The History of Forestry in America 



doubt helped consummate the trans- 

 fer, which was made by act of Con- 

 gress on February 1, 1905. The Bureau 

 of Forestry was renamed Forest Service 

 that year, and the forest reserves were 

 renamed "national forests" in 1907. 



In a letter to Gifford Pinchot, dated 

 February 1, 1905, Secretary of Agri- 

 culture James Wilson laid down the 

 guiding principles. The letter read, in 

 part : 



"In the administration of the forest 

 reserves it must be clearly borne in 

 mind that all land is to be devoted to 

 its most productive use for the perma- 

 nent good of the whole people, and 

 not for the temporary benefit of indi- 

 viduals or companies. All the resources 

 of forest reserves are for use, and this 

 use must be brought about in a thor- 

 oughly prompt and businesslike man- 

 ner, under such restrictions only as 

 will insure the permanence of these 

 resources. 



"In the management of each reserve 

 local questions will be decided upon 

 local grounds; the dominant industry 

 will be considered first, but with as 

 little restriction to minor industries as 

 may be possible; sudden changes in 

 industrial conditions will be avoided 

 by gradual adjustment after due no- 

 tice; and where conflicting interests 

 must be reconciled the question will 

 always be decided from the standpoint 

 of the greatest good of the greatest 

 number in the long run." 



Activities in 1908 and 1909 can be 

 regarded as the culmination of the early 

 conservation movement. The White 

 House Conference of Governors on 

 conservation of natural resources was 

 conducted in 1908. It set up a National 

 Conservation Commission which, in a 

 three-volume report ( 1909) , presented 

 a survey of the status of America's 

 natural resources, including forests. 

 Also in 1909 was held the North Amer- 

 ican Conference on Natural Re- 

 sources, which served to give an 

 international flavor to the movement. 



The first decade of the twentieth 

 century saw the most rapid growth of 

 the national forests, which embraced 



711 



about 56 million acres in 1901, more 

 than 100 million in 1905, and 175 

 million acres in 1910. After 1910 the 

 area was gradually reduced by the 

 elimination of almost 27 million acres 

 that was classified as more valuable 

 for agriculture or grazing than for for- 

 estry. This reduction was partly offset 

 by increases through exchange with 

 States and private owners and by 

 acquisition of land through purchase. 



Most of the forest lands reserved 

 from the public domain were in the 

 West, but the interest in conserving 

 forests for protection of watersheds 

 was almost as strong in the East, 

 where there was little or no Federal 

 public land. The first suggestion that 

 the Government buy land for a forest 

 reserve in the East was made in 1892 

 or 1893 by the State geologist of North 

 Carolina. Later, an Appalachian Na- 

 tional Park Association was formed; 

 in 1901 it induced Congress to author- 

 ize a survey of the Southern Appalach- 

 ian area proposed for a reserve. In 

 1900 and also in 1901 the legislatures 

 of North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 

 and Tennessee authorized the Federal 

 Government to acquire lands for a 

 forest reserve. 



After many attempts, in which the 

 southern interests joined forces with 

 the advocates of a national forest in 

 the White Mountains of New Hamp- 

 shire, Congress was persuaded to enact 

 the Weeks Law of March 1, 191 1. The 

 law provided for the purchase of for- 

 est lands on the headwaters of navi- 

 gable streams, after certification by the 

 Geological Survey that they affect 

 navigation. The authority of this act 

 was broadened in 1924; about 18 

 million acres has been purchased to 

 date. 



At the same time that the national 

 forests were expanding in area, prog- 

 ress was being made in their adminis- 

 tration and management. Six regional 

 offices were set up in 1908 so as to 

 bring the administration closer to the 

 people most concerned. A systematic 

 program of timber surveys was also 

 adopted in 1908 to afford a basis for 



