General Information About the Forest History Society

Take a video tour of the Forest History Society!

Join Larry Tombaugh, longtime member and past Chairman of the Board, as he leads you on a tour through our facilities, programs, and collections.

	View in Quicktime (download Quicktime)
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Select an option above based on the media player(s) you have, or download a (free) player. The video will open in a new window and begin streaming.

The FHS would like to thank Michael Salerno of Nova Video in Durham, NC, and Jonathan Pattishall, a student at Jordan High School, for producing this new video introduction, and the Duke University Office of Information Technology for providing streaming services.

Our Purpose

The Forest History Society (FHS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational institution that links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources -- timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values. Through programs in research, publication, and education, the Society promotes and rewards scholarship in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history while reminding all of us about our important forest heritage.

Our Programs

Since its establishment in 1946 the Forest History Society has developed numerous programs to facilitate the dissemination of information about the history of human interaction with the environment and natural resources. Each program area supports a vital part of our mission. FHS continually seeks innovative ways of enhancing its programs and new methods for promoting the study of environmental history. FHS programs center around the following broad categories:

• Research
• Publishing
• Education
• Fellowships and Awards
• Special Events and Projects

Our Professional Staff and Board

Throughout the history of the Forest History Society, staff with varied backgrounds and specialized skills have helped FHS achieve its programming goals. Historians, foresters, archivists, librarians, education specialists, editors, writers, journalists, filmmakers, and administrative personnel have all contributed time and expertise to the daily operations or special projects of Forest History Society. Guided by the collective wisdom of our board of directors and led by our visionary president, the FHS staff is comprised of highly qualified individuals who work cooperatively as a group to inform societal perceptions of forest, conservation, and environmental history.

Our Partners

The financial support of Forest History Society members has traditionally provided the foundation upon which FHS has been able to build its programs and expand its mission. Over the years generous gifts from corporations and philanthropists have allowed the Society to establish endowment funds that have helped ensure the longtime financial security of the organization. Today FHS operates on an annual fund basis that encourages donors to pledge an ongoing partnership with the Society that will allow FHS to continue its important mission into the next half century of its existence.