National Forest Establishment, 1911-33 



Acquisitions Under the 

 Weeks Law 



The Act of March 1, 

 1911 --commonly referred to 

 as the Weeks 

 Law-represented a radical 

 departure from the 

 traditional American policy 

 of private ownership of 

 natural resources and their 

 exploitation for private profit. 

 The concept of Federal 

 public administration of a 

 great natural resource in 

 the public interest went on 

 trial. Progress made by the 

 pioneer foresters was 

 accomplished against 

 difficult odds, and despite 

 public indifference or even 

 antipathy (USDA Forest 

 Service 1933). 



In the context of this 

 prevailing sentiment, the 

 act authorized creation of a 

 National Forest Reservation 

 Commission to select and 

 purchase lands for the 

 expressed purpose of 

 watershed protection. In 

 1912, purchases were 

 limited to areas in the 

 southern Appalachians and 

 White Mountains where the 

 forests were believed to 

 have an impact on the 

 protection of important 

 navigable streams. 



The 1912 Report of the 

 Commission (U.S. 

 Congress, Senate 1912) 

 addressed the question of 

 how much land would be 

 needed to accomplish the 

 objective of watershed 

 protection. The commission 

 recommended that in few 

 cases, if any, would it be 

 desirable to purchase an 

 entire tract since its value 

 for agriculture or other 

 purposes might exceed its 

 value as forest. "Probably 

 the lands ultimately to be 

 required by the Government 

 need not exceed from 

 50-75% of each of the 

 watershed areas," the report 

 stated. Wise selective 

 purchases would ensure 

 protection and permanence 

 of the forest, and these 

 tracts could become 

 demonstrations of practical 

 forest conservation. 



The goal of establishing 

 demonstration forests was 

 more explicitly worded in 

 the Commission's 1915 

 report (U.S. Congress, 

 House of Representatives 

 1915): 



The lands which are 

 being acquired in these 

 areas will become 

 demonstration forests 



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