History of the National Forest
In 1905 the United States Government established the Forest Service in an effort to regulate public lands. The purpose of the
Forest Service was to preserve the water and timber supply of the United States. Prior to
their establishment much of North America had been enviromentally degraded due to
deforestation by private timber companies. With the advent of steam power in the mid 1800's about 1/3 of North America's
forest were cleared to fuel the industrial revolution. At this time no regulations were present
and logging companies more or less exploited this to their advantage.
Late 19th Century Sawmill
The first Chief of the Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, established a simple mission statement that
is still appilied by the Forest Service today-—"to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run."
This is known as a Utilitarian approach to Forest management and has made the forest of North America the most sustainable and
resourceful in the whole world.Today, the Forest Service is actively managing 155 National Forest for the greater good America thanks to Gifford Pinchot and other like him.
