Early forest investigations provided some
needed guidance in use and management of the
National Forests. Also, administrative studies
contributed to some extent to local use and management. But, the complexity of forest land use
and management soon dictated the need for more
fundamental, continuous, and correlated research.
Thus, in 1915, the Forest Service established the
Branch of Research, headed by Earle H. Clapp,
Assistant Chief. The research activities of the
Forest Experiment Stations, the Forest Products
Laboratory, and the Washington Offices of Products and Silviculture were placed under this new
Branch of Research. Included in the Experiment
Stations were those in the Central and Southern
Rocky Mountain Regions, namely, Fort Valley
at Flagstaff, Arizona, and Fremont and Wagon
Wheel Gap in Colorado. The newly acquired Santa
Rita and Jornada Range Reserves in southern
Arizona and southern New Mexico continued
under the supervision of the Washington Office
of Grazing Studies in the Branch of Grazing until
1926 a t which time they also became a part of
the Branch of Research.
As the importance and use of forest land
resources further increased, the Forest Service
recommended the creation of a nationwide forestresearch program14 consisting of one forest experiment station for each of the 12 major timber
regions of the United States. On May 22, 1928,
the U.S. Congress passed the McSweeney-McNary
Act which authorized the establishment of the
12 regional forest experiment 'stations.
Two years later, in 1930, Congress appropriated funds for the establishment of the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station.
In 1935, funds were appropriated for the establishment of the Rocky Mountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. As discussed later,
these two Stations were combined in 1953.
I4U.S. Department of Agriculture. Forest Service. 1933.
A national plan for American forestry. U S . Sen. Doc. 12,
73d Congr., 1st Sess., 2 vols., Gov. Print. Off., Wash., D.C.
19