whitewater Championship Canoe Races, Feather River, Plumas National Forest, California (1970). (F—519847) 2 (bottom). Skiing, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon. (F—499444)

The Visitor Information Service of the Forest Service—specially trained men and women and special facilities to further one's knowledge, to add zest to the outdoor adventure, to enhance the visitors' enjoyment. 1 (top). Far North, in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the Visitor Information Center makes viewing of the Mendenhall Glacier a safer and more informative adventure. (F—518534) 2 (bottom left). The Cape Perpetua Visitor Information Center on the Pacific Ocean captures the interest of young plant examiners (Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon). (F—516687) 3 (bottom right). The annual growth rings tell the age of a tree—the fast-growing years and the slow ones, the dry years and the wet ones, and, quite often, there are marks of fires that had run wild through the forest (George Washington National Forest, Virginia). (F—518780)

1 (top). Face of Mendenhall Glacier across Mendenhall Lake. (F—486789) 2 (bottom). A geological treat—Blanchard Springs Cavern in the Ozark National Forest, Arkansas. (F—512984)

The Forest— 1 (top). There's gold in the river. In 1962, scuba divers "vacuumed" the precious metal from the bottom of the North Yuba River in the Tahoe National Forest, California. (F—503106) 2 (bottom left). A microwave station built in the early 1960's made this part of the Helena National Forest, Montana, a high-value special-use area. (F—502316) 3 (bottom right). From farm forests in North Carolina come the raw materials for hand-crafted wooden creations that have kept many mountain and other rural residents profitably employed. (F—502169)

1. In Virginia these baskets are woven from oak splits and are popular with tourists. The raw material comes from white oak from nearby farm forests.(F—508221)

"All in the day's work . . ." 1 (top left). Stream habitat surveys indicate quality of the aquatic environment and provide basic management data (Bitterroot National Forest, Idaho, 1967). (F—519357) 2 (middle left). Checking terrain for suitability for skiing (Lolo National Forest, Montana, 1966). (F—515020) 3 (bottom left). Avalanches can travel up to 100 miles per hour, and carry well over 100,000 tons of snow and debris. Anything in the path of a large avalanche is usually totally destroyed. The Forest Service supervises avalanche control activities at developed ski areas with the objective of reducing the hazard to life and property (Wasatch National Forest, Utah). (F—462494) 4 (top right). Measuring snow depth in February to determine summer run-off possibilities (Tahoe National Forest, California, 1970). (F—520149) 5 (bottom right). Controlling snow avalanches with 75mm recoilless rifle fire (Gallatin National Forest, Montana, April 1970). (F—520642)

1 (top left). In the summer of 1965, a forestry technician on the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana measured the diameter of a tree to determine the volume of wood in it; (F—521722) 2 (top right). The District Forest Ranger checked the range allotment map with a ranch foreman, the two men discussing details of the grazing permit agreement, on the Routt National Forest, Colorado. (F—512720) 3 (middle right). Meanwhile, back at a district ranger office in the Beaverhead National Forest, Montana, the District Clerk prepared a similar range allotment map; (F—504545) 4 (bottom right). And, in the Chief's headquarters in the Nation's Capital, another technician kept busy in the Automatic Data Processing Center. (F—519994)

Protecting the forests—a never-ending responsibility. 1 (top). August 1961—1,650 men in 16 camps worked to control the Sleeping Child Fire in the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana. Pack strings helped supply fire camps that were inaccessible by road. (F—507314) 2 (bottom). August 1970—fire struck heavily on the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. Men moved up to the fire on foot. (F—520885)

1 (top left). Men also moved up to the 1970 Wenatchee Fire in helicopters. (F—520902) 2 (top right). Water helped douse small spotfires . . . (F—520897) 3 (bottom). And retardant was dropped from airtankers to slow down the fire's spread. (F—520868)

1. A different kind of spraying job took place on the Mt. Baker National Forest in Washington during the summer of 1968—spraying with an insecticide to control the ravages of the Hemlock Looper. (F—519176)

1 (top). Infrared photography became a valuable Forest Service aid in the 1960's. The eight white lights (from eight small smudge pots) in the lower left-hand corner were photographed using infrared imagery. (F—518607) 2 (bottom). In this photograph, made with standard camera and film, the smudge pots do not show up. Use of infrared photography makes it possible to locate fires while they are still small, before they reach a dangerous stage. (F—518608)

Planting for the future . . . 1 (top left). Transplanting 2-year-old ponderosa pine seedlings in Savenac Nursery, Coeur d' Alene National Forest, Idaho (1963). (F—504419) 2 (top right). Checking the seed production area on the Ozark National Forest, Arkansas (1963). (F—505693) 3 (bottom). Tree planter at work in a clear cut area, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington (1965). (F—521178)

1 (top left). The aftermath of the Sleeping Child Fire, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana, 1961. (F—522310) 2 (top right). Ten years after the Sleeping Child Fire, the forest stages a comeback (Bitterroot National Forest, Montana, 1971). (F—522309) 3 (bottom). Stand of western larch reclaim an area damaged by a forest fire (Flathead National Forest, Montana, 1967). (F—522055)

Road building—a major activity . . . As tools became more sophisticated and techniques more modern, the Forest Service engineer began to build his roads following straighter, safer, and faster routes. He gentled the dangerous curves, bridge rivers, and bored through mountains. More speed and more efficiency have become important as demands for wood, for recreational outlets, and forest mobility have grown. The necessity has remained, however, to maintain the beauty and integrity of the environment. In addition to building roads and trails within the National Forest System, Forest Service engineers, landscape architects, and other specialists also are responsible for the planning, location, and operation of dams, buildings, power lines, water and sewer systems, ski lifts, and generating plants—for management purposes, public use, or, under permits, for commercial use. 1 (top). Kootenai National Forest. (F—506136) 2 (bottom left). Sumter National Forest, South Carolina. (F—516310) 3 (bottom right). Talladega National Forest, Alabama. (F—505732)

1. The Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, is the headquarters for the Federal Government's wood utilization research activities. Through the years, FPL has proved to be a boon to government and industry alike, with tremendous benefit to the public. (F—405515)

The Forest Products Laboratory . . . 1 (top left). Four days after an earthquake struck Anchorage, Alaska, in March 1964, FPL engineers were checking the damage to light, wood frame buildings to evaluate the quake's effects. They found that well-built wood structures generally survived the quake fairly well. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 126 426 ) 2 (bottom left). FPL-developed, massive, glued, laminated beams can stand tremendous stress and strain. A series of binding tests to get data for needed engineering design criteria was completed in 1969. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 136 997—3 ) 3 (top right). A key 1969 research effort developed by FPL scientists to increase the yield and quality of wood products. In the process, low-grade logs are cut into continuous sheets, 7/16-inch thick, peeled from a rotating log by a knife. The resulting veneer is cut into short strips, press dried, glue laminated, and made into planks of lumber. Time: 30 minutes. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 139 025—11) 4 (bottom right). Sawdust (in this case, aspen) as livestock food? It was explored in the late 1960's and demonstrated its value as such. (Forest Products Laboratory, M 137 451—1)

The Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies . . . 1 (top left). The Grey Towers, family home of Gifford Pinchot, Chief Forester 1898-1910, was donated to the Forest Service by the Pinchot family, along with surrounding forest land, in 1963. It is now the headquarters of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies in Milford, Pennsylvania. It has gradually developed into a center for environmental research. (F—508583) 2 (bottom). President John F. Kennedy dedicated the Institute on September 24, 1963. This was the first stop on a nationwide conservation-oriented trip by the President. (F—508632)

Jobs Corps . . . 1 (top left). In 1965, 8,000 disadvantaged 16- to 21-year-old youths in the Job Corps were receiving basic education as well as vocation-skills training in such fields as the construction of buildings . . . (F—519122) 2 (top right). Road surveys . . . (F—516177A) 3 (middle). Watershed protection and stream improvement . . . (F—514892) 4 (bottom). Lifesaving and waterfront safety. (F—512536)

The Youth Conservation Corps is administered by the Forest Service in cooperation with the Department of the Interior. The objectives: to do needed conservation work on public lands; to provide gainful summer employment for young men and women 15 to 18 years old; and to give these young people the opportunity to gain an understanding and appreciation of the Nation's environment and heritage. 1 (top left) & 2 (top right). In 1975, the YCC had almost 13,000 participants in a variety of outdoor activities, including the installation of fences . . . (Youth Conservation Corps, 0774 R 1138—7A; Youth Conservation Corps, 0774 R 1137—14A ) 3 (middle). Construction of barriers to help control erosion and improve the appearance of recreational areas . . . (Youth Conservation Corps, 0774 R 1134—25) 4 (bottom). Engaging in environmental awareness projects—such as collecting snakes and other specimens to study for a better understanding of the natural world. (Youth Conservation Corps, 0774 R 1135—34)

Long live Smokey Bear! 1 (top left) & 2 (top right). May 1975 saw the original living symbol of forest fire prevention retiring after 25 years at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C. On the same day, his successor was introduced to the public. (F—510947, Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection) 3 (bottom left). The Ranger Poster for 1973. (Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection, Rangeland Poster, 1937) 4 (center bottom) & 5 (bottom right). Each year there is a poster which headlines the continuing program of the nationwide forest fire prevention campaign, jointly conducted by the Forest Service and State Forestry Departments with the cooperation of The Advertising Council, Inc. Many noted artists and other professional people have supported the program in a practical way. (Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection, School Poster, 1968; Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection, Basic Poster, 1965)

The new living symbol of Smokey Bear also came from New Mexico—the original home of the first Smokey Bear. He had been abandoned and was searching for food when he was rescued. After serving as an understudy for 4 years in the National Zoo, he assumed his new role and greets the many children who come to see him. (Forest Service Cooperative Fire Protection)

1 (top left). At a planning meeting in 1973, Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz and Chief Forester John McGuire enjoy a laugh with Woodsy Owl, the Forest Service's symbol of conventional awareness. (USDA 1272 A 1519—4 ) 2 (bottom left). "Give a hoot, don't pollute" . . . This was the call heard throughout the land as the fire-preventing Smokey Bear welcomed a new comrade, the pollution-preventing Woodsy Owl. (F—523664) 3 (top right). The Woodsy Owl Program is conducted by the Forest Service with the cooperation of the State Foresters and the Public Service Council. (F—623663) 4 (middle right). Woodsy Owl made his public debut nationally in September 1971, was legalized as a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation team by Act of Congress in 1974, and set out to capture the imagination and cooperation of young and old alike. (DN—3301) 5 (bottom right). Children made the decision as to how Woodsy Owl should look. The environmental symbol represents their views, based on research interviews, rather than those of adults. (DN—3301)

"Wilderness as a form of land-use is, of course, premised on a qualitative conception of progress. It is premised on the assumption that enlarging the range of individual experience is as important as enlarging the number of individuals; that the expansion of commerce is a means, not an end; that the environment of the American pioneers had values of its own, and was not merely a punishment which they endured in order that we might ride in motors. It is premised on the assumption that the rocks and rills and templed hills of this America are something more than economic materials, and should not be dedicated exclusively to economic use . . ."

Aldo Leopold,
Forester and Wilderness Crusader

The Golden Anniversary of the First Wilderness . . . "June 3, 1924. On this date, the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture set aside the Nation's first tract of virtually untouched National Forest (the Gila) and identified this naturalness as a resource as much so as timber, water, forage, and wildlife—and called it Wilderness . . ." from the June 1974 "Forest Service News," Southwestern Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1. The first Wilderness set aside in the United States was the Gila Wilderness in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico. Today the Gila Wilderness embraces 433,690 acres of wild, unspoiled land. Part of the Mogollon Plateau lies here, and the area has steep, rugged canyons with many streams and rivers flowing through. The Gila Wilderness has been extremely popular for its unique historic features, outstanding scenery, fishing, hunting, and its solitude. (F—495787)

1 (top). Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, Mt. Baker National Forest, Washington. (F—470126) 2 (bottom left). This family carefully planned their trip as a picnic ground before heading into the San Gabriel Wilderness Area, Angeles National Forest, California. (F—503164) 3 (bottom right). Trail riders camp, Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Flathead National Forest, Montana. (F—520822)

1. Heading for Moose Lake portage, Boundary Waters Canoe Area (formerly Superior Wilderness), Superior National Forest, Minnesota. (F—512328)

Little seeds to promote international goodwill . . . In an historic mission in July 1975, during which American and Soviet space vehicles meet in space for joint engineering and scientific investigations, a small box of genetically superior white spruce seeds changed hands. The seeds were developed by Forest Service scientists at the Institute of Forest Genetics in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and are expected to produce fast-growing trees of exceptional height and shape. Enough seeds were given to the Soviet Cosmonauts to grow an acre in the Moscow area, where the climate is similar to that of Rhinelander. 1 (top). Small box, large implications. (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) 2 (bottom left). The giving of the gift of seeds took place on July 18, after the two craft had docked in space. Apollo Commander Tom Stafford made the presentation to Soyuz Commander Aleksey Leonov. (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) 3 (bottom right). Apollo (a Saturn 1B launch vehicle) took off for its space adventure with the Soyuz spacecraft in the afternoon of July 15. The Soviet launch was in the morning of the same day. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 75—H—768 108—KSC—75P—392)

The American Forestry Association's Centennial feature—the Sixth American Forest Congress . . . ". . . in line with present AFA policy now in effect, the association's Directors zeroed in on the pressing need for an American Forest Policy if the nation is to avoid a future forestry crunch not unlike today's energy crunch. Forest policy, the Board said, is becoming a major national issue and guidelines set down by Congress are urgently needed to avert or solve future actions that could hamstring flexible resource management on the land . . ." "American Forests" December 1975 Participants in AFA's Sixth American Forest Congress included Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz; Senator Mark Hatfield (Oregon); Senator Hubert Humphrey (Minnesota), who, with Congressman John Rarick, cosponsored the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974; Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Russell Train; and Dr. Stephen Spurr, University of Texas. These speakers and others helped launch a national debate on "The Need for an American Forest Policy." 1 (bottom). American Forestry Association Centennial Emblem. (American Forestry Association photographs)