The Land We Cared For... A History of the Forest Service's Eastern Region

The Eastern National Forest: A Chronology of Establishment

—Excerpt from The Lands Nobody Wanted, 1977, William E. Shands and other sources.

DERIVATION OF NATIONAL FOREST NAMES

SUMMARY
The Eastern Region: A History of Reorganization

From its earliest beginning in 1908 with the creation of four Lake States National Forests, Region 9 has grown in size and importance. By the time of WW II, it was clear that the Region had taken its rightful place among the Regions of the Forest Service.

The Forest Service Regions were transferred from DC to field headquarters sometime during 1908. At that time, National Forests in northern Minnesota and northern Michigan were listed under the administration of Region 2 at Denver, CO. These National Forests (Minnesota NF, Marquette NF, Michigan NF, and Superior NF) remained under the jurisdiction of Region 2 until March 1909 when they were transferred to Region 1 with headquarters in Missoula, MT. On February 1, 1913, administration was retransferred to Region 2 at Denver, CO.

The first Eastern Region was Region 7. Created in 1914, R7 included National Forests in all east coast states and the entire area west to Arkansas excluding the Great Lakes area. By 1918, Region 7 included all of the southern National Forests extending as far west as Oklahoma. At this time, the Regions, then called Districts*, operated little more than as an adjunct to the Office of the Chief Forester in DC (*Districts became known as Regions in the 1930's).

The major factor in the establishment of a separate Region in the Lake States was the passage of the Clarke-McNary Act of June 7, 1924. This amended the Weeks Act and authorized the purchase of land for timber production purposes as well as for streamflow protection. The establishment of Region 9, the Lake States Region, was on December 22, 1928, with temporary headquarters in Madison, WI. The Lake States, R9, Regional Office moved to Milwaukee in 1929.

Between 1924 and 1929, purchase units in Wisconsin (Flambeau, Moquah, and Oneida) were established in the Lake States Region (R9). On January 3, 1930, North Dakota was also added to Region 9. Further expansion of R9 occurred later that year with the addition of several purchase units and National Forests in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri. These five states were formerly administered as part of Region 7, the Eastern Region. In 1933, as a result of this expansion, Region 9 (Lake States Region) was renamed the North Central States Region.

In 1934, the Eastern Region (R7) was divided into two Regions by creating the Southern Region (R8) with headquarters in Atlanta. At that time, Region 8 encompassed all of the National Forests south of Kentucky and Virginia. The Eastern Region (R7), contained only seven National Forests: the Green Mountain NF, Vermont; White Mountain, New Hampshire; Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Monongahela, West Virginia (all currently R9 Forests) and the Cumberland NF (currently Daniel Boone NF), Kentucky; George Washington and Jefferson NF's, Virginia.

In 1941, the Eastern Region (R7) headquarters moved from DC to Philadelphia, PA. Originally, the new offices were located in a downtown building, which presented parking and transportation problems for employees. In addition, the City of Philadelphia collected an income tax on employees. Because of these disadvantages, the Eastern Regional Office was moved to the nearby town of Upper Darby, PA.

On December 22, 1928, the Lake States Region was created to oversee the National Forest lands in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The job of selecting the location for the permanent headquarters of the new Lake States Region (Region 9) fell to Earl Tinker, the new Regional Forester. At that time, regional headquarters were usually placed in large cities within that particular region. Tinker chose Milwaukee with its good railway connections. In Washington, Forester (Chief) Robert Y. Stuart approved Tinker's choice and also his plans to open the office with a very small staff and to handle the work of the office without creating a formal organization by branches. Tinker proposed that the staff at the Regional Office consist only of himself, a Deputy Regional Forester, and a Fiscal Agent. All the other staff in timber management, lands, etc., would be placed on the Forests, "where the work was". The plan was endorsed by the three Forest Supervisors. But when Tinker learned in Washington that funding for the Region would depend on the amount needed by the Regional Office, he withdrew his proposal.

On January 1, 1929, temporary headquarters for Region 9 was established with the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, WI. Meanwhile, Tinker looked for a suitable building in Milwaukee. The best he could find was the former rye whiskey testing laboratory in the Post Office Building. In March of that year, the tiny staff occupied its new quarters, equipped with hand-me-down furniture and a few battered file cabinets. In 1932 the offices moved to the Post Office Building at 517 East Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. At that time, the entire staff consisted of 19 people. One employee commented that the new office space was "what a real Forest Service office looks like—or should look like". In 1935, the offices were moved to the Plankinton Arcade Building at 161 West Wisconsin Avenue.

From the beginning, the Lake States Regional Office had been a sparse affair. By 1930, there were only 13 members of the staff. Very few compared to other regions. Regional Forester Tinker was ready to say that perhaps the austerity had been "overdone". Tinker suggested this in a report to the Forester (Chief), but little note was taken. Nonetheless, the staff began to grow and the Regional Office had 166 employees by 1940.

The organization of the Regional Office was in divisions, each headed by an Assistant Regional Forester. By 1962, the divisions were: Engineering; Fiscal Control; Information and Education; Operations and Fire Control; Recreation, Wildlife, Range and Water Management; State and Private Forestry; Timber Management; and Personnel. The total number of permanent employees in the Region increased from 138 in 1928 to 207 in 1931. Some technical foresters had been added, a few clerks and several District Rangers, but there was one less supervisor. The Region had only three types of specialists: lecturers ( a term no longer used), acquisition specialists, and surveyors. This indicates how much simpler the job of the Forest Service was in those days.

The Wayne and Hoosier Purchase Units were consolidated in August 1949. In a news release Regional Forester, Jay H. Price, explained the reason for this administrative action: "We have found it necessary, as an economy move, to combine the administration of our purchase units in Indiana and Ohio. The administrative headquarters of the Wayne Purchase Unit, now located in Columbus, Ohio, will be vacated sometime in September and established in Bedford, Indiana, the present headquarters of the Indiana Unit. The consolidated units will be known as the Wayne-Hoosier Purchase Units".

Although included in the National Forest System as purchase units in the 1930's, it was not until 1951 that the Wayne-Hoosier National Forest was established through official proclamation.

Administrative consolidation of the Mark Twain and Clark National Forests in Missouri occurred in 1952. Headquarters of the Mark Twain in Springfield, MO was moved to Rolla, MO and merged with the headquarters of the Clark. In announcing the reorganization of the administrative units in Missouri, Regional Forester Price pointed out that "it is one of several being made to permit the Forest Service to operate within terms of the current budget and still provide customary degree of service at the District Ranger level".

By 1956, several units of Region 9, North Central States Region, were abandoned as National Forest administered lands. These purchase units included: Bellevue-Savanna, IL; St Croix, MN; Souris-Sheyenne, ND; and Hawkeye, IA.

In 1965, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of Budget and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission set up a joint team to review management policies and practices in the Forest Service. The review conducted from February 15 to July 2, 1965 was part of President Lyndon Johnson's program for improved management of the Federal Government. The resulting document of their findings was called the Deckerd Report. The report recommended that the approximate size of Districts, Forests and Regions be more nearly standardized throughout the Service. As defined by the Deckerd Report, the optimum size of regions was one which had a span of control over 15 to 19 forests.

In response to the span of control concept, Chief Cliff and his staff decided that Region 7 would be eliminated and its Forests divided among Region 8 and 9. The White Mountain NF, Green Mountain NF, Allegheny NF and Monongahela NF were assigned to Region 9, and the George Washington NF, Jefferson NF and Daniel Boone NF went to Region 8. The Region 7 RO in Upper Darby, PA was closed and most of the personnel moved to Atlanta or Milwaukee. With the abolishment of Region 7, the North Central Region (R9) became the Eastern Region (9) and, with one exception, the Finger Lakes National Forest*, included National Forest System lands of the current Eastern Region (R9) configuration. The rest is history....!!! (*In 1985, the Finger Lakes National Forest, NY was added to the Eastern Region as a result of acquiring the Hector Land Use Project (Bankhead-Jones land).

REGION NINE REGIONAL OFFICE LOCATIONS

During the period from 1929 to 1960 the Regional Office has been located as follows:

REGIONAL FORESTERS
Region 7

REGIONAL FORESTERS
Region 9