United States. Forest Service

The Emergency Conservation Committee highlights the importance of the Olympic Peninsula as a habitat for wildlife species and forests, including Roosevelt Elk and Douglas fir trees. It urges the expansion of the Olympic Peninsula National Monument to encompass all the terrain originally reserved for it, prior to President Woodrow Wilson reducing its size, and hopes that this expansion may serve as a prelude to further protections and the establishment of a national park.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1934-06

Creator(s)

Emergency Conservation Committee

The Emergency Conservation Committee outlines twelve problems that it views of immediate importance, and provides suggestions of who to contact to help encourage action on the various matters.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1935-05

Creator(s)

Emergency Conservation Committee

Char Miller recounts the friendship and working relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, and he gives an introduction to a eulogy Pinchot wrote for the Journal of Forestry after Roosevelt’s death in early 1919. In the eulogy, Pinchot discusses the important role that Roosevelt played in establishing the United States Forest Service and in greatly expanding the scope of federally protected forest land.

Three photographs, including two of Pinchot, a 1912 campaign poster supporting Roosevelt, and a page from the Journal of Forestry eulogy supplement the article. The text includes the complete eulogy penned by Pinchot.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2017

Char Miller charts the long path that led to the passage in 1911 of the Weeks Act which provided for the purchase of forest lands in the eastern and southern United States by the federal government to protect the adjacent navigable rivers. Miller highlights the efforts of John W. Weeks of Massachusetts who pushed for the legislation as a member of Congress. Miller lists some of the provisions of the legislation, and he notes how the preservation of forest lands was extended to the Appalachian Mountain watershed in the South. Miller argues that combining the preservation of forest lands in the Northeast and South gave the legislation more support in Congress, and he describes how Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt tried to overcome southern hostility to measures by the federal government to purchase forest land. 

Photographs of Pinchot and Weeks, two advertisements from the U.S. Forest Service celebrating the centennial of the Weeks Act, and the text of a speech by Roosevelt supplement the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Secretary of the Interior Wilbur speaks at the dedication of Lassen Volcanic National Park, recounting the history of the effort to designate the area as a national park, and the improvements which were necessary to do so. Wilbur acknowledges the help the Department of the Interior and National Park Service have received from the people of northern California, as well as the efforts of a number of legislators and government employees. He reflects on the National Park Service as a whole, and emphasizes that the park belongs not only to California, but to the entire United States. (In his speech Wilbur mistakenly identifies William H. Taft, rather than Theodore Roosevelt, as the president who initially created Lassen and Cinder Cone National Monuments in 1906)

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1931-07-25

Creator(s)

Wilbur, Ray L. (Ray Lyman), 1875-1949

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Sweeney confirms receipt of the letter from Secretary of Agriculture Houston stating that officers of the Forest Service have been directed to continue maintaining the lands within the boundaries of the newly created Lassen Volcanic National Park until the Department of the Interior can assume their maintenance, and thanks him for the action taken in this matter. He hopes Congress will appropriate funds allowing the Department of the Interior to take control over the park before the present session adjourns.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-08-21

Creator(s)

Sweeney, Bo, 1862-1917

Secretary of Agriculture Houston has learned that the bill to create Lassen Volcanic National Park was approved by President Woodrow Wilson recently, and informs Secretary of the Interior Lane that he has directed the local officers of the Forest Service to continue to protect the area from fire or injury until such time as the officers of the Department of the Interior can take over the work.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-08-14

Creator(s)

Houston, David Franklin, 1866-1940

Acting Secretary of Agriculture Vrooman informs Secretary of the Interior Lane that the only permanent improvement currently present in the Lassen Volcanic National Park is twenty miles of telephone lines. He includes a diagram showing the area of the National Park, as well as the approximate location of the telephone line. Vrooman confirms that members of the Forest Service have been directed to continue to protect the park from fire or damage until the Department of the Interior can take over administration, and asks if there is an estimate of when this transfer might take place.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-09-08

Creator(s)

Vrooman, Carl Schurz, 1872-1966

National Park Service Director Mather thanks Lewis Carrigan, Secretary-Manager of the Northern California Counties Association, for his letter reporting the attitude of his organization regarding the Lassen Volcanic National Park. Mather explains that due to a lack of funding the Forest Service has been managing the park lands thus far, but mentions that the National Park Service has requested an appropriation of $5,000 for the park for the coming year. Mather is sure Lassen Volcanic National Park will be a compliment to other parks in the area, and is glad to hear about the support for the park that Carrigan reports.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1920-01-23

Creator(s)

Mather, Stephen Tyng, 1867-1930

Lewis Carrigan, Secretary-Manager of the Northern California Counties Association, sends Director of the National Park Service Mather a letter outlining the opinion of his organization regarding the movement to have Lassen Volcanic National Park returned to the Forest Service. The Northern California Counties Association is firmly of the opinion that Lassen Volcanic National Park should remain a national park, and opposes any effort to remove this designation from it.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1920-01-12

Creator(s)

Carrigan, Lewis, -1948

The Susanville Chamber of Commerce issues a resolution opposing the “abandonment and discontinuance of the Peter Lassen National Park as a National Park, and the return of the lands embraced therein to the Forest Service.” It also encourages the United States Congress to make the necessary appropriations to allow for improvement of the park.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1920-01-17

Creator(s)

Arnold, Medford R. (Medford Roop), 1885-1967

George F. Pollock, Acting Commissioner of the General Land Office, inform Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock that his office has received a letter from Senator George C. Perkins enclosing a petition from citizens of California for the creation of a national park encompassing “Lassen Peak and its surroundings.” Pollock describes the area around Lassen Peak and the various points of interest therein, concluding that “there are, without doubt, many points of scientific and scenic interest in the vicinity that should receive the fullest protection possible, which can only be afforded by the creation of a national park.” He suggests that the Forest Service be consulted in this matter, as nearly all points of interest are located in the Lassen Peak Forest Reserve.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-10-22

Creator(s)

Pollock, George F.

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson sends Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock copies of three reports regarding the proposed Lassen Peak National Park. While a satisfactory examination of all the points was not possible, the reports show the importance of the various sites and describe the major areas of interest. The Forest Officer who made these reports, Louis A. Barrett, recommended that these sites be made individually into National Monuments, rather than declaring the entire region a National Park due to the scattered nature of the sites, and the possible complications of declaring a National Park within a National Forest. Wilson therefore recommends that they be designated National Monuments as quickly be possible, which will protect the sites while also not precluding the creation of a National Park at a later date.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-04-01

Creator(s)

Wilson, James, 1835-1920

This brief biography of Gifford Pinchot recounts his accomplishments as first Chief of the United States Forest Service, as well as later in life. Pinchot participated heavily in Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party, and was later elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1922 and 1930 as a Republican. Pinchot helped found many associations focused on forestry and conservation, and was additionally a founder of the Roosevelt Memorial Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Unknown

The front of the Summer, 1987 Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal shows a portrait of Gifford Pinchot, while the back cover depicts the Pinchot Family Home in Milford, Pennsylvania. The home is now owned by the United States Forest Service, and is open to the public as a museum.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Edward P. Cliff provides a brief history of Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership of the conservation movement. Cliff highlights Roosevelt’s role in founding the Boone and Crockett Club, emphasizes the importance of Roosevelt’s friendship with Gifford Pinchot and their role in establishing the Forest Service, and notes the use that Roosevelt made of the Antiquities Act to create national monuments.

A photograph of Roosevelt at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam and an illustration of Roosevelt in a dynamic speaking pose accompany the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

Frank C. Spencer reviews the history of Wheeler National Monument, including both the history of the area under Native Americans and European explorers, as well as his own involvement in the designation of the area as a National Monument. The area is formed by an eroded lava flow, and Spencer and his companions named various formations many different fanciful names when they traveled there. Spencer was a strong advocate for this location, and helped convince President Roosevelt to set the area aside as Wheeler National Monument.

Collection

Rio Grande National Forest

Creation Date

1924-03

Creator(s)

Spencer, Frank C. (Frank Clarence)

A list of Forest Supervisors of the Rio Grande National Forest noting their years of service, as well as their present occupation if known.

Collection

Rio Grande National Forest

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown

This history of the Rio Grande National Forest focuses primarily on the timber industry within the Rio Grande National Forest. Prior to the area’s inclusion in the national forest system, it “suffered many abuses pertaining to the mismanagement of timber resources.” Additionally included in the report are lists of early sawmills and early timber sales associated with the Rio Grande National Forest.

Collection

Rio Grande National Forest

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown

A description of how to access Wheeler Geologic Area, as well as recommendations of how best to traverse it. The road leading there is “roundabout, rough, and slow,” and requires four wheel drive after a certain point.

Collection

Rio Grande National Forest

Creation Date

1981-05

Creator(s)

Creede Ranger District

Language

English