Peeling Back The Bark
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: Cal Green
By Eben Lehman on August 2, 2011Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark's series on “Forgotten Characters from …
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From Aerologger to "Balloondoggle"
By Eben Lehman on April 29, 2011"Recent experiments conducted in the woods of the Great Upper Lumber Company of Scandinavia have demonstrated the permanency of the Aerologger for use in the lumbering operations of this and other planets."
So read the opening sentence of a 1913 …
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March 1, 1911: Weeks Act Signed into Law
By Eben Lehman on March 1, 2011March 1, 2011, marks the centennial of the Weeks Act—the “organic act” of the eastern national forests. The law has been one of the most successful pieces of conservation legislation in U.S. history. The Weeks Act permitted the federal government …
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Houston, We Have Moon Trees
By Eben Lehman on February 17, 2011Forty years ago last week, Apollo 14 returned from its nine-day journey to the moon and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean. The three-man crew consisted of Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot …
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: “The Guberif”
By Eben Lehman on January 6, 2011Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. Peeling Back the Bark‘s series on “Forgotten Characters from …
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Forgotten Characters from Forest History: "Woody"
By Eben Lehman on December 9, 2010Everyone knows Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl, and maybe even Ranger Rick Raccoon, but there are many other forest and forestry-related fictional characters that long ago fell by the wayside. We here at Peeling Back the Bark would like to shed …
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National Forest Products Week: October 17-23, 2010
By Eben Lehman on October 19, 2010This week marks the 50th anniversary of National Forest Products Week, a designation created to recognize the importance of forest products to America’s growth and economic development, as well as the forest industry’s contributions to improved forest management and forest …
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Fire Prevention Week: October 3-9, 2010
By Eben Lehman on October 6, 2010This week (October 3-9, 2010) marks Fire Prevention Week, a designation intended to promote the importance of fire safety and awareness as well as to pay tribute to the nation’s firefighters. Dating back almost a full century, the observance …
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The Great Hurricane of 1938
By Eben Lehman on June 8, 2010June marks the official start of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be a busy one. As deadly and destructive storms, hurricanes are also major agents of landscape change and forest disturbance in many parts …
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January 19, 1812: John Aston Warder, Founder of the American Forestry Association, is Born
By Eben Lehman on January 19, 2010Happy birthday to Dr. John Aston Warder, founder of the American Forestry Association, and influential figure in the development of American horticulture and forestry.
On this date in 1812, John Aston Warder was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The eldest son …
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Trucks, Tractors, and Swindle Sticks
By Eben Lehman on December 2, 2009Three new photo galleries added to our website today contain more than 250 historic photos illustrating aspects of logging over the past century. The first gallery, Logging–Scaling, documents the work of scalers in the woods. A scaler was the …
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Coweeta Hydrologic Lab Celebrates 75 Years
By Eben Lehman on November 3, 2009In 1934, the Coweeta Experimental Forest was officially established on the Nantahala National Forest. Occupying nearly 4,000 acres just north of the North Carolina-Georgia border and renamed the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in 1948, the site would prove to be the …
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When Timber Engineers Brought Ski Jumping to Chicago
By Eben Lehman on October 7, 2009With Chicago’s recent failure to become host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, we here at Peeling Back the Bark were reminded of a little-known chapter from Chicago’s sports history which can be found in the FHS Archives. Should Chicago …
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August 5, 1949: Mann Gulch Tragedy
By Eben Lehman on August 5, 2009On this date 60 years ago, the Mann Gulch fire in Montana's Helena National Forest was first spotted. This devastating wildfire would eventually claim the lives of 12 U.S. Forest Service smokejumpers and one fire guard, as well as burn …
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The Fall of Timber Sports?
By Eben Lehman on July 29, 2009This past weekend saw the Lumberjack World Championships take place in Hayward, Wisconsin. The annual event of sawing, chopping, climbing, and log rolling contests celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. While the golden anniversary is cause for celebration, signs of …
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July 20, 1822: "Father of American Forestry" Born
By Eben Lehman on July 20, 2009On this date in 1822, Franklin B. Hough was born on the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains in Lewis County, New York. Hough would become the first forestry agent of the U.S. government, the first chief of the Division …
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May 31, 1940: Keeping it Green
By Eben Lehman on May 31, 2009On this date in 1940, Washington Governor Clarence D. Martin issued an influential proclamation appealing for the positive action by all of Washington’s citizens in the prevention of wildfires. This public proclamation would directly lead to the creation of the …
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Bucking, Limbing, and Felling
By Eben Lehman on May 13, 2009The six new photo galleries added to our website today feature well over 200 historic photos further documenting the work of loggers in the field. The first four new galleries relate to the bucking and limbing of cut timber, the …
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Safety Worst
By Eben Lehman on May 8, 2009Each year, the first full week of May marks North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. Created by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE), along with a partnership with the …
