30 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT 



creased use of natural gas, coal, and electricity instead of fuelwood 

 for cooking and heating purposes, and the decreased construction of 

 frame houses concurrently with changing habits of mankind and the 

 tendency to live in concentrated centers, as in apartment houses. 



4. FEDERAL ACTIVITIES AND LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE FOREST 



CONSERVATION 



A knowledge of the history and development of forestry in the 

 United States is necessary for proper understanding of the evolving 

 of a national forest policy. Definite progress was made over a period 

 of approximately fifty years before the present system of forestry 

 came into being. Much discussion, deliberation, and legislation 

 marked the development of federal forestry activities. Almost from 

 the earliest colonial times, fears were expressed for the future of our 

 forest resources. Until recently, little definite information has been 

 available regarding our timber resources, and even at the present time 

 an exhaustive survey is being conducted by the Forest Service to 

 obtain more accurate knowledge of these resources. Although there 

 were many and ineffectual attempts by the federal authorities to 

 encourage forest conservation and growth usually for purposes of 

 national defense, the year 1876 saw the first definite results of the 

 attempt to formulate a federal forest policy. In 1876, Congress appro- 

 priated $2000 to employ a competent man to investigate the timber 

 conditions of the country and report upon them. 



A program of federal legislation has been passed in the following 

 sequence of events: 



1876 First federal appropriation for forestry. Dr. Franklin B. 

 Hough appointed with investigational and informational duties. 



June 30, 1886 Division of Forestry created in the Department of 

 the Interior. This marked the first definite recognition of the im- 

 portance of the forest problem. 



March 3, 1891 The President was authorized to establish forest 

 reserves to be created from the public domain, and on March 3, 1891, 

 the first federal reserve, known as the Yellowstone Park Timber Lands 

 Reserve, was proclaimed by President Harrison. This was the begin- 

 ning of our present National Forest system. 



June 4, 1897 The present National Forest Act was passed, pro- 

 viding for the acquisition and administration of our National Forests, 

 then known as Forest Reserves, under a definite, workable law. 



June 1, 1901 The title, Division of Forestry, was changed to the 

 Bureau of Forestry. 



February 1, 1905 The Bureau of Forestry became the Forest 

 Service, under Gifford Pinchot; and during the next few years under 



