Contents
1. The Trail We Will Follow 1
What’s In a Name? 2
What Was the Territory? 3
Who Made Things Work? 4
How Did the Staff Change? 6
2. Early Forest and Range Research 7
Grazing Studies 7
Silviculture and Products 8
Fire Studies 8
Water Studies 8
Insect Studies 9
The Branch of Research 10
Congressional Support 10
3. Priest River—Early Days 11
Site Selection 11
Program and Headquarters Changes 13
Harry Gisborne—Inspirational Leader 14
Marshall Hikes Into History 18
4. Great Basin—Early Days 21
Arthur Sampson—Father of Range Management 22
Direction and Name Problems 24
Plantings Fail to Take Root 25
Range Research Ventures Beyond Great Basin 26
The Cowboy Forester 27
Some Help Arrives, but Not Much 28
Was the Work Important? 29
5. Congress Authorizes Stations 31
6. The Northern Rocky Mountain Station, 1926-1953 33
Experimental Areas—Establishment and Disestablishment 33
Other Special Areas 35
Cooperators Join Council 36
Forest Survey Begins and Interest Grows in Other Work 37
Depression Years 38
Where the Tall Timber Grew 39
The Boys Roll Up Their Sleeves—The CCC Era 41
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Learning About Larch 42
Greening the Grasslands and Summer Ranges 45
World War II Intervenes 47
Research Recovers 48
The Research Center Concept 48
New Emphasis Areas 50
Fire Research Takes off with Barrows 51
7. The Intermountain Station, 1928-1953 55
Renner, Pearse, and Peg-leg Annie 55
Hail to the Chiefs 57
Intermountain Officially Arrives 59
The Committee Complains, but Advances are Made 59
New Deal Was a Good Deal for the Station 60
Science Grows in the Boise Basin 61
Experimental Ranges Created 64
Wisdom Flows from Watersheds 66
Range Remains Important 70
The Old Headquarters—An Ogden Landmark 70
Field Day Concept Spreads 72
Time Out for War 73
8. Merger and Change, 1954 75
The Headquarters Question 75
A Time of Adjustment 76
Beetles, Budworms, and Bushes Get Lots of Attention 77
Bingham’s Team Turns the Tide 80
Range Is Rearranged 81
More New Directions 83
9. The Expansion Era 85
Harper’s Influence 85
Forestry Schools Grow 86
10. Station Growth, 1955-1971 87
Research Helps Win “Range Wars” 87
The Beef Was at Benmore 89
Sediment Spells Trouble for Salmon 91
Watershed Work Changes Course in the North 94
The Fire Lab Fires Up 95
Rothermel Had the Right Formula 97
Pat Andrews—Reluctant “First Lady” 100
Seeing in the Dark 101
Raising the Education Bar 103
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Modern Labs Matriculate 104
To Spray, Or Not To Spray 108
Aha! The Wilderness Unit Discovers a Better Approach 109
Tree Planting Success Soars 111
The Stamp of Quality 113
Introducing Friendly Fires 114
Helping Elk Thrive 119
Mr. Plummer’s Opus 121
Fire Danger Rating Goes National 123
Thunder Joins Lightning at the Fire Lab 124
11. New Approaches, 1971-1990 129
Chuck Wellner—Forest Science Visionary 129
A Better Way to See the Forest 132
Dr. Stage Made the Right Prognosis 135
Administrative Changes 136
Special Programs Bring Special Problems and Achievements 137
The Challenge of Managing Change 144
The P&A Training Ground 146
A Lot More to Survey 148
Family Fights Erupt 149
Willkommen to High-Elevation Forestry 150
Integrating Insects with Management 152
Getting the Word Out—The Station’s Strong Suit 156
INTercom Makes the Connection 161
50 Years of Noble Service 162
Major Program Shifts 163
Reclaiming the High Country 167
Revising the Revision 169
Peter Koch—Superstar 170
High Hopes Come Crashing Down 171
Chemists Formulate New Fire Analyses 172
Long-Term Desert Range Work Completed 174
Controversies Inspire Riparian Research 174
Range Scientists Round Up the Knowledge 176
The Sages of Sagebrush 179
Two (Happy) People, One Paycheck 182
Boise Basin Research Regenerated, Briefly 183
Publishing Firsts 184
Exploring the Past to See the Future 186
Aquatic Science Moves into the Mainstream 188
A New Experimental Forest (Finally) 190
Tough Guys (and Gals) Do Research 192
A New Role for Great Basin 197
The Volunteers 201
The Ecosystem Approach Comes to Lick Creek 202
The Leopold Wilderness Institute 205
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12. Consolidations and a New Station 207
Bev Holmes—Ace Administrator 207
Co-locations 208
No, It’s Not the IRS 210
The Last Picture Show 211
The Final Merger 211
13. Not In The Line Of Duty 215
The Most Constructive Turk 215
Numbskull! 216
Fairies and Farewells 219
Give Us a Break 221
14. A Quick Trip Through the Last Two Decades 223
Interviews 239
References 240
Appendix A. Pechanec Remembers His Early Days in Research 248
Appendix B. A Few Days with Ralph at the Desert Range 250
Index 254
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