Peeling Back The Bark
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"On April 5, 1895, I passed the Statue of Liberty…"
By James Lewis on April 5, 2012On this date in 1895, Carl Schenck arrived from Germany to the United States to replace Gifford Pinchot as forester at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Three days after arriving in New York, Schenck met with Pinchot, then just 29 years old and seemingly without a care in the world. To mark the…
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Forest History Today issue on the Weeks Act now available
By James Lewis on March 1, 2012The new issue of Forest History Today is now available. It’s all about the Weeks Act, which turns 101 years old today. Forest History Society members have received a copy as a benefit of their membership. If you’re not a member but would like to purchase a copy, contact Andrea by email or by calling…
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Happy 125th Birthday, Aldo Leopold!
By Guest Contributor on January 11, 2012On this date in 1887, author, forester, ecologist, and conservationist Aldo Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa. The founder of the science of wildlife management and a major influence on the wilderness movement, wildlife preservation, and environmental ethics, he is perhaps best known for his book, A Sand County Almanac (1949). In honor of his birthday,…
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November 14, 1921: First-ever National Fire Control Conference held
By James Lewis on November 14, 2011On this date in 1921, the U.S. Forest Service convened the first national conference on fire control at Mather Air Field near Sacramento, California. Virtually all the agency’s leaders and brightest minds came together for the conference, including six district (now regional) foresters and six forest supervisors, numerous Washington office people including Chief William Greeley,…
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Happy 40th Birthday, Woodsy Owl!
By James Lewis on September 15, 2011Give a hoot—and a holler—for Woodsy Owl! Today’s his birthday. Or at least it’s the 40th anniversary of the press conference announcing Woodsy’s arrival. And that’s close enough for us. We won’t bore you with the details of how he came to be. You can learn that at this blog post. Instead, we’ll share the original…
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September 11, 1893: Forest Fire Researcher Harry Gisborne’s Birthday
By James Lewis on September 12, 2011Family and friends probably had to be careful when they lit the candles on a birthday cake for Harry Gisborne. As the first true specialist in forest fire research in the country, he might have held court about fire danger while the candles burned down to the icing. Kidding aside, Gisborne’s work included fire danger…
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Take a virtual hike to the Pulaski Tunnel
By James Lewis on August 21, 2011This weekend marks the 101st anniversary of the “Big Blowup,” when 3 million acres of forestland went up in flames during the 1910 fires. In July of this year, I finally made the hike to Pulaski Tunnel outside of Wallace, Idaho, something I’d wanted to do for some time. The tunnel is where Ed Pulaski…
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June 29, 1915: First Aerial Fire Patrol Took Flight
By James Lewis on June 29, 2011On 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…
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American Tree Farm System turns 70
By James Lewis on June 12, 2011On 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…
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Parks Canada Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary
By James Lewis on May 19, 2011On 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,…
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How Counting Sheep Saved the U.S. Forest Service
By Guest Contributor on May 3, 2011May 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…
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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 to purchase private land in order to protect the headwaters of rivers and watersheds in…
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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 utilization. This annual observance dates back to September 13, 1960, when Congress passed a joint…
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Teddy Roosevelt, “Uncle Remus,” and Supporting the Weeks Act
By James Lewis on October 8, 2010One hundred years ago today, on October 8, 1910, former president Theodore Roosevelt addressed the Southern Conservation Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. Roosevelt was just one of many speakers during the two-day meeting called to “discuss the problems of utilizing to the best permanent advantage the resources of the South as a whole.” The meeting itself…
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Tongass National Forest Celebrates Another Anniversary
By James Lewis on September 10, 2010On September 10, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska. This month, the Forest History Society is publishing a history of the region, Tongass Timber: A History of Logging and Timber Utilization in Southeast Alaska, by James Mackovjak (you may remember Jim from his cross-country bike trip documented on this…
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The "Big Blowup" centennial anniversary is this weekend
By James Lewis on August 19, 2010Coming only five years after the U.S. Forest Service’s establishment, the devastating series of forest fires that swept over Montana, Idaho, and Washington on August 20–22 in what is known as the “Big Blowup” struck at a critical and pivotal time in the history of the young agency. Ever since the dismissal of Chief Gifford…
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May 18, 1980: Mount St. Helens erupts, leaves a mess of documents
By James Lewis on May 18, 2010On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and left an altered landscape as well as a mess of historical documents in its wake. The deadliest volcanic event in U.S. history flattened 200 square miles of forest on the surrounding private and public lands. Its impact…
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Feb. 24, 1889: Herbert Stoddard Sr., “Father” of Wildlife Management, is Born
By James Lewis on February 24, 2010Happy birthday to Herbert Stoddard Sr.! Raised in a working-class family, he had no formal education beyond primary school. Yet he went on to become recognized as the “father” of wildlife management and a pioneer in the emerging field of fire ecology during his career. He may rightly be considered one of the first ecological…
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February 18, 1909: North American Conservation Conference is held
By James Lewis on February 18, 2010In one of his last acts as president, Theodore Roosevelt convened the North American Conservation Conference on this date 101 years ago. This event might ring a bell for faithful followers of the blog. The conference and its legacy were discussed in a previous blog entry. That entry, which originally appeared as an opinion piece…
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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 of Quakers Jeremiah and Ann Aston Warder, he developed a love of nature early in…
