The US Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that watches over the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. These areas encompass 193 million acres of United States soil. The National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, and the branch of Research and Development are all divisions of the US Forest Service.In 1876, Congress created the office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the state of the forests in the United States. Appointed head of the office was Franklin B. Hough. And In 1881, the office was expanded into the, at that time, newly formed Division of Forestry. Some of the acts that were passed by the Forest Service were the Forest Reserve Act of 1891 which authorized the withdraw of land parcels from the public domain as forest reserves. This land was managed by the Department of the Interior. In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the Bureau of Forestry. The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of forest reserves from the General Land Office of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, now known as the US Forest Service. The first Chief Forester of the US Forest Service and Landscape Architect was Gifford Pinchot.There are now forests across the United States in his name.
Some of the federal legislation which affects the Forest Service includes:
- Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960
- Wilderness Act
- National Forest Management Act
- National Environmental Policy Act
- Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act
- Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act
For an extensive history of the United States Forest Service: The U.S. Forest Service: A History
The U.S. Forest Service: A History by Harold K Steen.
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