Introduction
Welcome to the Forest Service, the largest agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a volunteer, you will be helping manage resources that are increasingly important to our Nation. In recent years, the Forest Service has relied on volunteers to maintain trails, serve as hosts at campgrounds, and perform many other valuable services. Without volunteers, these services would not be performed as well or might not be performed at all.
This guide will provide you with a brief history of the Forest Service, an overview of the volunteer program, and some information you will need to work safely and productively for the agency. We hope it helps you become at ease in your new position.
Volunteer coordinators can refer to a more comprehensive guide:
"Volunteers in the Forest Service: A Coordinator's Desk Guide" (Tech. Rep. 0967–2814–MTDC).
Establishment of the Forest Service
When the first European settlers arrived on American soil, forests covered nearly all the land from the Eastern Seaboard to the Great Plains. Due to concern about deforestation and unregulated cutting, laws to protect timber stands were passed as early as 1807. Such laws were virtually ignored.
In 1891, Congress gave the President the power to establish forest reserves from the public domain to protect timber and to ensure a regular flow of water in streams. The forest reserves were placed under the administration of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In 1905, management of the forest reserves was transferred to a new agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot was named the first Chief (figure 1). Other land management agencies, such as the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, are in the U.S. Department of the Interior. In a letter dated February 1, 1905, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson laid out the guiding principles of the Forest Service to the new Chief. An excerpt of the letter follows:
Figure 1—Gifford Pinchot, Governor of Pennsylvania
(Chief of the Forest
Service, 1905 to 1910),
rides up
Pennsylvania Avenue in President Coolidge’s
1925 inaugural parade.
"In the administration
of the forest reserves, it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to
be devoted to the most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people
and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies…. You
will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the reserves are conserved
and wisely used under businesslike regulations enforced with promptness, effectiveness,
and common sense…. Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, the
question will always be decided from the standpoint of the greatest good for
the greatest number in the long run…."
—James Wilson, Secretary
of Agriculture, 1897 to 1913
(continued)
