From its earliest beginning in 1908 with the creation of four Lake States
National Forests, Region 9 has grown in size and importance. By the time
of WWII, it was clear that the Region had taken its rightful place among
the Regions of the Forest Service.
The Forest Service regions were transferred from DC to field headquarters
sometime during 1908. At that time, National Forests in northern Minnesota
and northern Michigan were listed under the administration of Region 2
at Denver, CO. These National Forests (Minnesota NF; Marquette NF; Michigan
NF; and Superior NF) remained under the jurisdiction of Region 2 until
March 1909 when they were transferred to Region 1 with headquarters in
Missoula, MT. On February 1, 1913, administration was retransferred to
Region 2 at Denver, CO.
The first Eastern Region was Region 7. Created in 1914, R7 included National
Forests in all East Coast states and the entire area west to Arkansas
excluding the Great Lakes area. By 1918, Region 7 included all of the
southern National Forests extending as far west as Oklahoma. At this time,
the Regions, then called Districts*, operated little more than as an adjunct
to the office of the Chief Forester in DC. (* Districts became known as
Regions in the 1930's)
The major factor in the establishment of a separate region in the Lakes
States was the passage of the Clarke-McNary Act of June 7, 1924. This
amended the Weeks Act and authorized the purchase of land for timber production
purposes as well as for streamflow protection. The establishment of Region
9, the Lakes States Region, was on December 22, 1928, with temporary headquarters
in Madison, WI. The Lakes States, R9, Regional Office moved to Milwaukee
in 1929.
Between 1924 and 1929, purchase units in Wisconsin (Flambeau, Moquah,
and Oneida) were established in the Lake States Region (R9). On January
3, 1930, North Dakota was also added to Region 9. Further expansion of
R9 occurred later that year with the addition of several purchase units
and National Forests in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and
Missouri. These five states were formerly administered as part of Region
7, the Eastern Region. In 1933, as a result of this expansion, Region
9 (Lake States Region) was renamed the North Central States Region.
In 1934, the Eastern Region (R7) was divided into 2 regions by creating
the Southern Region (R8) with headquarters in Atlanta. At that time, Region
8 encompassed all of the National Forests south of Kentucky and Virginia.
The Eastern Region (R7), contained only seven National Forests: the Green
Mountain NF, Vermont; White Mountain, New Hampshire; Allegheny, Pennsylvania;
Monongahela, West Virginia (all currently R9 Forests) and the Cumberland
NF (currently Daniel Boone NF), Kentucky; George Washington and Jefferson
NFs, Virginia.
In 1941, the Eastern Region (R7) headquarters moved from DC to Philadelphia,
PA. Originally, the new offices were located in a downtown building, which
presened parking and transportation problems for employees. In addition,
the city of Philadelphia collected an income tax on employees. Because
of these disadvantages, the Eastern Regional Office was move to the nearby
town of Upper Darby, PA.
The Wayne and Hoosier purchase units were consolidated in August, 1949.
In a news release Regional Forester, Jay H. Price, explained the reason
for this administrative action: "We have found it necessary, as an
economy move, to combine the administration of our purchase units in Indiana
and Ohio. The administrative headquarters of the Wayne Purchase Unit,
now located in Columbus, Ohio, will be vacated sometime in September and
established in Bedford, Indiana, the present headquarters of the Indiana
Unit. The consolidated units will be known as the Wayne-Hoosier Purchase
Units".
Although included in the National Forest System as purchase units in
the 1930's, it was not until 1951 that the Wayne-Hoosier National Forest
was established through official proclamation.
Administrative consolidation of the Mark Twain and Clark National Forests
in Missouri occurred in 1953. Headquarters of the Mark Twain in Springfield,
MO were moved to Rolla, MO and merged with the headquarters of the Clark.
In announcing the reorganization of the administrative units in Missouri,
Regional Forester Price pointed out that "it is one of several being
made to permit the Forest Service to operate within terms of the current
budget and still provide customary degree of service at the District Ranger
level".
By 1956, several units of Region 9, North Central States Region, were
abandoned as National Forest administered lands. These purchase units
included: Bellevue-Savanna, IL; St. Croix, MN; Souris-Sheyenne, ND; and
Hawkeye, IO.
In 1965, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of Budget and the
Chairman of the Civil Service Commission set up a joint team to review
management policies and practices in the Forest Service. The review s
conducted from February 15 to July 2, 1965 as part of President Lyndon
Johnson' program for improved management of the Federal Governmen The
resulting document of their findings was called the Deckerd Report. The
report recommended that the approximate size of districts, forests and
regions be more nearly standardized throughout the Service. As defined
by the Deckerd Report, the optimum size of regions was one which had a
span of control over fifteen to nineteen forests.
In response to the span of control concept, Chief Cliff and his staff
decided that Region 7 would be eliminated and its forests divided among
Regions 8 and 9. The White Mountain NF, Green Mountain NF, Allegheny NF
and Monongahela NF were assigned to Region 9 and the George Washington
NF, Jefferson NF and Daniel Boone NF went to Region 8. The Region 7 RO
in Upper Darby, PA was closed and most of the personnel moved to Atlanta
or Milwaukee. With the abolishment of Region 7, the North Central Region
(R9) became the Eastern Region(9) and , with one exception, the Finger
Lakes National Forest*, included National Forest System lands of the current
Eastern Region (R9) configuration. The rest is history....!!!
(*In 1985, the Finger Lakes National Forest, NY was added
to the Eastern Region as a result of the Hector Land Use Project (Bankhead-Jones
land).
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