Smokey Bear’s Fire Prevention All-Stars

Tonight’s MLB All-Star game in fire-prone Arizona reminds us that Smokey Bear had his own All-Star team back in the 1980s (back when the Pittsburgh Pirates used to have winning seasons). During spring training, Smokey—a Hall of Fame-caliber manager if ever there was one—would pose with players from teams for his own trading cards. Some…

June 29, 1915: First Aerial Fire Patrol Took Flight

On this date in 1915, what is believed to be the world’s first forest patrol flight was made at Trout Lake, Wisconsin. Aviation pioneer and wealthy Chicago sportsman Logan “Jack” Vilas made the initial flight in order to demonstrate the viability of using aircraft in fire prevention. Wisconsin’s Chief Forester Edward Griffith hired him but…

Have a Wildfire? Call a Historian

In her article, “Fire Alarm: Historians, and Thorstein Veblen, to the Rescue,” Patricia Limerick asked why is it that, when a wildfire breaks out, no one calls a historian? After all, she writes, “what is needed are the ‘skills, talents, and approaches’ of historians and the long perspective that history offers.” Here at PBB HQ,…

American Tree Farm System turns 70

On June 12, 1941, the nation’s first Tree Farm was dedicated. The 120,000-acre Clemons Tree Farm in Washington, owned by the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, received that designation with great fanfare—Washington Governor Arthur Langlie and other dignitaries were on hand for the ceremony. From that one property in the Pacific Northwest has grown a movement that…

My Favorite Weeks Act Forests

To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, we’ve asked Dr. Bob Healy of Duke University’s Nicholas School for the Environment to write a series of blog posts in which he’ll reflect on his classic book, The Lands Nobody Wanted, and the eastern national forests. This is the 3rd in the series. Fifty…

Parks Canada Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary

On this date in 1911, Parks Canada—the world’s first national parks service—was established. The federal government of Canada created the new unit to oversee and administer the country’s forest reserves and a nascent assemblage of western national parks. Today, Parks Canada manages 42 National Parks (including seven National Park Reserves), four National Marine Conservation Areas,…

How Counting Sheep Saved the U.S. Forest Service

May 3, 2011, marks the centennial of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Grimaud. We are re-posting Char Miller’s blog entry about this landmark case with some additional documents. It originally appeared on April 27 on his blog at www.KCET.org. You’ve probably never heard of Pierre Grimaud. But when you pay to use…

From Aerologger to "Balloondoggle"

“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 article found in the publication Steam Machinery, in which author S. MacHenry described a double-plane…

Reigniting the Green Fire: Aldo Leopold Story Comes to Life

Curt Meine reflects on the long journey that brought about the making of the new documentary film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time. Curt worked with Steve Dunsky, Ann Dunsky, and Dave Steinke–the folks who brought you The Greatest Good documentary–on this project. After five years of talking, imagining, brain-storming,…

Happy Birthday, Merle Haggard!

On this day in 1937, country music legend—and close friend of Smokey Bear—Merle Haggard was born in Oildale, California. Merle put his own spin on Smokey’s fire prevention message in this poster by declaring “Keep it Country, Keep it Green!” The poster appeared during the year Smokey turned 50. The Forest Service thoughtfully captioned the…

Forest History Film Festival Starts Today

We are proud to announce the first annual Forest History Film Festival. With the approach of spring, the trees here at Peeling Back the Bark World Headquarters are in full bloom. So we thought it a perfect time to hold a film festival so we can hide from the rising pollen counts. Below are this…

Forgotten Characters from Forest History: Johnny Horizon

Everyone 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 Forest History” continues here with Part 3 in which we examine the life and tragically short career…

Coming to a Mailbox Near You: Forest History Today

If you’re a member of the Forest History Society, the latest issue of Forest History Today will be hitting your mailbox this week. If you join now, you can still get this highly sought-after, limited print edition of the magazine. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait awhile to read it online. After all, membership has its…

March 1, 1911: Weeks Act Signed into Law

March 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 to purchase private land in order to protect the headwaters of rivers and watersheds in…

The Weeks Act Forests: A Bargain and an Investment

To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, we have asked Dr. Bob Healy of Duke University’s Nicholas School for the Environment to write a series of blog posts in which he’ll reflect on his classic book, The Lands Nobody Wanted, and the future of the eastern national forests. This is part 2…

Houston, We Have Moon Trees

Forty 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 Edgar Mitchell. The Apollo 14 mission was the third successful moon landing, and is mostly…

Happy Valentine's Day from the Forest History Society!

Helping Preserve Canada’s Forest History

Last week I traveled to Alliston, Ontario, to meet with the Forest History Society of Ontario and to address the Ontario Forestry Association at their 62nd annual meeting. I went in part to present the FHS Fellow Award to both Dr. Ken Armson and Dr. Yvan Hardy. The Fellow Award is the Society’s highest honor,…

Forgotten Characters from Forest History: “The Guberif”

Everyone 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 Forest History” continues here with Part 2 in which we examine the Guberif. “What the hell is…

The 12 Days of Christmas, FHS style

Here at PBBWHQ (Peeling Back the Bark World Headquarters), we’re perfectly giddy with the holiday spirit. The lights are up, the tree is lit, and Alvin J. Huss is watching over us. We’re so caught up in the season that we thought we’d share our version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with you. (Some…