Contents
Page
"HERE WE SHALL PLANT THE TREE OF RESEARCH" ................. 1
THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONS ........ 3
A Vast. Variable. and Valuable Empire .................................... 3
Regions Used Early ...................................................... 5
A Great Public Resource ................................................. 6
THE BEGINNING OF FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH IN THE
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONS ............. 7
Establishment of National Forests Made Forest Investigations Necessary .... 7
Region 2 Investigations .................................................. 8
Fremont Experiment Station ........................................... 8
Wagon Wheel Gap Experiment: A Milestone in Watershed Management
....................................................... 12
Investigations
.
Grazing Investigations ................................................. 14
Region 3 Investigations .................................................. 14
Fort Valley Experiment Station ......................................... 14
Grazing Investigations ................................................. 16
Santa Rita and Jornada Range Reserves ................................. 16
COMPLEXITY OF FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT CALLED FOR
ORGANIZED RESEARCH ................................................ 19
THE SOUTHWESTERN FOREST AND RANGE EXPERIMENT
STATION. 1930-53 ....................................................... 20
Fields of Research ....................................................... 22
Expanded Research Accompanying Aggressive Public Action Programs ...... 23
Headquarters ........................................................... 29
Wartime Casualties ...................................................... 30
Bombs Away! ........................................................... 30
Accomplishments During War Years ...................................... 30
High Costs Hamper Research Efforts ..................................... 32
The First Research Center ................................................ 33
The Beginning of the Arizona Watershed Program .......................... 33
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOREST AND RANGE EXPERIMENT
STATION. 1935-53 ...................................................... 34
"Hat in the Ring" ....................................................... 36
Initial Organization ...................................................... 36
Regional Research Councils and Program Formulation ...................... 37
Manitou Experimental Forest ............................................ 38
Fraser Experimental Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Central Plains Experimental Range ....................................... 41
Key Personnel Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Streamlined Program During War Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Post-War Rebuilding Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Reorganization of Research into Research Centers .......................... 44
Other Programs in the Early Fifties ....................................... 48
"Ike Ate Here" .......................................................... 49
CONSOLIDATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN AND SOUTHWESTERN
STATIONS. 1953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Organizations Meshed and Decentralized .................................. 50
Department of Agriculture Reorganization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW ROCKY
MOUNTAIN STATION. 1953-75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
An Expanding Research Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Arizona Watershed Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Other Accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Increasing Skills to Assist The Expanding Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Facilities to Sustain the Research Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Project Orientation and In-Depth Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Assistant Director Organization to Further Strengthen Research . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Computerized Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adapting Research to Environment ....................................... 80
The Eisenhower Consortium for Western Environmental Forestry Research . . . . 80
Additional Environmental Research ....................................... 81
Multifunctional Research Work Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Further Reorganization of Director's Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
THE DISTAFF SIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Universities and Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Association. Industry. and Private Cooperators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
State and Other Federal Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Ecology and Management of Timber Species. Including Biology and
Ecology of Insects and Diseases. and Forest Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Range Ecology and Range Rehabilitation and Management. Including
Range Livestock Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Watershed Management. Including Erosion Control and Water-Yield
Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Multiple Use Evaluation of Forest Land Management ....................... 90
PERSONNEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Experimental Areas (in chronological order) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Experimental Areas (alphabetically by State). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95