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

The years of the Great Depression, 1929 through 1941, were ones of profound change for both the North Central Region and the Eastern Region. The two Regions continued to operate with essentially the same organization and with their headquarters at Milwaukee and Upper Darby, but because of the exigencies of the Depression, both Regions found themselves carrying many important new responsibilities.

Region 7, Eastern Region

Timber Management

The major thrust of timber management during the Great Depression was a massive program of reforestation through planting. It was made possible by the work of the special anti-Depression work programs of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and others. These tree plantings, which are discussed in Chapter VII, were so extensive that by 1938 further planting was no longer a major goal for Region 7. Only about 100,000 acres remained to be planted, most of them on the Monongahela and Allegheny National Forests.

Another major area of work for the CCC was timber stand improvement. When the General Integrating Inspection (GII) took place in 1938, the Washington Office inspectors concluded that much of the timber stand improvement work done by the CCC was of questionable value. The same inspectors had seen the forests in 1933, 1934, and again in 1938. One of the inspectors was C. M. Granger, Acting Chief of the Forest Service, and the other was head of the Timber Management Branch. Both were experienced foresters whose judgments carried much weight. They believed that the clearing of undesirable trees and brush and trimming of trees done by the CCC, while it may have provided the Corpsmen with honest work, had little lasting benefit to the forest. The inspectors may have been unduly pessimistic, but after four or five years they could see almost no sign of the many hours the CCC had spent on timber stands. [1]

Another lesson learned was that it was not a good idea to try to plant every small clearing. These were needed for small game. In addition, on certain National Forests where the deer population was dense, particularly the Allegheny, the deer did severe damage to planted trees by eating the tender leaves and sprouts. On the Allegheny, the problem was partially solved by planting red pine even though it was out of its range at that location. Deer did not find the red pine to be palatable.

Another project of the CCC was a survey of timber resources on National Forests in Region 7 as a basis for making timber management plans. In some areas, timber sales had been deferred pending the completion of these management plans. Since timber management planning in Region 7 involved reforestation of cut-over areas, the process was one of putting together many diverse elements, including the work of the Experiment Stations. [2]

By the late 1930's, the replanted forests of Region 7 had grown sufficiently that commercial harvesting was practicable. From 1938 to 1943 timber sales in the Region were encouraging. During these years the volume of timber harvested rose from 42,965,000 board feet to 56,944,000 board feet. Production increased markedly until labor shortages in the early War years reduced it. There had been a noticeable exhaustion of accessible stands of American chestnut due to cutting and disease, but general stumpage values had risen steadily. Timber sold and marked was far ahead of actual harvesting.

Range Management

Range management on the National Forests of Region 7 was not a matter of great concern except on the Cumberland and parts of the Jefferson. In the other Region 7 National Forests, grazing was not an important part of the local economies.

Water Management

Water management, a natural concern of the Forest Service, was not a well-developed program in the 1930's. The Region 7 experts were aware that pollution of lakes, streams, and rivers was a growing problem, but since the Forest Service controlled such a small share of the major drainage basins in the East, it was beyond its power to solve the problem. Far too little was known of the effects of erosion and ground cover, and hydrology was not yet a highly developed science. [3]

Wildlife Management

In the area of wildlife management, several strikingly successful cooperative agreements were made between Region 7 and state governments. The best of these was with Virginia, where a one dollar extra charge was made on all state hunting licenses. The revenue from this source was used by the state to improve game conditions on the National Forests. In 1938, when the GII inspectors looked into this arrangement, their reaction was ambivalent: "It is hard to know whether to applaud or discourage this type of arrangement." They thought that it was wrong to charge in any way for the use of the National Forests; on the other hand, the program did provide money to improve game management, and that was obviously desirable. They were willing to see the Virginia plan continue for several years with the understanding that a judgment on its value would then be made. [4]

The most notable effort by Region 7 in wildlife management took place in the George Washington National Forest. There, a program of creating artificial clearings in the forest to provide natural food for game and birds had attracted wide attention, including publicity provided by the well-known Washington, D.C. cartoonist, J. Norwood "Ding" Darling. [5]

Recreation

Region 7 contained some of the most important industrial and trade centers of the country and was the most populous part of the nation; yet forests covered 55% of the total area. There were great ranges of forests and mountains of Appalachia and upper New England which were virtually untouched by modern development. Although the National Forests of the Region accounted for only 5% of the total area, the Forest Service had an important role to play in providing an outdoor experience for millions of northeastern and mid-Atlantic city dwellers.

In the 1930's, Chief Ferdinand Silcox called on all Forest Service Regions to take steps to make the American public more aware of the recreational opportunities available on the National Forests. The Chief also wanted the public to understand that the facilities offered were part of the National Forest System and did not belong to the National Park Service. In response to the Chiefs directions, Region 7 produced a number of leaflets to be distributed to the public which described trips which could be taken through the National Forests, and the facilities and activities available. The Region also published recreational maps and other materials. The leadership of the Forest Service was moving increasingly toward greater emphasis on public recreation in the National Forests. How much of this was their own idea and how much of it was a response to the new national movement for outdoor recreation is not clear. What is clear is that the leaders in Washington had already moved far ahead of the people in the Regions in their attitudes on recreation.

The key positions in the Regional Offices and on the National Forests were still held by "old forester" types who often looked upon the general public as interlopers in the forests. It was not easy for these foresters to adapt to the new ways of thinking emanating from Washington.

The philosophical differences on recreation between the leaders in Washington and in the Regions can be illustrated by a seemingly minor matter which came up during the 1938 GII of Region 7. The inspectors were touring a recreation area which had camping shelters and cabins. When they learned that Region 7 had denied a permit for a concessionaire to provide soft drinks and sandwiches on the site, the inspectors asked why and were told that if such services were allowed on this site, they would have to be allowed on all. Later, when inspecting another recreation area, the inspectors asked Regional Forester Joseph C. Kircher why there was no boat concession on a lake where fishing was the principal use and could only be done from a boat. The inspectors wrote these incidents into their report and commented that Region 7 and the Regional Forester did not seem to be sufficiently flexible on matters of recreation: "Our thought is that there are places where provision of refreshments is an important service to enable the satisfactory use of the National Forests' recreational opportunities, and that it cannot either be denied or permitted blanket-wise. Likewise, a properly administered boat concession. . .would be reasonable, if kept inconspicuous."

The divergence of viewpoints went even further. When the inspectors pointed out a need for better roadside signs indicating campgrounds and picnic areas, the Regional Forester raised the question of whether there was not a danger of over-emphasizing recreational development. Both sides had now reached the crux of the matter. It was probably quite offensive to the eye of a traditional forester like Kircher to see painted signs in the midst of a National Forest. Such signs had the purpose of guiding city people to places in the National Forest where they could camp, picnic, and possibly create unsightly messes and even carelessly cause forest fires. This was not something which Kircher or many others of his background in the Forest Service could readily tolerate. What was actually said next is unknown, but everything in their final report indicates that the two high-ranking Forest Service officers told Regional Forester Kircher that Region 7 was in no danger of over-emphasizing recreation. [6]

Region 7, located as it was within automobile driving distance of many of the most populous areas of the nation, probably received a greater influx of new recreationists than any other Region. The Region concentrated most of its recreational development efforts almost entirely on providing camping and picnic areas and facilities for winter sports. They perceived no need to develop new resorts since their part of the country was adequately supplied with resort facilities. Likewise, there was no summer home development.

The greatest opportunity for development was in organization camps for the underprivileged. In 1938, when the GII inspectors came, the Region had begun this process by setting up two somewhat make-shift camps. One of these camps in the Jefferson National Forest was a Boy Scout Camp called Powhatan. The inspectors thought it was a good example of what could be done well at low cost. They advised the Region not to "over refine" such camps, meaning that the outdoor forest experience should not be diluted by too many urban amenities.

Region 7 also developed a segregated campground on the Jefferson National Forest for blacks. The GII inspectors, recognizing that Virginia was a Southern state and that racial attitudes being what they were, concluded that "facts must be faced. . . racial discrimination is an accepted thing in the South." On the question of whether the Region should expose itself to criticism by advertising that it had a camp for blacks, the inspectors' reaction was that there was no reason to have the camp if the people for whom it was intended did not know about it. [7]

Fire Control

In the three southern states of Region 7, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, there were severe problems with forest fires in the 1930's. As in states like Missouri in the North Central Region, forest fire prevention was a complex problem which involved an educational and public relations program with rural people. The goal was to convince them that they must not set fires on purpose and that they must do more to prevent them. By the end of the 1930's good progress had been made in Appalachia at teaching fire prevention. One way was the use by the Forest Service of free films in rural areas where there was little other outside entertainment.

Another source of the fire problem was the coal-burning locomotives of the 1930's and careless tobacco smokers riding in open passenger cars. Throughout the 1930's a policy of demanding settlement from the railroads when their trains had clearly caused forest fires. By the end of the 1930's this policy was paying off with greater efforts by the railroads to prevent fires.

Region 7, while it may have neglected certain areas of activity, was dedicated to a strong program of fire prevention. In the National Forests, crews and equipment were in a constant state of readiness. The fire record of the Region was admirable and had improved markedly during the 1930's. [8]

In addition to the usual jobs of the Forest Service, Region 7, because of its location in the northeast where there were both dense forests and dense human population, was responsible for restoring forests which had been cut-over, and dealing with a myriad of state, local, and private agencies in areas such as forestry, fire prevention and coordination of fire fighting and providing recreation.

State and Private Forestry

State forestry was probably more important in Region 7 than any other Region with the possible exception of Region 9. In 1938, there were 401 state forests in Region 7 containing slightly over 5 million acres. Connecticut had the best developed forest system with systematic harvesting of forest products, effective timber improvement measures, and good recreation programs. At the other extreme, Virginia was just getting started with its state forest program. The work being done in New York in the acquisition and planting of submarginal and cut-over land was admirable.

Private forestry in Region 7 was vitally important since 91% of the forest land was privately owned. One company in Virginia, the Camp Lumber Company, was operating on a sustained yield basis. The Armstrong Company in Pennsylvania was experimenting with a minimum diameter limit plan whereby younger trees were not cut, and several other companies were, in a limited way, practicing forest conservation. The inspectors lamented that these were "the only discernible efforts in the entire (Eastern) Region that faintly resembled a positive private forestry program." [9] This would have been an unfair criticism in earlier years in view of the fact that Gifford Pinchot started practicing forestry on the Vanderbilt Estate in North Carolina before the turn of the 20th century. But North Carolina was no longer in the Eastern Region, and apparently the inspectors knew of no other such effort in the present Region.

These findings were dismal enough, but the inspectors found downright discouragement in one important area: "In the field of farm woodlands there appears to be very little actual forest practice underway." This situation was a surprise in view of the large number of trained foresters, both public and private, in New York and New England and the past history of programs to promote forest management in the area. In the past, there had been plenty of discussion, research, and attention given to Experimental Forests, but the net result had been "largely that of foresters selling forestry to each other rather than to the timberland owners." [10]

The sorry situation in private forestry was due in part to continuous "high-grading," that is, cutting of best trees. The inspectors (who clearly spoke for the leadership of the Forest Service in this matter) concluded that what was needed in the northeast was "a constructive program of permanent forestry by landowners." The State and Private Forestry people of Region 7 told the inspectors that they despaired of ever achieving real sustained yield management in the Region. However, they assured the Washington officials that they would continue to work toward that desirable goal through state forestry programs and by trying to convince private lumber companies to follow better practices. They believed, moreover, that their best chance for success lay in the area of convincing private landowners to manage their woodlots more efficiently. Their plan was to conduct an initial timber survey on private lands using the CCC, then to encourage the formation of area cooperatives among farm woodlot owners to promote the management and marketing of timber. [11]

Region 9, North Central Region

Timber Management

Timber sales for Region 9 in 1940 tripled in fiscal year 1940 over FY 1939. In 1940, a total of 114,183,000 board feet of lumber were sold at value of $266,833. The year before, 44,773,000 board feet valued at $85,132 were sold. Most the timber was sold to small operators inasmuch as 3,768 of the 3,830 sales were of $500 or less. H. Basil Wales, Timber Management Chief of Region 9, calculated that the sale of each 1,000 board feet of timber required approximately three days of labor for felling, limbing, bucking into logs or pulpwood, slash disposal, hauling and milling. Wales estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 jobs had been provided in the 1940 harvesting operations in Region 9 National Forests. [12]

Since the extent of cut-over lands in Region 9 was much more than in Region 7, there was still an ongoing program of planting trees as late as 1940. That year, Regional Forester Jay H. Price announced that 39,812 new trees were planted in Region 9. Only one other Region of the nation's 10 Forest Service Regions carried on a comparable planting program—the Southern Region, Region 8. The number of trees planted in the North Central Region (Region 9) was over 82 million, mostly jack pine, red pine, and other pines. [13]

Under a policy which allowed the local farmers to purchase and cut timber in the National Forests at actual costs, 262 sales of this type had been made in 1940. Among the forest products sold in addition to logs were Christmas trees, pine boughs for ornaments, apples, pears, maple sap, spigots, and garden plants. The Huron National Forest sold around 25,000 Christmas trees and looked forward to even greater sales the following year. [14]

Wildlife Management

A Forest Service-wide survey completed in 1940 revealed that Wisconsin's two National Forests, the Nicolet and the Chequamegon, ranked first and third of all National Forests in population of deer. The Chequamegon was first with an estimated 62,000 deer, and the Nicolet was third with about 48,000. Fish Lake National Forest in Utah was second with 50,000. The two Wisconsin forests together had approximately 1,000 black bears and 3 lonely moose. However, the Chippewa and Superior National Forests in Minnesota had about 1,100 moose.

Deer population in the East and Midwest of the United States had been growing since 1908, after having been severely decimated in the 19th century. There had been a significant increase in all big game animals on National Forests, averaging about 282 per cent since the 1920's. Much of this increase was attributable to the addition of many thousands of acres of land to the National Forest System in those years. In the West, better management of herds on National Forests was a big factor in increasing populations. [15]

Information and Education

In 1940, 35 Regional field personnel involved in State and Private Forestry and in Information and Education met at a one-day conference. There, Regional Forester Jay H. Price traced how the emphasis had changed in Forest Service policy to consider state and private land as well as federal lands. Congress had passed the Clarke-McNary Act authorizing federal cooperation in fire protection of state and private forests and some extension and educational programs. At that time, a Congressional committee was studying further federal-state-private cooperation in forestry. Price said that what was needed at this point was some thinking on the part of people like those he was addressing. He wanted their ideas on what should be done next. [16]

The Timber Management Division of Region 9 sponsored a program among women's organizations and school groups to promote reforestation. This was part of a national Forest Service program called "Penny Pines." The program raised money to buy stock which the Forest Service planted and cared for. By 1940, about 6 million trees had been planted on 6,000 acres. Though nationwide, this program was particularly strong in Region 9. Of the 71 cooperative forest plantations sponsored by the General Federation of Women's Clubs, 41 were in Region 9. Much of the success of the program within the Region could be attributed to Margaret March-Mount, who many called the "Penny Pines Apostle of Region 9." Another prime mover in the program was Helen Bruha, Chief Clerk of the Timber Management Division, who handled communications with the women's and school groups. [17]

Margaret March-Mount led a party of 30 women of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs on "Conservation Caravans" through parts of the Superior and Chippewa National Forests in June of 1940. Accompanied by Claire Hendee, Supervisor of the Superior, the ladies visited the George Washington Memorial Forest on the Superior and there planted the 500,000th tree that they had sponsored. [18]

Recreation

The Great Lakes area had always been known as a summer vacation land because of the cool climate, but by 1940 it had become a winter playground for winter sports enthusiasts as well. In earlier years, these recreation areas had been virtually inaccessible in the winter because of heavy snows. With improved transportation by rail and auto, winter use had increased to the point that in the winter of 1939-40, close to 500,000 visitors used the 15 recreation facilities in, Region 9.

The winter sports enthusiasts came from all parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and the northern parts of Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. More than one-quarter of them were tobogganists, 88,000 were skaters, 81,000 were spectators, and about 70,000 were skiers. The recreation areas most used were (in Wisconsin) Anvil Lake Ski Trail and Eagle River on the Nicolet National Forest; Mount Valhalla at Washburn, Spur Lake at Fifield, and Perkinstown at Medford, all on the Chequamegon National Forest; (in Michigan) Silver Valley near East Tawas on the Huron National Forest; and Caberfae near Cadillac and Newago Lake near Newago on the Manistee National Forest; and (in Minnesota) Shingobee near Walker on the Chippewa National Forest. [19]

Fire Control

One vitally important job of Region 9 was to anticipate and prepare for forest fires throughout the Region. In 1940, Chief of the Engineering Division Holland Coleman went on a tour of the northern woods areas and returned to the Regional Office to report to the other Division Chiefs. He had good news and bad: fire conditions on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were extremely hazardous, but the National Forests were ready. Tractors and trucks had been overhauled and all equipment was in good shape. In fact, Coleman stated, "It has been a long time since we saw a Forest better prepared for the job of fire fighting." The National Forests to which Coleman referred were the Hiawatha and the Ottawa.

Operations Chief Gunnard Fenger had worked out arrangements to send 150 backpack pumps and 150 Pulaskis (a fire fighting tool much like a double-bitted axe except one side was a grub hoe) to Region 9 so that these would be available for fire fighting. The expectation on the part of the Region staff was that 1940 would be a severely dangerous fire season, and they were taking every precaution to be ready for it. [20]

Summary

The changes in the timber and wildlife management, recreation, information and education, State and Private Forestry, and fire protection activities in Regions 7 and 9 during the Great Depression years were more the result of the maturing of the replanted forests and increased public use than they were products of the Depression. Another important factor was the evolution of Forest Service programs generated by new legislation, particularly the Clarke-McNary Act.

In one area, however, there were dramatic and drastic changes in both Regions which were directly connected to the Great Depression. The most intractable problem of those trying years was unemployment. In a desperate effort to find some immediate and short-range solutions to this problem the federal government turned to the Forest Service, especially to the Regions of the East where unemployment was most severe. This story will the subject of the next Chapter.

Reference Notes

1. General Integrating Inspection Report for Region 7, 1938, GII Files, NA RG 95.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Daily Contact, July 17, 1840, Region 9 History File, NA RG 95.

13. News Bulletin, November 28, 1940, Region 9 Regional Office Files.

14. Daily Contact, July 17, 1940, NA RG 95.

15. News Release, July 9, 1940, Region 9 History File, NA RG 95.

16. Daily Contact, August 2, 1940, Region 9 History File, NA RG 95.

17. Ibid., July 20, 1940.

18. Ibid., June 21, 1940.

19. News Release, November 30, 1940, Region 9 History File, NA RG.

20. Daily Contact, May 16, 1940, Region 9 History File, NA RG 95.

Miss Margaret March-Mount of Regional Office and Ray W. Knudson of Chequamegon National Forest Supervisor's Office show size of Women's Club cooperative plantation.