department and eliminating 
forest fires. 
The first attempt in 1929 
failed by a wide margin. In 
the meantime, the College of 
Agriculture had employed an 
extension forester and a 
professor of forestry. A 1930 
extension circular, "Forestry 
and Forest Fires in Arkansas," 
prepared by E. Murray Bruner 
of the USDA Forest Service, 
provided good background 
information for use in the 
efforts. The year 1930 was 
also a bad fire year, which 
probably helped spur the 
legislature to action. 
The 1931 legislature passed 
Act 234, which created the 
State Forestry Commission 
and set forth its duties, 
including the employment of 
a State Forester. With the 
Depression upon them, 
Arkansas’ legislators 
appropriated no funds in 
1931 or 1933. The State 
could not accept the offer of 
Civilian Conservation Corps 
camps on State and private 
lands because Arkansas did 
not have an active forestry 
organization and 
fire-protection system. When 
the legislature would not 
provide the funds, Gov. J.M. 
Futrell appealed to the public 
for donations and in a few 
months had nearly $8,000. 
On May 23, 1933, Charles A. 
Gillett, at that time State 
Extension Forester, was 
appointed State Forester. He 
immediately called the first 
meeting of the commission 
and got his organization 
under way (Lang 1965). 
National Association of 
State Foresters 
Though many of the State 
Foresters had met in Atlantic 
City, NJ, in April 1920 to 
discuss the allocation of 
Federal funds under the 
Weeks law, Forest Service 
Chief Greeley asked all the 
State Foresters to come to 
Atlantic City again that 
November in an effort to 
broaden support for a Forest 
Service proposal to expand 
the cooperative efforts in fire 
control and other areas of 
interest to the States and to 
industry. Greeley favored 
higher levels of cooperation 
and control of programs at 
the State level rather than 
any form of Federal control 
and regulation. Former Chief 
Pinchot, then State Forester 
of Pennsylvania, did not 
agree and argued that 
29 
