Forestry Dept. history

After the passage of the Organic Act of 1897, the General Land Office (GLO) established a forestry unit—later called Division "R" (Forestry)—to administer the new forest reserves.

State superintendents were appointed first, then in the summer of 1898, more men were politically appointed as summer forest rangers, usually to fight forest fires.

In 1901 the Division was renamed Bureau of Forestry, with Gifford Pinchot as the Forester.

Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, employed roughly 4,000 firefighters to combat the fires.

A law was passed in 1906 to transfer 10 percent of the forest receipts (through grazing fees and some timber sales) to the States to support public roads and schools.

In 1907 the reserves were renamed National Forests.

The office of State and Private Forestry Cooperation was also established in 1908, as was the first Forest Experiment Station, at Fort Valley, Arizona.

Roosevelt left office in 1909 and was succeeded by William Howard Taft.

After months of national debate and personal attacks from both men, Taft fired Pinchot for insubordination in January of 1910.

The establishment of Eastern national forests began after President Taft signed the Weeks Act on March 1, 1911.

A seventh district, covering the administration of the national forests in Arkansas and Florida, was added in 1914.

Around 1922, a smaller 1-inch bronze badge was authorized for uniform wear.

The Clarke-McNary Act of 1924 greatly expanded the Weeks Act.

During the following year, 6 district (by October 1930, known as regional) offices were organized in the West for administering field work.

A fervent campaigner for the preservation of wildlife and wilderness areas, he was a director of the Audubon Society from 1935 and became a founder of the Wilderness Society in the same year.

The most famous cooperative effort, which continues to this day, the forest fire prevention program (see the Smokey Bear sidebar) during the first few months of 1942, cooperation between the Service, State foresters, and the Advertising Council continue to fire prevention program across the country.

The Cooperative Forest Management Act of 1950 expanded the Forest Service's cooperative efforts of the post-war decade, provided for technical assistance, and extended management assistance to all classes of forest ownership.

In 1952, the Forest Service initiated a major field inventory, the Timber Resources Review (TRR), to analyze forest conditions on small forest landownerships.

The Small Waterhsed Program (Public Law 566) in 1954 expanded the Forest Service's authority to include flood protection on farmland watersheds not exceeding 250,000 acres.

The first authorized patch, issued in 1962, was flat on the bottom and sides, but rounded on the top.

Finally, a flat bronze badge has been recently issued. It was used on dress uniforms until around 1972.

In 1974, the current the Forest Service shield patch was authorized.