Learing the Hard Way: The Beginnings of Forest Service Research in Arkansas

Abstract

As the Forest Service celebrates its first century of service, it is helpful to remember the agency's humble beginnings. In July of 1905, soon after Gifford Pinchot achieved his goal of a unified land management organization within the United States Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service had a grand total of 821 employees, including 153 professional foresters, to oversee the millions of acres of national forests they had inherited (Pinchot 1947). Undaunted by this task, Pinchot and other early Forest Service leaders forged ahead with a vision that transformed a once obscure and almost laughable idea of science- based forest management into a sustainable enterprise that has served the American public well.

Citation

Bragg, Don C. 2005. Learing the Hard Way: The Beginnings of Forest Service Research in Arkansas. Journal of Forestry, July/August 2005, p. 248 - 254