Hi, pj369-ga!
I found your question to be a quite interesting one, and more
challenging than I initially had expected. However, a little
perseverance does pay off. I believe that I've found the information
you are looking for. I will summarize my findings in this answer, and
provide you with links to the (extensive) data that I have found about
the history of the National Forest system, the National Forest Service
and its related entities since they were established.
I will first answer your questions directly, and then provide some
context and background for you to review and peruse.
I think that your first question could quite honestly be answered "all
(or most) of the above", although I have found no officially such
stated intent in either laws or records. The documents I have reviewed
describing the events that took place at the time, however, seem to
bear out this conclusion.
The answer to your second question is "yes", but it doesn't seem that
there was a direct change in the purpose from one activity to another.
Rather, it seems that the initial purpose was somewhat vague or
subject to abuse of authority by the President. Initally, National
Forests were created by proclamation of the President, and President
Harrison (and several other Presidents) failed to endear himself to
Congress by setting aside 13 million acres of public lands without
consulting anyone.
Congresses since 1891 have refined, added, and updated the purpose of
the National Forest system to meet changing needs and changing
technology, as well as reflecting our changing understanding of
nature.
The first place I looked was in the United States Code, which you can
access yourself at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode. It is a
remarkable resource, and one that I get a lot of use out of.
I began reviewing 16 USC 2, Subchapter I. Title 16 of the US Code
deals with Conservation, while Chapter 2 deals with National Forests.
Chapter 3 of the same title covers Forests, the Forest Service,
Reforestation, and Management. For a good overview of what laws affect
our National Forests and other public lands, this is a good place to
start. It is, however, somewhat long and convoluted, as the US Code
tends to be.
[Cornell University US Code Web Site]
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode
[United States House US Code Web Site]
http://uscode.house.gov/
I prefer the Cornell version, simply because it is cleaner and easier
to navigate. The House one should probably be considered the
"canonical" version, however.
It should be noted that the US Code is basically the codified version
of all Public Laws, which are the actual laws created by Congress.
This means that it is not always easy to follow a Public Law abstract
to its eventual resting place within the US COde.
[Title 16 of the US Code]
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/16/index.html
Section 471 of 16 USC 2.2 refers to the establishment of the National
Forests on March 3, 1891. However, this section was repealed on
October 21, 1976 by the 94th Congress in a bill sponsored by Senator
Haskell, Public Law 94-579, also titled the "National Resource Lands
Management Act".
Another extremely valuable resource turned out to be the USDA Forest
Service web site, in particular the Archives of the Forest Service.
[USDA Forest Service Web Site]
http://www.fs.fed.us/
[USDA Forest Service Archives]
http://fs.jorge.com/archives
Expand the node "National Forest Service History" by clicking on the
small yellow bullet. It's not very intuitive at first how to use the
menu.
From this site, there are links to the history of the US Forest
Service and its precursors. In particular, it cited the very first
legislation which established the National Forests, entitled the
"Forest Reserve (Creative) Act of March 3, 1891".
SECTION 24--The president of the United States may, from time to time,
set apart and reserve, in any state or territory having public land
bearing forests, in any part of the public lands, wholly or in part
covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or
not, as public reservations; and the president shall, by public
proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the
limits thereof. (26 Stat. 1095)
However, this isn't truly the beginning of the story.
[The USDA Forest Service: The First Century]
By Gerald W. Williams, Ph.D., Historical Analyst
USDA Forest Service Office of Communication
http://fs.jorge.com/archives/History_National/FS_History_PamphletWeb.htm
This document describes in detail the forces that led to the creation
of the National Forests as we know them today, and provides a lot of
background regarding the issues, both economic and political,
surrounding the creation of the National Forest System. I will provide
a capsule overview of some of the information contained in this
document, but I highly recommend that you review it yourself, as there
is a lot of information to be had.
After the Civil War, there was a huge movement to the Western United
States, and there was little or no oversight of how lands were being
managed, used, or misused. Little or no regard was being paid to
conservation or management of these resources.
On August 15, 1876, a small amendment attached to an unrelated bill
provided $2000 to fund a study on matters related to forest use. The
report was delivered two years later, in 1878, under the unassuming
title "Report on Forestry". The individual who conducted this study
was Dr. Franklin B. Hough, who for all practical purposes was the
first forestry agent of the US.
In 1891, the aforementioned Forest Reserve Act of 1891 was passed.
Then-President William Henry Harrison created 15 forest reserves
encompassing over 13 million acres by 1893.
Over the next decades, Congress and the US grappled with the needs of
the country and conservation, and no small amount of rancor ensued.
However, the Forest Service was established in 1905, under the
auspices of Gifford Pinchot, who has a forest named after him in
Wyoming today.
In order to answer your original question as precisely as possible, my
reading of the resources I have found is that the National Forests
were originally established as a means to ensure conservation and
hopefully prevent misuse of public lands. The basic mission of what is
now the USDA Forest Service is still essentially that, although it is
quite expanded and covers a much wider range of responsibilities. As
an example, the original 'Use Book' of the Forest Service was
apparently a fairly small tome. Today, that same book is over 1600
pages, and all the laws that encompass the National Forest system fill
"several bookshelves".
In conclusion, your question is a simple one on the surface, but has
turned out to be quite a challenge, as what we today call the National
Forest system is the product of a lot of change and evolution from its
earliest beginnings.
If you are interested in getting the most detailed information
possible, I would recommend contacting the USDA Forest Service Office
of Communication. Most of the useful documents I found while
researching this article came from there, in particular from one
Gerald W. Williams, PhD. He is not listed on the Forest Service Office
of Communications web page (below), but there are a lot of other
contacts there who I'm sure would be willing to help you further.
If I can provide any further information or clarification for you,
please don't hesitate to ask. I sincerely hope this information is of
use to you.
Best regards,
Cyclometh (cyclometh-ga)
Search strategy:
history "National Forest"
United States Forest Service
Supporting links:
[THOMAS, the Library of Congress Bill Info System]
http://thomas.loc.gov
[Public Law 94-579, repealing the Forest Reserve (Creative) Act of
March 3, 1891]
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d094:SN00507:@@@L|TOM:/bss/d094query.html|
[USDA Forest Service Archives (reproduced from above)]
http://fs.jorge.com/archives
[USDA Forest Service Office of Communication]
http://www.fs.fed.us/contactus/oc.shtml
[Early Years of National Forest Management]
By Gerald W. Williams, PhD
http://fs.jorge.com/archives/History_National/1897OrganicActESAPaper.htm
[National Forest Museum]
http://www.nfs-museum.org
(This museum is a work in progress, apparently, but you can very
likely get some good information or resources on National Forests and
their history from contacting them.) |
