History
The founding of the National Forest System and the Forest Service,
an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has its roots in
the last quarter of the 19th century. The national forests (at first
called forest reserves) began with the Forest Reserve Act of 1891,
which allowed the president to establish forest reserves from timber
covered public domain land. Several early leaders and visionaries,
along with willing presidents (especially Teddy Roosevelt), scientific
and conservation organizations, and newly trained forestry professionals,
led the successful effort in retaining millions of acres of Federal
forest land for future generations.
The pride and professionalism continue in
the Forest Service today. The United States currently has
a system of 155 national forests, 20 national grasslands, and
222 research and experimental forests, as well as other special
areas, covering more than 192 million acres of public land.
The Forest Service has evolved into a 30,000 employee agency
that manages the national forests for a number of multiple uses,
including recreation, timber, wilderness, minerals, water, grazing,
fish, and wildlife. The history of the agency is long and remarkable.
Over the last century, the Forest Service has initiated numerous,
innovative products and procedures, as well as led the country
and the world in scientific forestry matters. How the Forest
Service got to where it is today is a fascinating story of people,
places, politics, laws, and controversies.
The Forest Service will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2005. To help in the celebration, the Forest
Service is coordinating events through the
New Century of Service. The New Century of Service combines
past traditions, core values, new thinking and a fresh spirit
of service within the Forest Service.
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