Archive Record
Metadata
Title |
A Historical Analysis of Consolidation at the National Forest and District Level in the U.S. Forest Service |
Catalog Number |
2007.009.475 |
Object Name |
Report |
Scope & Content |
National Forest and District Consolidations History 2007 Appendix C --- Report by Tom L. Thompson prepared for the Forest Service, 47 pages; Two Copies This report documents, in a historical context, organizational change at the forest and ranger district levels of the National Forest System over the hundred-year history of the U.S. Forest Service. Using tables provided in the Appendix for each region within the agency, individual forest information can be tracked for every.forest over time. The tables, which were developed using organizational directories dating back to 1905, display when forests were established and what happened to them over the course of time. Numbers of ranger districts that existed on individual forests at select periods of time on a ten-year interval are also provided. At present there are 113 organizational units at the forest level. Since 1891, when the first forest reserve was created, there have been a total of 380 forests or forest level units established .. The analysis done for this project indicates at least 278 units have been combined or consolidated and 94 units remained or were specifically created in the process. In the early part of the Forest Service history, most of these combinations were done by Executive Order or by congressional action; however, since the 1950's, most have been done administratively within the agency. A number of combined units are comprised of more than one originally established forests so there are actually 155 national forests still remaining, plus the Dakota Prairie Grassland, the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie, and the Land Between the Lands units. In 1920, when Ranger Districts were first being organized, there were 821 ranger districts, and most were in the west. In the following years, another 137 were established in the south and east as forests were created under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911. There were also another 27 districts added in the west in California, Oregon, and Alaska. So in total there have been at least 985 districts in existence at one time or another. Today there are 523 ranger districts. The Rocky Mountain geographic area, which includes Regions 1-4, has seen the greatest reductions in numbers of districts with 323 fewer. The Pacific area, with Regions 5 and 6, and Region 10 in Alaska have 87 fewer districts in total today. Regions 8 and 9 in the east have 52 less than they had in their peak years. |
Year Range from |
2007 |
Year Range to |
2007 |
People |
Thompson, Tom L. |
Subjects |
Forest Consolidation Reorganization |
Search Terms |
Forest Service Administration Fiscal Purchasing Business Mgt |
Catalog date |
2007-08-11 |
Extent of Description |
194 pages; 2-side printing; Letter size paper |
Collection |
Stack, David M |