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The Use of the National Forest Reserves
"1905 Use Book"
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Title page and Introduction | Table
of Contents
A presidential proclamation in 1891, authorized the creation of the Forest
Reserves in the United States. The General Land Office administered these lands
until 1905, when the forest reserves were transferred to the newly created
Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot,
chief forester, and the "Use Book Committee" revised earlier regulations and
instructions needed to guide the public and the Forest Officers in the use of
the National Forest Reserves. Published in 1905 as The Use of the National
Forest Reserves, it came to be known as the Use Book..
Annual editions of the Use Book were released. From its beginnings as a
pocket-sized, 142-page document, the Forest Service manual has grown to
encompass multiple volumes, in both print and electronic formats.
In 1907, the National Forest Reserves were renamed National Forests. While the
1907 edition of the Use Book is the first which contains the name change and
includes some other significant wording related to monetary reimbursement for
roads and schools, it is more widely available than the 1905 version.
We chose to put the 1905 version of the Use Book on the web for a couple of
reasons:
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This 1905 volume is rare. Neither the Forest Service Headquarters History
Collection nor Grey
Towers (the home of the first Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot, who submitted
the book to the Secretary of Agriculture), hold copies. (The volume used here
for digitalization belongs to the Forest History Society.)
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Individuals have asked for excerpts and copies of the volume over the years.
This digital version makes access to the document easier, and reduces wear and
tear on the original.
Some notes about this Internet version of the Use Book:
This version of the 1905 Use Book reflects the general layout of the book
(relative font sizes, order, etc.), but our main concern was to make the
document accessible and useful, as well as easy to navigate.
Page numbers are at the top of each page in italics (e.g., (p. 9)). Most
are not at the exact same page break as in the book, but at the beginning of the
nearest paragraph, where possible.
1905 Use Book, facsimile (PDF)
1905 Use Book, scan of orignial (PDF) | Appendix and Index, scan of original (PDF)
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