The Forest Service— 
from the seedling to the tree... 
The Forest Service was established in 1905 as an agency of 
the Department of Agriculture. It was assigned responsibility 
for a number of programs which until then had been directed by 
various offices of the Federal Government. At that time the 
organization numbered 734 employees. Its biggest job was 
the administration of 60 federally owned forest reserves located 
west of the Great Plains and aggregating 56 million acres. 
Today the Forest Service employs 19,000 people in permanent 
full-time positions and 20,000 more in seasonal work. Major 
responsibilities now include administration of 154 National 
Forests and 19 National Grasslands totaling 186 million acres 
in area; direction of cooperative forestry programs in 50 States, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; operation of 12 regional 
experiment stations and about 100 research project offices, 
laboratories, and smaller installations. 
Even more significant than this expansion and growth is the way 
Forest Service techniques, practices, and standards have kept 
up to date. The present-day counterpart of the picturesque 
oldtime forest protector with his horse and buggy frequently 
travels by airplane and helicopter. Single-lane bridges on 
National Forest roads have given way to modern structures of 
steel and concrete. Forest fires which once occasioned hours 
of travel and days of manual labor are now controlled by up-to- 
the-minute techniques and mechanical equipment. Other ex- 
amples can be cited. Application of engineering skills and 
procedures has had much to do with these developments. 
