Selected Interviews Available for Purchase

The Forest History Society is currently offering for sale selected oral history interviews (OHIs) from our Oral History Interview Collection. Complete an order form [PDF] to receive copies of the published interviews listed below, or request copies of unpublished interviews by contacting FHS library staff. Topics covered in the interviews for sale include: U.S. Forest Service Chiefs, Pioneering Women in the U.S. Forest Service, Forestry Research in the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrators, and Tropical Forestry.

Former Chiefs of the U.S. Forest Service

  • Dombeck, Michael P. An Interview With Michael P. Dombeck. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2004. ix + 190 leaves. Final transcript. In this oral history interview, former U.S. Forest Service chief and fisheries biologist Michael P. Dombeck (b. 1948) reminisces about his life and career, focusing specifically on his leadership of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as acting director from 1994 to 1997; his tenure as chief of the Forest Service from 1997 to 2001; and his work as Professor of Global Environmental Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point beginning in 2001. Includes discussion of such topics as: roadless areas, forest politics, forest policy, wildlife biology, fire budgets, workforce diversity, interagency cooperation, and the Rise to the Future fishery program he started for the Forest Service. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $29.00.
  • Thomas, Jack Ward. An Interview With Jack Ward Thomas. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2002. v + 135 pp. Final transcript. In this oral history interview, former U.S. Forest Service chief and research wildlife biologist Jack Ward Thomas (b. 1934) reminisces about his career with the agency from 1966 to 1996. Includes discussion of such topics as wilderness management, below-cost timber sales, timber salvage, endangered species, forest health, workforce diversity within the agency, forest politics, forest policy, and development of the ecosystem management concept. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $24.00.

Pioneering Women in the U.S. Forest Service

  • Beck, Leigh. An Interview With Leigh Beck. Edited by Jacqueline S. Reinier. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2002. ix + 105 pp. Final transcript. In this oral history interview, U.S. Forest Service employee Leigh Beck (1952- ) discusses her background and her career as a woman working as an administrative manager for the U.S. Forest Service, primarily in State and Private Forestry in the agency's Northeastern Area and Region 5 (Pacific Southwest Region), beginning in 1978. Topics covered include: public relations, leadership styles, conservation education, the California Consent Decree, and issues related to women U.S. Forest Service employees. Produced and sponsored by the Forest History Society in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Office of Civil Rights, State and Private Forestry, National Forest System, Office of Communications, and USDA Forest Service History Program. Oral history interview conducted by Jacqueline S. Reinier. $23.00.
  • Bergen, Geri Vanderveer. An Interview with Geri Vanderveer Bergen. Edited by Jacqueline S. Reinier. Durham, N. C.: Forest History Society, 2001. [5] + iii + 136 + [3] pp. Final transcript. Oral history interview with United States Forest Service employee Bergen (1930- ) discussing her forestry education at the University of California at Berkeley, her volunteer conservation work, her experiences as the first female forest supervisor on the Tahoe National Forest, her years of service in the Society of American Foresters, and her family life. Interview conducted by Jacqueline S. Reinier. $25.00.
  • Herrett, Wendy Milner. An Interview with Wendy Milner Herrett. Edited by Jacqueline S. Reinier. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2001. iii + 150 pp. Photographs, names index. Final transcript. Oral history interview with Herrett (b. 1946), landscape architect and first female district ranger for the United States Forest Service. Details her career on Mt. Hood National Forest in Washington, Routt National Forest and White River National Forest in Colorado, and South Dakota's Black Hills National Forest. Oral history interview conducted by Jacqueline S. Reinier. $26.00.
  • Holmes, Beverly C. An Interview with Beverly C. Holmes. Edited by Carol C. Severance. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2002. v + 64 pp. Final transcript. In this oral history interview, former U.S. Forest Service employee Beverly C. Holmes reminisces about her career with the agency from 1974 to 1994. Holmes worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs; served as the first female assistant to a deputy chief in the Forest Service; worked as the Deputy Regional Forester for Administration in California; and was involved in negotiating a discrimination settlement covering all women in California employed by the U. S. Forest Service during the 1980s. Oral history interview conducted by Carol C. Severance. $19.00.
  • Johnson, Clara. An Interview with Clara Johnson. Edited by Jacqueline S. Reinier. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 2002. vi + 141 leaves. Final Transcript. African-American Clara Johnson worked as a forester, ranger, and supervisor on national forests in California, Georgia, and Mississippi, including the Six Rivers, Sequoia, Angeles, Delta, Chattahoochee, and Oconee national forests. She discusses her background, the role of women and minorities in the U.S. Forest Service, and her experiences working on national forests and in the Washington Office of the U.S. Forest Service beginning in 1982. Produced and sponsored by the Forest History Society in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Office of Civil Rights, State and Private Forestry, National Forest System, Office of Communications, and USDA Forest Service History Program. Oral history interview conducted 25-27 May 2002 by Jacqueline S. Reinier. $25.00.

Forestry Research in the U.S. Forest Service

  • Arnold, R. Keith, Murlyn B. Dickerman, and Robert E. Buckman. View From The Top: Forest Service Research. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1994. xiv + 365 pp. Interviews conducted in 1992 and 1993. Oral history interviews with three former U.S. Forest Service deputy chiefs of research, Arnold, Dickerman (1912-2000), and Buckman (1927-). Topics include fire prevention, forest experiment stations, forestry research, international forestry, the Society of American Foresters, the International Society of Tropical Foresters, and the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations; twentieth century. Oral history interviews conducted by Harold K. Steen. $13.00.
  • Ostrom, Carl Eric. An Interview with Carl E. Ostrom. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1994. v + 119 leaves. Final transcript. Ostrom (b. 1912), a U.S. Forest Service employee from 1934 to 1975, discusses forest health, forestry research, naval stores, pioneer units, research natural areas, and silviculture in the United States, twentieth century. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $18.00.

Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrators

  • Reilly, William K. An Interview with William K. Reilly. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1995. iii + 76 pp. Final transcript. Interview conducted in 1994. Reilly (b. 1940), administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President George Bush, discusses the agency's history, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Clean Air Act, pollution control, the World Wildlife Fund, and U.S. environmental policy during the late twentieth century. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $18.00.
  • Train, Russell E. An Interview with Russell Train. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1993. v + 81 leaves. Final transcript. Oral history interview with Train (1920- ), a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator who served from 1973 to 1977. Includes discussion of U.S. environmental policy during the 1970s, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, the World Wildlife Fund, the Conservation Foundation, and American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $19.00.

Tropical Forestry

  • Posey, Clayton E., et al. Plantation Forestry in the Amazon: The Jari Experience. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1997. ix + 281 pp. Oral history interviews with Clayton Posey, Robert Gilvary, John Welker, and Lawrence Thompson conducted in 1994, 1996, and 1997 on the subject of American billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig's (1897?-1992) tropical forest plantation along the Jari River near Monte Dourado in the Brazilian Amazon, 1960s-1980s. Two foresters, a civil engineer, and a forestry consultant discuss such topics as tropical forestry, plantation silviculture, pulp production, and the Gmelina arborea tree species. Oral history interviews conducted by Harold K. Steen. $12.95.
  • Wadsworth, Frank Howard. The Evolution of Tropical Forestry: Puerto Rico and Beyond. Edited by Harold K. Steen. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society, 1993. iv + 119 + [3] leaves. Appendices. Final transcript. Interview conducted in 1992. Wadworth (1915- ), a U.S. Forest Service employee, discusses tropical forestry research, twentieth century. Oral history interview conducted by Harold K. Steen. $21.00.
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