101 



INFLUENCE OP THE FOREST SERVICE OH 

 PRIVATE FORESTRY 



The first tangible impact on private forestry 

 probably came when the Forestry Division (predecessor 

 of the Forest Service), under Pinchot s direction 

 in 1898 issued a formal offer to help farmers, 

 lumbermen and other private timberland owners apply 

 forestry to their holdings. This, and the response 

 of private owners, is well described in Pinchot s 

 book, Breaking New Ground, 



As Greeley used to say, good private forestry 

 would come about when economic conditions had become 

 favorable. This proved to be a sound forecast. 

 However, I feel sure that given such conditions, the 

 growth of private forestry was stimulated by the 

 example of good forest practice on the national 

 forests and the influence of Forest Service research. 

 Researchers like Raphael Zon in the Lake States, 

 Russell Reynolds at Crossett Experimental Forest in 

 Arkansas, and John Putnam in the Mississippi Delta 

 Hardwoods were regarded by timberland owners and 



