Ground Truth: Forest Service Research · Episode 2 of 10 · 28 min
How Forest Scientists Fought Their Own Agency to Do Real Science
After Fort Valley, the Forest Service spent two decades arguing over whether research should answer to evidence or to the rangers who ran the land. Underfunded western stations multiplied, Chief Henry Graves created a Branch of Research in 1915, and by 1921 the work had crossed the Mississippi to Asheville and New Orleans. The tension between scientists and administrators was baked in from the start.
Who's who
- Henry S. Graves+1 more episodeChief Forester who created the Branch of Research in 1915
- Earle H. Clapp+1 more episodeFirst chief of the Branch of Research; champion of independent science
- Raphael Zon+1 more episodeChief of silvics and architect of decentralized research
- Thornton T. Munger+1 more episodeForester who built the Douglas-fir research at Wind River
- Carlos G. BatesDirector of the Fremont Experiment Station
- J. V. HofmannFirst official director of Wind River Experiment Station
- Earl H. FrothinghamFirst director of the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station
Where it happens
- Fort Valley, Arizona+1 more episodeFirst Forest Service research station, 1908
- Wind River, WashingtonDouglas-fir station and arboretum
- Asheville, North Carolina+1 more episodeAppalachian Forest Experiment Station, 1921
- New Orleans, Louisiana+3 more episodesSouthern Forest Experiment Station, 1921
- Madison, Wisconsin+3 more episodesForest Products Laboratory, founded 1910
- Priest River, IdahoExperiment station established 1911
Timeline
- 1908Fort Valley opens; Munger assigned to the Portland district
- 1910Graves becomes Chief Forester; Forest Products Laboratory founded
- 1913Wind River designated an Experiment Station
- 1915Graves consolidates research into a Branch of Research under Clapp
- 1921Research jumps east with Appalachian and Southern stations
- 1924Wind River reorganized as the Pacific Northwest station
Still debated
Historians differ on how independent the 1915 branch really was; fuller separation from administration came only in 1928. Counts of early western stations also vary with what is called a station.
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