Kathleen Snodgrass, Project Leader
Is there a historic lookout on your unit in need of repair? If so, you need to make sure that you don't destroy the historic integrity of the structure when you repair it. Without original plans, it's tough to figure out exactly what was part of the original structure and what has been changed over the years.
Now there is a Web-based resource to help you. Historic fire lookout plans (figure 1) from the Washington Office and the Northern (R-1), Intermountain (R-4), and Pacific Northwest (R-6) Regions are available on the Washington Office Engineering FSWeb site. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees have access to this internal site.
Figure 1—Historic plans of Intermountain Region Lookout 86–A.
- Repairing historic structures requires careful
attention to preserving their historic
integrity.
- The easiest way to know what's original in
a historic structure is to have a copy of the
original plans.
- Over the decades, the original plans for
many historic structures have been lost.
- Standard plans from throughout the Forest Service have been collected on an internal FSWeb site: http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/facilities/std_plan/
The plans can be viewed and printed for reference when planning or designing lookout repairs and renovations. The availability of these plans should make it easier to conform to State Historic Preservation Office requirements and to maintain the historic integrity of lookouts while improving their structural integrity.
The new FSWeb resource is the Historic FS Standard Plans section on the Forest Service's Washington Office Engineering site. You can enter the site directly at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/facilities/std_plan/. You also can locate the site from the FSWeb home page (http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/) by clicking on "Head-quarters Staffs." In the National Forest Systems Deputy Area section, click on "Engineering." In the Design Aids for Facilities section, click on "Drawings and Specifications." Finally, click on "Historic FS Standard Plans."
The Historic FS Standard Plans Web site has plans for many types of structures, as shown in figure 2, a screen shot of the opening page. Plans from Regions 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are available in almost every INFRA building category. Region 7 was eliminated years ago. Their plans were contributed by R-9. The Fire Lookout section is where you will find fire lookout plans.
Figure 2—The Historic FS Standard Plans homepage:
http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/facilities/std_plan/.
Plans are organized by INFRA building category, then by region. A thumbnail view of the building is included, as shown in figure 3, a screen shot of part of the Bunkhouse/Crew Quarters page.
Figure 3—The Bunkhouse/Crew Quarters page:
http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/facilities/std_plan/bunkcrew.htm.
The R-6 drawings are linked directly from the R-6 server. The current links are to Acrobat (.pdf) files that can be opened directly on your screen or saved to your computer. You can reach the R-6 files by clicking either the file number or the thumbnail drawing. Eventually, the drawing number link will lead directly to AutoCAD files.
Plans from all regions except R-6 are available as TIFF (Tagged Image File Format, .tif) files and are sized to produce nice, clear plans when printed on 11- by 17-inch paper. The files are fairly large. You should download them to your computer before opening them. To do so, right click on the drawing number and choose "Save Link As…"
A link on the Historic FS Standard Plans home page explains how to convert the .tif files into the .dwg format so they can be used in AutoCAD and includes information on converting older paper drawings to high-quality .tif files.
File conversion will become increasingly important as older paper or vellum drawings and microfilm continue to degrade. Steve Sichau in R-6 or Richa Wilson in R-4 have successfully and inexpensively converted historic paper drawings to high quality .tif files and can provide advice if you have trouble.
The Historic Forest Service Standard Plans Web site would be even better if it had more drawings. Please contact Kathie Snodgrass at MTDC (ksnodgrass@fs.fed.us or 406–329–3922) if your unit has drawings that you would like to see added. Submit standard plans only, please. We hope you find the new site to be an interesting and useful resource.
About the AuthorKathleen Snodgrass came to MTDC as a project leader in 2001 from the Nez Perce National Forest, where she had been the facilities architect for about 7 years. Before becoming facilities architect, she had worked in facilities, landscape architecture, land line, and general engineering for the Nez Perce National Forest. Kathleen also spent about 10 years working in highway design and construction with the Idaho Division of Highways after graduating from Washington State University in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in architectural studies.
For additional technical information, contact Kathleen Snodgrass at MTDC.
Phone: 406–329–3922
E-mail: ksnodgrass@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC's documents are available on the Internet at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/t-d.php
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees can search a more complete collection of MTDC's documents, videos, and CDs on their internal computer networks at:
