The precursor to the United States Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry was established in 1881. The Division's primary mission was information. Three years later, scientific experimentation was added to the Division's responsibilities. President Harrison established the first timber land reserve on March 30, 1891, and placed it under the control of the General Land Office, rather than the Division of Forestry. In 1901 the Division was renamed Bureau of Forestry, with Gifford Pinchot as the Forester.

An Act on February 1, 1905, establishing the U.S. Forest Service, in the Department of Agriculture, also transferred the national forest reserves from the General Land Office to the Department of Agriculture. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson provided direction for the young agency, in a letter he wrote to chief forester Pinchot.

Pinchot organized the Forest Service quickly. He adapted previous administrative plans devised by Filibert Roth, chief of Division R in the General Land Office; used his mentor, Sir Dietrich Brandis' suggestions; and relied on a cadre of students and "experts" who wanted to serve the budding agency.

He issued The Use Book: Regulations and Instructions for the Use of the National Forests in 1905. It became the pocket-sized guidebook for the men in the field. Beginning in 1907, he also published a free, abridged version for the public entitled The Use of the National Forests. In it he assured neighbors of the forests that the prime reason for the existence of the Forest Service was to protect the lands from the "land skinner" but not to prevent their legitimate use by law abiding citizens.

In 1907 the reserves were renamed National Forests. During the following year, 6 district (by October 1930, known as regional) offices were organized in the West for administering field work. The office of State and Private Forestry Cooperation was also established in 1908, as was the first Forest Experiment Station, at Fort Valley, Arizona.

Henry Graves, the second chief of the Forest Service, continued to expand the presence of forest research, opening the Forest Products Laboratory in 1910 and consolidating the various research projects around the country under the Branch of Research in 1915.

The establishment of Eastern national forests began after President Taft signed the Weeks Law, on March 1, 1911. The law created a National Forest Reservation Commission and authorized federal funds to purchase lands on the watersheds of navigable streams. District 7 (Eastern District) was established in 1914, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

By July, 1934, under Chief Silcox's administration, ten regions existed--Northern, Rocky Mountain, Southwestern, Intermountain, California, North Pacific, Eastern, Southern, North Central, and Alaska. The Research branch, under the direction of Earle Clapp oversaw eleven Forest and Range Experiment Stations, organized in similar geographic zones, and the Forest Products Laboratory, at Madison, Wisconsin.

During subsequent years, the Forest Service continued to expand and consolidate National Forests, Research Stations, and Regional Offices. The agency also transferred lands to the Department of the Interior for National Parks and Monuments. Periodically, debates occurred concerning the proper home for the Forest Service. Should it remain in the Department of Agriculture, as Pinchot argued, or should it move to the Department of the Interior, to create a broader Department of Conservation?

As American society gained more leisure time, the national forests became valuable for recreation and a movement arose to protect areas of wilderness. Wildlife management became yet another responsibility for the agency. The agency came under increasing pressure to manage the national forests for more than watershed protection and timber production.

The U.S. Forest Service Headquarters History collection contains laws and legislation affecting agency organization, documents pertaining to reorganization, and administrative reviews and procedures. Contact a staff member for more information, or to retrieve documents from the collections database.

Forest Service Culture

"Sinking New Roots" speech by Gail Kimbell, 2007.

National Forest System

Secretary Wilson's Letter (1905)

Creation of the National Forests

Adding and Eliminating National Forests (1910)

The Weeks Law (1911)

Hull, Elizabeth, James G. Lewis, and Dianne Timblin. "Views from the National Forests: A Photo Essay." (2005) [pdf]

Research

Olberding, Susan Deaver. "Fort Valley: The Beginnings of Forest Research. (2000) [pdf]

Zerbe, John I., and Phyllis A. D. Green. "Extending the Forest Resource: 90 Years of Progress at the Forest Products Laboratory." (1999) [pdf]

State and Private Forestry

A Federal Commitment to Forest Conservation on Private Lands: The Story of State and Private Forestry in the USDA Forest Service (1996) by James W. Giltmier