U.S. Forest Service Organizational Directories Database

The U.S. Forest Service Organizational Directories Database consists of USFS personnel information such as employee names, positions, and office locations. The information contained in the searchable database was compiled from published USFS directories from the years 1905-2004.

The USFS directories were originally published monthly as "Field Programs" beginning in 1904. Later directories, which were refered to as "Service Directories" or "Organizational Directories" were issued two to three times a year on average. For a complete listing of dates the directories were published see the table below.

Since 2004, Directories have not been printed but have been updated online at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/intro/directory/

Coverage and Scope of the Project

The current version is a pilot project for information from only USFS Region 2, the Rocky Mountain Region, and specifically focuses on the following positions: Regional Forester, Forest Supervisor, and District Ranger. It was made possible by support from Region 2.

Interpreting Results and Search Assistance

These directories were created by busy people who were no more perfect than we are, but at this remove in time, they are very often all we have to go on. We have recorded the information in the database directly from the USFS directories with two exceptions. Anything in the search results that appears in brackets is information that comes either from a secondary source (and will be cited as such) or that has been added in order to clarify an entry, such as equivalent position titles or spelling discrepancies.

In addition, some entries may contain notes fields. "Name notes" are included when name variations or possible misspellings occur, and "forest name notes" are included to make the user aware of forest name changes, mergers and the like. A frequently cited source for forest name notes is (Nat Forest of US) which stands for The National Forests of the United States. The general notes field provides any additional information deemed of value to researchers.

The structure of the agency has changed as it has taken on the management of more lands, acquired additional varied roles as science and policy have changed, and increased the number of its employees. In some cases it has been necessary to work backwards in time to determine such things as whether a particular location would have been part of Region 2 in the early days before there were Regions at all.

If you have any difficulty searching the database, our library staff will be glad to perform custom searches of the database on the main library computers and email the results to you. Please contact Eben Lehman, Technical Archivist, by email at eben.lehman@duke.edu or by telephone, 919-682-9319.

USFS Directories, Dates Published

Beginning in August 1904, the USFS began issuing “Field Programmes”. However, employee listings did not begin to appear in these publications until July 1905. Field Programs were published from 1905 to 1920. The directories were then issued under the title "Forest Service Directory" from 1920 until 1951, and finally as "Organizational Directory" from 1952 until the present.

Note that no directories were published from January to June of 1905, as well as for the entire years of 1947, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1969, and 1974.