1895 Bulletin No. 7, “Forest 
Fires: Their Destructive 
Work, Causes and 
Prevention." He detailed fire 
damage to trees and soil 
and quantified the losses 
caused by wildfire. This 
classic work informed 
readers about how fire and 
grazing damage forests 
and reduce their growth 
potential. He also noted 
that the annual harvest in 
North Carolina was 
substantially greater than 
his estimate of growth (Ashe 
1895). 
Gifford Pinchot recognized 
the importance of the 
privately owned forest lands, 
especially in the East, where 
there were no public lands. 
As Director of the Division 
of Forestry in the 
Department of Agriculture, 
he issued Circular 21 on 
October 15, 1898. This was 
an offer by the division to 
help farmers, lumbermen, 
and other private timberland 
owners to practice forestry 
on their holdings. The offer 
included plans with 
directions for both practical 
work and assistance on the 
ground. The service would 
be provided gratis for 
woodlot owners, but the 
larger owners would have 
2 
to pay travel expenses for 
the forester and the costs 
of local assistants. This 
was the first of many efforts 
by the Federal Government 
to cooperate with private 
landowners to encourage 
the practice of forestry 
(Pinchot 1898). 
By June 30, 1899, 123 
landowners and farmers 
from 35 States, owning 1.5 
million acres, had asked for 
help. They included owners 
of 75 woodlots and 48 
large tracts —a response far 
greater than anticipated 
and beyond the capacity of 
the limited staff to serve 
(Pinchot 1947). By 1905, 
the assistance program 
had been extended to 
ownerships on 11 million 
acres. Pinchot had also 
issued Circular 22 in 1899, 
which offered help to forest 
landowners for tree planting, 
an effort focused on 
reforestation of cutover 
lands (Steen 1976). 
In the Deep South, Henry 
Hardtner was one of the 
earliest people to recognize 
and acknowledge the 
destructive logging and 
burning of Louisiana’s 
forests. He is credited with 
initiating what became Act 
