CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS AND PEOPLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIONENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 1799-2001

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS AND PEOPLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN CONSERVATION/ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 1799-2001 Gerald W Williams, Ph.D Historical Analyst Washington Office USDA Forest Service June 12, 2001 The following chronology and brief explanatory discussions were derived from many sources: The Library of Congress web site “Documented Chronology of Selected Events in the Development of the American Conservation Movement, 1847-1920”; Samuel Trask Dana’s Forest and Range Policy: Its Development in the United States (1956); Samuel Trask Dana and Sally K Fairfax’s Forest and Range Policy: Its Development in the United States - 2nd edition of Dana’s 1956 classic (1980); Richard C Davis (ed.) Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History (1983) in two volumes; Bernhard E Fernow’s Report Upon the Forestry Investigations 1877-1898 (1899); Chris McGrory Klyza’s “Land Protection in the United States, 1864-1997" (Wild Earth, Vol 8, #2 [Summer 1998]: 35-42); Harold K Steen The U.S Forest Service: A History (1976); USDA Forest Service’s “Highlights in the History of Forest Conservation” (1976); and other sources CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS AND PEOPLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN CONSERVATION/ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 1799-2001 1799 The Federal Timber Purchasers Act of February 25 th (1 Stat 622) appropriates $200,000 to buy timber and timberland for naval purposes Blackbeard’s and Grover’s Islands off the Georgia are purchased These are the first federal purchases of timbered land for government use 1803 The Louisiana Purchase on April 30 th (8 Stat 200) adds around 828,000 square miles (523 million acres) between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains to the public domain 1805 The first overland expedition to explore the new Louisiana Territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean is sent by President Thomas Jefferson On May 14, 1805, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St Louis, MO, with 31 men including York (Capt Clark's slave) and Sacajawea (wife of Touissant Charbonneau, interpreter) During their travels, they wrote journals, explored, and made maps of the new part of the United States They arrive at the mouth of the Columbia River, near present-day Astoria, Oregon, on December th After staying the winter, they return overland, arriving in St Louis on September 23, 1806 Soon, the western movement of trappers/fur traders, missionaries, miners, ranchers, and settlers began arriving to stake a claim to the new territory 1807 Act of March 3rd forbids anyone to settle on or occupy the public lands until authorized by law U.S marshals are authorized to remove trespassers and to use measures to ensure compliance with the law 1812 The General Land Office is established in the Treasury Department on April 25th (2 Stat 716) The major work of the new agency is to sell or grant the huge public domain land to settlers, miners, railroad corporations, wagon road companies, etc 1817 Act of March 1, 1817 (3 Stat 347), renews the 1799 act (above), directs the President to reserve live oak or cedar timbered public lands that may have use for the U.S Navy Under this act, 19,000 acres are reserved on Commissioners, Cypress, and Six Islands in Louisiana The live oak lands are administered by the Navy Department 1819 Florida purchase on March 3rd adds 43 million acres to the public domain (3 Stat 523) 1822 Congress passes an act for “the preservation of timber of the United States in Florida,” that is intended to prevent the theft and destruction of government-owned timber 1825 Following extensive logging and land clearing for farms, two huge forest fires, known as the Miramichi and Piscataquis fires, burn perhaps million acres in Maine and New Brunswick Late in the century, many gigantic fires will burn in the Lake States 1827 The Federal Timber Reservation Act of March rd (4 Stat 242) establishes the Santa Rosa live oak timber reserve near Pensacola, Florida, for the exclusive use by the Navy This is the first federal timberland reservation that is used for forestry purposes 30,000 acres of the Santa Rosa peninsula (that extends into the Bay of Pensacola) is intended to be the first forest experiment station with planting live oaks, clearing brush, creating fire breaks, and keeping trespassers out, but the idea becomes a political issue and is dropped by 1832 1828 The Naval Appropriations Act approves spending not more than $100,000 to purchase land necessary for the continuous supply of live oak and other timber for the Navy This is spent on the Santa Rosa naval timber reserve and experiment station Henry M Brackenridge, in a letter to Secretary Southard of the Navy Department, discusses the culturing of live oak This is one of the first American papers on silviculture 1830 State of Missouri petitions Congress to grant the state a township of land to experiment with planting and growing of trees The petition is turned down, but the idea is kept alive 1831 The Timber Trespass Act of March 2nd (4 Stat 472), relating to the live oak and other timber reservations, becomes the basis for present-day law for the prevention of timber trespass on federal land Fines for timber trespass will be not less than three times the value of the timber cut 1832 D J Browne publishes The Sylva Americana This is the first compilation of the description of forest trees in the United States This book proves to be influential in the understanding of trees and forest for the American public in the years to come The hot springs together with four sections of surrounding land in Arkansas are reserved by the federal government from homestead or mining entry 1840s Beginning slightly before 1840, the U.S Government authorizes a scientific expedition to sail around the world Lt Charles Wilkes and his party left the United States via ship, sailing around the tip of South America, exploring the Pacific Northwest and northern California, then sailing westward across the Pacific Ocean and around the rest of the globe (1838-1843) This is the first scientific expedition–the U.S Exploring Expedition ever outfitted by the U.S The multi-volumes of travels and science, including wonderful illustrations of places, animals and plants, and people that they encountered, are published and create a sensation across the country The artifacts from the journey are placed with the Smithsonian in Washington, DC 1841 Preemption Act of September 4th (5 Stat 453) allows settlers to purchase public domain land before auctions Also, citizens over 21 can settle on 160 acres of public domain land subject to certain restrictions The land can be purchased for $1.25 per acre 1843 Reservations of live oak lands in Louisiana are opened for settlement The disposal of live oak reservations continues until 1923 1846 Treaty of June 15th with Great Britain confirms the U.S claim to the Oregon Territory in present-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming This adds some 181 million acres to the public domain George Emerson publishes a book entitled: A Report on the Trees and Shrubs Growing Naturally in the Forests of Massachusetts Insights from this book set the stage for a fellow New Englander, George Perkins Marsh, to make famous the following year 1847 George Perkins Marsh, a U.S Congressman from Vermont, delivers a seminal speech to the Agricultural Society of Rutland County, Vermont, calling attention to the destructive impact of human activity on the land, especially through deforestation, and advocating a conservationist approach to the management of forested lands Marsh’s speech is published the following year as an “Address Delivered Before the Agricultural Society of Rutland County, Sept 30, 1847.” 1848 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo adds 335 million acres to the public domain in Texas, New Mexico, and California The American Association for the Advancement of Science is organized 1849 The Department of the Interior is established on March rd with responsibility for the public lands This new department incorporates the General Land Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Patent Office (9 Stat 395-397) The New York Association for the Protection of Game is founded This is one of the earliest wildlife conservation organizations in the United States 1850s Around the middle of the eighteenth century, European and American literary figures draw increasing attention to the importance of nature; by now, in the mid-nineteenth century, travel literature in periodicals and books joins with this Romantic literary legacy to stimulate a broad popular movement of “nature appreciation.” Throughout the remaining decades of the century, the “nature essay” burgeons as an American literary genre Prints, lithographs and engravings of American scenery, especially in the West, receive wide popular distribution between this decade and the turn of the century, stimulating broad interest in and appreciation for special qualities of the American landscape, including its wilderness Throughout the last half of the nineteenth and into the early twentieth century, popular interest in ornithology–the study of birds proliferates through books, articles, and local clubs, providing grass-roots base for support of many aspects of conservation During 1853-1855, the U.S Government authorizes a series of explorations and surveys to cross through the West searching and exploring possible railroad routes across the mountains and plateaus As with the pervious U.S Exploring Expedition, the Pacific Railroad Surveys are composed of military men, scientists, and artist/illustrators The massive reports are printed in 1860 1850 Purchase from Texas of 79 million acres of public domain land First of the many railroad land grants from the public domain to the state of Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi to aid the construction of railroads in each state The odd-numbered sections of land within a specified distance from the railroad line are to be sold to settlers to offset construction costs The last of these huge land grants came in 1871 to the Texas Pacific Railroad Company Great land frauds ensue over the next fifty years The first federal timber agents are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to protect public timberlands The agents are discontinued five years later when their duties are added to the district land registers and receivers in the General Land Office The third edition of the Table Rock Album and Sketches of the Falls and Scenery Adjacent offers future generations a unique glimpse of mid-nineteenth-century American’s response to spectacular natural beauty in the form of notations made by tourists in an album at Niagra Falls Citing the observations of Alexander von Humboldt and others on the effects of deforestation, Thomas Ewbank, the United States Commissioner of Patents, warns in his two-volume Report of the Commissioner of Patents, for the Year 1849 (House of Representatives Executive Document No 20) that “the waste of valuable timber in the United States, to say nothing of firewood, will hardly begin to be appreciated until our population reaches fifty million Then the folly and shortsightedness of this age will meet with a degree of censure and reproach not pleasant to contemplate.” In the same document, Ewbank also warns that “the vast multitudes of bisons slain yearly, the ceaseless war carried on against them, if continued, threatens their extermination, and must hereafter cause deep regret”; especially in view of “their great strength and docility, when tamed, and their capacity for being drilled to the yoke it should never be said that the noblest of American indigenous ruminants have become extinct.” Articles on the long-term harm produced by forest destruction appear in the reports of the commissioners of patents and of agriculture in this decade and during the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s 1851 Henry David Thoreau delivers an address to the Concord (Massachusetts) Lyceum declaring that “in Wildness is the preservation of the World.” In 1863, this address is published posthumously as the essay “Walking” in Thoreau’s Excursions 1852 In an introductory essay in The Home Book of the Picturesque, an important early work celebrating the American landscape through the work of eminent writers and artists, Elias Lyman Magoon argues for the importance of wild nature as a source of moral, spiritual and patriotic inspiration; this reflects the growing concern with nature as a spiritual resource, which becomes one of the definitive themes of the conservation movement 1853 For $10 million, the Gadsden Purchase of December 30 th adds 45,535 square miles (19 million acres) to the public domain in southern Arizona and New Mexico (10 Stat 1031) 1854 Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden; or, Life in the Woods The book is an account of his retreat to the New England countryside and the growing disillusion with the growing industrialization and urbanization in America This volume, still in print 150 years later, has given inspiration to millions of conservationists and environmentalists 1855 In a letter to The Crayon, the artist Asher Durand calls for the creation of a wilderness art A popular anthology of American and European poetry on nature themes, The Rhyme and Reason of Country Life, reflects the preoccupation with idealized rural life of an increasingly urban and industrializing nation, and epitomizes the taste for nature-related books and stories which are major aspects of American art and letters by this time These popular notions strongly influence the beginning of the conservation movement 1857 Samuel H Hammond publishes Wild Northern Scenes; or, Sporting Adventures with the Rifle and Rod, and important book in the nascent tradition of the hunter-conservationist, that celebrates the beauty and beneficence of the Adirondack wilds and advocates preservation of limited wilderness areas as resources for recreation and rejuvenation James Russell Lowell publishes an article in The Crayon calling for the establishment of a society to protect American trees such as the recently “discovered” California redwoods In an early example of the growing public concern with fish conservation through fish culture, especially at the state level, George Perkins Marsh publishes a Report, Made Under Authority of the Legislature of Vermont, on the Artificial Propagation of Fish In this report, Marsh also explores the effects of deforestation, agriculture, and industry on fish populations 1858 Albert Bierstadt visits the Rocky Mountains region where he begins to paint grand–but somewhat imaginative images of Western scenery that have broad popular impact on popular culture The commissioners charged with developing New York City’s new Central Park as the first major rural park in an American city hold a landscape design competition; the winning entry is the “Greensward” plan created by Frederick Law Olmsted, who had been appointed the new Park’s first Superintendent the preceding year, and British architect Calvert Vaux Olmsted is also appointed the Park’s architectin-chief Its realization long hampered by the political infighting and insensitive public management that led to Olmsted’s final departure in 1877, the Olmsted-Vaux design nevertheless gives Central Park its enduring identity, and profoundly influences the future course of landscape architecture in the United States The Georgia Legislature petitions Congress to appoint a federal commission to inquire into the extent and duration of the southern pine belt 1859 A letter from Albert Bierstadt to The Crayon, recording impressions of Western scenery, is widely reprinted, demonstrating the new fascination with wild scenery as an artistic subject Publication of second edition of William Elliott’s Carolina Sports by Land and Water (first published in 1846), an early example of the hunter-as-conservationist, a phenomenon that became increasingly important for conservation 1860s During this decade, with the Civil War raging across much of the South and East, Congress passes several major laws dealing with land policy (see below) In addition, a number of huge land grants are given to the railroads, canal companies, and even military wagon road companies (Oregon only) to encourage westward expansion The largest recipients of the land grants are the Northern Pacific, Central Pacific, Union Pacific, and the Oregon and California Railroads Nearly 200 million acres of public land is transferred to the railroads in the last half of the 19th century The states of Iowa, Kansas, Dakota Territory, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Missouri pass laws to encourage the planting of forest trees 1860 Henry David Thoreau delivers an address to the Middlesex (Massachusetts) Agricultural Society, entitled “The Succession of Forest Trees,” in which he analyzes aspects of what later came to be understood as forest ecology and urges farmers to plant trees in natural patterns of succession; the address is later published in (among other places) Excursions, becoming perhaps his most influential ecological contribution to conservationist thought Frederick Edwin Church paints his masterpiece “Twilight in the Wilderness”; throughout this era, eh and numerous other eminent academic artists explore the power of American landscape as symbol and artistic subject in a profoundly influential body of work Thomas Staff King publishes The White Hills: Their Legends, Landscape, and Poetry, that is quickly recognized as a classic celebration of the White Mountains in the best tradition of mid-century nature-related travel literature In an early example of the era’s great government-sponsored scientific and ethnographic survey reports on the West, the Congress publishes the 13-volume Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean (sometimes referred to as the Pacific Railroad Surveys 1854-55) These reports, and other similar railroad survey expeditions through the West, include accounts of surveying and mapping that greatly increase knowledge and interest concerning the Western landscape Several accomplished artists, who accompany the expeditions, document with colored illustrations many of the unique geographic features, American Indians, fishes, flora, and fauna found along the way 1860-1 Thomas Starr King publishes a series of articles on Yosemite Valley, California, in the Boston Evening Transcript that helps publicize the Yosemite wilderness to Easterners 1861 In both stereoscopic and mammoth-plate formats, Carleton E Watkins makes the first important photographic record of Yosemite, a site he photographs repeatedly in the coming decades; Watkins’s images circulate widely, especially in stereoscopic form, and much to publicize Yosemite throughout the nation The Department of Agriculture is established on May 15 th (12 Stat 387) 1862 The Homestead Act (May 20 th) allows those willing to head West to acquire–for almost free 160 acres of land by paying a filing fee and then living on the land for five years (12 Stat 392) Nearly 550 million acres of public domain land pass into private ownership because of this law Henry David Thoreau dies in Concord, Massachusetts, at the age of 44 1864 George Perkins Marsh publishes Man and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action (revised 1874 as The Earth as Modified by Human Action), the first systematic analysis of humanity’s destructive impact on the environment, especially in his personal observations in the Mediterranean area This important book becomes (in Lewis Mumford’s words) “the fountain-head of the conservation movement.” In precedent-setting legislation, Congress passes a bill granting Yosemite Valley to the State of California as a public park The Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove are granted to the State of California to hold these lands forever “for public use, resort, and recreation.” These lands are incorporated into Yosemite National Park in 1906 after California discovers that it could not manage the land effectively Posthumous publication of Henry David Thoreau’s The Maine Woods, in which Thoreau calls for the establishment of “national preserves” of virgin forest, “not for idle sport or food, but for inspiration and our own true re-creation.” The New York Times publishes an editorial (August 9) advocating state acquisition of the Adirondacks for purposes of preservation 1865 Frederick Law Olmsted submits a “Preliminary Report upon the Yosemite and Big Tree Grove” to the Commissioners of California’s new Yosemite park; this work first systematically establishes the philosophical justification for public preservation of great natural scenery on the basis of its unique capacity to enhance human psychological, physical, and social health John Burroughs publishes his first nature essay, “With the Birds,” in the Atlantic Monthly 1866 The word “ecology” is coined by the German biologist Ernst Haekel 1867 Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden leads his first federally-sponsored survey in the West; by the time it ends in 1878, the survey under his leadership has conducted landmark explorations throughout the region and contributes vitally to the scientific, photographic and artistic representation of the Western landscape I A Lapham, J G Knapp, and H Crocker publish the Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees, Now Growing on so Rapidly in the State of Wisconsin (Madison, WI: Atwood & Rublee, State Printers) that is an interesting blending of fact and speculation about the role of trees and forests in the welfare of the people This forms early opinions about the coming concerns over the 10 Interior withdraws 80 million acres of the BLM lands from selection by the State of Alaska or by Native people Many of these withdrawn lands are recommended to Congress for inclusion as national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, and wild river systems Congress has five years to act, although it takes until 1980 to occur The Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage and protect such animals from “Capture, branding, harassment, or death,” and to maintain them on specific sanctuaries on the public lands Both the BLM and the Forest Service are required to protect any feral (domesticated animals that have reverted to a wild state) populations on public lands The Forest Service undertakes the first Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE), later called RARE I, under the direction of the Wilderness Act of 1964 After extensive study, the agency recommends to Congress 12 million acres of new wilderness Interest groups contend the acreage is too small and besides the Forest Service did not complete an EIS on the project The agency settles a lawsuit out of court by agreeing to start an new evaluation (pegged RARE II) The “Church Guidelines” for clearcutting on the national forests are published after the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands investigates timber harvest practices on the Bitterroot, Monongahela, and other national forests The guidelines generally restricts clearcuts to not more than 40 acres The New York legislature passes the Adirondack Park Agency Act that requires the state to develop land use plans for public and private holdings in the Adirondack State Park Congress establishes the Arches and Capitol Reef National Parks 1972 The Supreme Court decision in Sierra Club v Morton, otherwise known as the “Mineral King” case, rules that litigants have “standing” to initiate lawsuits to protect the environment Justice William O Douglas’ dissenting opinion is frequently cited as raising the question of a tree’s right to sue on it’s own behalf (or “should trees have standing?”) Michigan passes a Wilderness and Natural Areas Act establishing a wilderness system on state lands Congress establishes the Guadalupe Mountains National Park 1973 The small snail darter fish is found in the Little Tennessee River below where TVA’s controversial Tellico Dam is being constructed The Endangered Species Act of December 28 th establishes a process for listing species as endangered or threatened, protecting their critical habitats, and developing recovery plans The act also establishes the distinction of endangered versus threatened species and the concept of critical habit needs Federal agencies are required to make sure their actions not harm endangered species (87 Stat 884) In Izaak Walton League v Butz, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia decides that commercial timber cutting on the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia violates the Forest Service’s Organic Act of 1897 This action paves the way for congressional hearings and the eventual passage of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 1974 The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resource Planning Act (RPA) of August 17th (88 Stat 476) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake long-range planning to ensure an adequate timber supply and the maintenance of environmental quality The Forest Service is required to assess all lands and to prepare a program every ten years California establishes the California Wilderness Preservation System on state lands 1975 The snail darter fish is listed by the Fish & Wildlife Service as a threatened & endangered species The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 17 th upholds the 1973 Izaak Walton v Butz case, that results in a ban on clearcutting on the national forests in West Virginia and other states subject to the District Court The Forest Service does not appeal to the Supreme Court and applies the decision to the rest of the agency The Eastern Wilderness Act of January 3rd (P.L 93-622 and 88 Stat 2096) designates 16 new wildernesses in the East The act also requires the Forest Service to consider other eastern national forest lands east of the 100th meridian for possible wilderness designation Congress establishes the Voyageurs National Park The Sixth American Forest Congress meets in October at Washington, DC 1976 Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act of October 20 th (90 Stat 2662) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to pay, based on a fee formula, local governments an annual fee for the public lands within their boundaries This applies to national forests and grasslands The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of October 21st is the equivalent act for the BLM The act maintains that the BLM administered lands will remain in public ownership and the agency manages them for multiple use Other provisions of the act require the BLM to review all the lands for possible wilderness designation and to establish a special California Desert Conservation Area (90 Stat 2743) The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of October 22 nd replaces much of the language of the 1897 Organic Act The act establishes the national forest planning process and requires, among other things, that the forests be managed to maintain species diversity The act is an amendment to the Resources Planing Act of 1974 (90 Stat 2949) The Teton Dam disaster occurs when a Bureau of Reclamation dam on the Teton River breaks, sending a wall of water downstream, killing eight people The tragedy, caused by an engineering error, prompts a reevaluation of dams and streams across the country Congress authorizes the Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Washington), totaling over 392,000 acres Also, the Omnibus Wilderness Act designates 19 wildernesses in 13 states Various acts of Congress designate over 160,000 acres of wilderness on national wildlife refuges and nearly 920,000 acres of wilderness in the national park system 1977 Forest Service begins the RARE II process Results are announced in 1979 with the Forest Service proposing to add15 million acres of new wilderness and an additional 11 million acres of wilderness study areas The decision by the agency does not sit well with environmental groups However, the Forest Service is not the final authority for designation–Congress is Following RARE II, wilderness decisions tend to made by Congress on a state-by-state basis 1978 The Endangered American Wilderness Act of February 24 th adds 1.3 million acres of wilderness in ten western states (92 Stat 40) The act also adds the French Pete area to the Three Sisters Wilderness after years of political wrangling The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of June 30th authorizes a comprehensive research program and survey of the nation’s renewable resources (92 Stat 353) The Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of July st brings together all cooperative forestry programs under one statutory authority, as well as provides grants to the states for management and planning of forestry related programs (92 Stat 365) The National Parks and Recreation Act of November 10 th (92 Stat 3467) designates nearly two million acres of wilderness in national parks, triples the National Trails System, enlarges the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and authorizes funds for an Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program As Congress cannot agree on Alaska national interest lands legislation, Interior Secretary Andrus withdraws 100 million acres of land in Alaska from selection and President Carter designates 56 million of these acres as 15 new national monuments under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906 Howls of protest result The Congress establishes the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks in the Dakotas The Supreme Court in Tennessee Valley Authority v Hill interprets the Endangered Species Act to require that a $100 million federal project be terminated because of the discovery of the endangered snail darter because the dam would exterminate the small fish 1979 The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of October 31 st prohibits the destruction of archaeological sites and resources over 100 years old on federal and Indian lands (93 Stat 721) 1980 The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of December 2nd protects 105 million acres of which 56 million acres become wilderness Over 43 million acres are added to the National Park System with ten new national parks, monuments, and preserves created The act, also known as the D-2 Lands Act, adds over 55 million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge system, that expands existing refuges and creates ten new refuges Three million acres of additional national forest land are created, as well as over one million acres of wild and scenic river corridors (95 Stat 2371) The Admiralty Island and Misty Fiords National Monuments are under Forest Service control These are the first Forest Service administered national monuments since 1933 Three wilderness bills designate over four million acres of wilderness in ID (River of No Return), CO, and NM, with smaller units in LA, MI, SC, and SD Earth First! is founded by Dave Foreman, Ron Kezar, Bart Koehler, Mike Roselle, and Howie Wolke The Congress establishes the Biscayne and Channel Island National Parks 1982 A series of RARE II wilderness bills pass Congress for the states of Alabama, Indiana, Missouri, and West Virginia These bills designate approximately 83,000 acres of new wilderness A Georgia National Seashore is also established The American Forestry Association launches an urban forestry program and convenes the National Urban Forest Conference in Cincinnati, OH 1983 Wilderness acts in Arizona (BLM) and Arizona (Forest Service) designate over 260,000 acres as wilderness 1984 Over 8.3 million acres of wilderness designated as RARE II stateby-state acts pass for 20 states (Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) 1985 Kentucky RARE II act designates 13,300 acres as wilderness 1986 The American Forestry Association begins the Famous & Historic Trees program RARE II act designates over 84,000 acres of wilderness in Georgia, Nebraska, and Tennessee The Congress establishes the Great Basin National Park from BLM lands 1987 The Michigan RARE II act designates 91,000 acres of wilderness 1988 The American Forestry Association launches the Global ReLeaf campaign that is aimed at tree planting in both urban and rural setting across the country Wilderness acts pass Congress for national parks in Washington (over 1.7 million acres) and national forests in Alabama and Oklahoma (nearly 30,000 acres) The space shuttle Discovery sends back to earth photographs of the massive tropical rainforest fires, started by peasants and farmers to clear planting areas, that are raging in the Amazon region of South America The Wise Use movement gets a start as a backlash to the many new environmental regulations, as well as federal government intervention and even federal land ownership This new movement, a revision of the 1970s Sagebrush Rebellion, takes on a decades old problem of federal land management in the West and wrestles with the issues surrounding federal vs state management The movement, by the late 1990s, becomes the Property Rights or County Supremacy movement 1989 The Nevada RARE II act designates 733,000 acres of wilderness in Nevada 1990 The first Global ReLeaf Forest is established in Au Sable, MI Some 23,000 jack pines are planted to provide forest cover for the endangered Kirtland’s warbler The first statewide BLM wilderness act passes Congress that designates over one million acres of wilderness in Arizona Nearly 300,000 acres of wilderness designated in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska Other RARE II acts designate 38,000 acres of wilderness in Illinois and Maine 1992 The “Earth Summit” or “Rio Conference” is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Most nations attend the conference with many agreements signed The forestry component is led by the USDA Forest Service Unexpected opposition from several developing nations who not want the larger, more developed countries telling the developing countries how to manage their resources The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is introduced in Congress Congress requests that a large-scale ecosystem assessment begin in the Forest Service–the Sierra for California and Nevada (final report published in 1996) The Wildlands Project is founded by Dave Foreman, Michael Soule, John Davis, Reed Ross, and others Global ReLeaf International is established by the American Forestry Association Congress establishes the Dry Tortugas National Park 1993 President Clinton calls for and attends the Forest Conference in Portland, Oregon, in April He gives the USDA Forest Service and the USDI Bureau of Land Management, in cooperation with the USDI Fish & Wildlife Service, 60 days to come up with a scientifically sound plan for managing the spotted owl habitat in western Washington, western Oregon, and northwestern California Researchers from the Pacific Northwest Research Station lead the massive undertaking After a 30-day extension, the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) prepares an extensive report and an accompanying EIS team and have the draft environmental impact statement documents “on the street” by July The Eastside Columbia River Basin team begins a project to assess the federal portions (mostly the Forest Service and BLM) of the interior Columbia River Basin for future management The project assessment area covers central and eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana The Upper Columbia Basin Team joins with the Eastside Team (now called the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project or ICBEMP) to produce the draft documents for review by 1997 The sciencebased project incorporates an extensive number of researchers and specialists from the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, as well as university experts and researchers from across the country Another large-scale ecosystem assessment, the Southern Appalachian, begins with the Southern Research Station leading the effort (final report published in 1996) The Forest Service and other Federal agencies join to work with the public through a series of very successful programs, including the “Bring Back the Natives” (conservation of native fish species), “Every Species Counts” (manage, protect, and conserve plant communities and aquatic species), “Rise to the Future!” (partnerships to improve aquatic habitats and increase opportunities for the public to fish), and “Get Wild!” (cooperation to manage and improve healthy ecosystems and high-quality wildlife habitat) Colorado RARE II act establishes 611,000 acres of wilderness plus an additional 173,000 acres designated for special protection in that state Jack Ward Thomas made Chief of the Forest Service 1994 The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) EIS is finalized and implemented after the comment period and responses are closed Ten “Adaptive Management Areas” (AMA) are established by the NWFP, and three of these (Cispus AMA from Washington, Applegate AMA from Oregon, and Hayfork AMA from California) are later included as United Nations International Model Forests In addition, 147 communities affected by the NWFP are provided with economic adjustment assistance Chief Jack Ward Thomas initiates a “Course to the Future” as a hands-on, comprehensive strategy for implementing ecosystem management This new program contains elements to: (1) protect ecosystems, (2) restore deteriorated ecosystems, (3) provide multiple benefits for people within the capabilities of ecosystems, and (4) ensure organizational effectiveness The Forest Service releases in December a comprehensive plan for reinventing the agency–including changes in organization, culture, and work The plan is the culmination of 14 months of intensive consultation and input from interested parties across the country, including employees and permittees It is dead-on-delivery to Congress, with strong opposition from affected congressional members, states, and counties The California Desert Protection Act establishes about 7.5 million acres of wilderness in California Almost ½ of these lands–69 sites, some 3.6 million acres–are managed by the BLM The remaining 4.0 million acres of wilderness are located in two new national parks (both former national monuments)–Death Valley (3.1 million acres) and Joshua Tree (230,000 acres) and one new national preserve–Mohave (1.4 million acres) The Presidio in San Francisco is transferred from the Department of the Army to the USDI National Park Service The Presidio contains 1,480 acres in the heart of the City of San Francisco contains 11 rare plants and some 811 buildings–474 of which are historic The Clinton administration signs an agreement to enhance the 1,600 square mile San Francisco Bay-Sacramento River/Delta area This is a rich estuary/river habitat for many species of fish and animals, river transportation corridor, and it provides drinking water for millions of residents 1995 The Forest Service continues to apply ecosystem management as the key natural resource management policy for the national forests and grasslands Released for public comment are the Proposed Planning Regulations (36 CFR) that incorporate the principles of ecosystem management The Forest Service develops a National Forest Health Communication Plan The agency also implements the Western Forest Health Initiative, composed of 300 projects in the West, to make forests less susceptible to drought, insects, diseases, and wildfire, and restore forests destroyed by 1994 wildfires The 1995 Rescissions Act authorizes the Forest Service’s Emergency Timber Salvage Sale Program to remove diseased or insect-infested trees, dead, damaged, or downed trees affected by fire or insect attack The inclusion of associated trees in the timber salvage areas that may be alive (so-called “green trees”) ignites widespread opposition to the program During 1995 and 1996, 60 gray wolves are reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, where they are doing quite well However, local ranchers outside of the park are outraged Congress establishes the Saguaro National Park (Arizona) 1996 A large-scale assessment of the southern Appalachian area is completed by the Forest Service The assessment assembles and analyzes broad-scale biological, physical, social, and economic data to facilitate better, more ecologically based forest-level resource analysis and management A similar project is also completed in Region (Pacific Southwest) that concerns ecosystem management of the Sierra Nevada This congressionally requested assessment, called the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP), assesses the historical, physical, biological, ecological, social, and institutional conditions, as well as projected future trends under different management strategies An earlier study is conducted and reported on the spotted owl in California, that develops into an immediate controversy The Ocoee Ranger District on Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest hosts the white water events of the 1996 summer Olympics A unique partnership is formed to restore the polluted river and provide long-term benefits to the community results in a stretch of world-class white water river Recreation visitor use is very high during the Olympic games President Clinton in September uses the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah and managed by the BLM A very controversial decision The Bay-Delta Environmental Enhancement Act provides for the enhancement of the 1,600 square mile San Francisco BaySacramento River/Delta area After a series of regional and state meetings to discuss the future of forestry in the U.S., the Seventh American Forest Congress meets in October at Washington, DC The National Biological Survey is discontinued as a separate bureau of the Department of the Interior The work, and employees, are transferred to the USDI Geological Survey The transfer adds important new skills and direction to the Geological Survey Six California condors are reintroduced in December to the forest areas of northern Arizona These are the first condors that have flow the region in 72 years 1997 The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP) team produces two draft EIS documents covering the federal portions (mostly the Forest Service and BLM) of the interior Columbia River Basin The EISs come under immediate fire from all sides The Forest Service provides leadership for USDA in the Federal Non-Native Invasive Species Task Force, that is established by Vice President Al Gore The purpose of the task force is to develop the Administration’s strategy for eradicating, controlling, and monitoring non-native species including insects, diseases, invasive plants, and aquatic pests President Clinton and Vice-President Gore travel to Lake Tahoe in July to help craft a solution to the lake’s degrading water quality The administration allocates $50 million for 36 restoration projects Michael Dombeck appointed Chief of the Forest Service The nation’s 50th national park is established on the Islands of American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean, the only United States territory south of the equator The new park, with the name the National Park of American Samoa, is dedicated by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on April 16 th The 10,520-acre park has about 420 acres under water 1998 The Forest Service calls for a moratorium on road building in roadless areas on the national forests Hailed by some, condemned by others, it is the first of several efforts by the agency to curb road building in roadless areas and to reduce the impact of roads and road construction on watersheds Chief Mike Dombeck initiates the Natural Resource Agenda– consisting of sustainable ecosystems, recreation, roads, and water The Forest Service’s highest priority is to restore and protect the health of America’s forests The Forest Service contributes $2 million to the “Mountains to Sound Greenway” project in which State, environmental and industry groups, and other Federal agencies work together to acquire conservation easements from Seattle, Washington, across the Cascades to ensure that the lands in the scenic corridor are protected The Land and Water Conservation Fund purchases 30 areas of forested lands One of the purchases is a 550-acre parcel along the Big Sur coastline in California that provides habitat for 12 wildlife species identified on Federal or State threatened or endangered species lists Eleven Mexican gray wolves are reintroduced in March to the Gila and Apache National Forests The H.J Andrews Experimental Forest in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon, celebrates it’s 50 th year Research over half a century focused on understanding old growth and regenerated forest conditions (microbial species, plants, fish, animals–including the spotted owl), logging operations, road construction, and hydrologic processes The many collaborative efforts on the “Andrews” have involved researchers from the Pacific Northwest Research Station, the USDI Bureau of Land Management, and Oregon State University The data, information, evaluation, and interpretation of the research work has led to new notions about the functions and functioning of ecosystems These prominent forest researchers have introduced the concepts of “new forestry,” “new perspectives,” and “ecosystem management” to the land management and regulatory agencies, as well as the rest of the world 1999 Extensive planning begins on Utah’s Wasatch-Cache National Forest and Intermountain Region (R-4) that will host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games In June 1999, the Department of Agriculture, the Secretaria De Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales Y Pesca (SEMARNAP), and the Department of the Interior sign the Wildfire Protection Agreement The purpose of the agreement is to enable wildfire protection resources originating in the territory of one country to cross the United States-Mexico border in order to suppress wildland fires on the other side of the border The meeting also focuses on the Fire Training Matrix, that is an agreement among the Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, the Agency for International Development (USAID), and SEMARNAP The second Committee of Scientists recommends changes to the National Forest Management Act regulations Draft regulations are published in the Federal Register In October 1999, the Forest Service begins holding 23 town hall meetings to discuss the proposed planning regulations that are designed to assist the agency in managing national forests and grasslands At meetings nationwide, participants were briefed on the major themes of the proposed regulations and provided an opportunity to work in small groups to address specific questions presented by the facilitator of the meeting The information gathered is being used to develop the final regulations, that are expected the summer of 2000 On October 13, 1999, President Clinton directs the Forest Service to begin a public dialogue about the future of inventoried roadless areas throughout the National Forest System This proposal places the Forest Service at the forefront of one of the most significant conservation efforts in United States history The public is notified of the intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to examine alternative methods to meet the goals established by the President The proposal also establishes a process for identifying the social and ecological values that make roadless areas of all sizes important and unique The final rule is expected in late 2000 The Forest Service and the Department of the Interior lead an interagency effort to develop the working draft of the Unified Federal Policy for the Clean Water Action Plan The Forest Service distributes copies of the working draft to Governors, Tribal leaders, members of Congress, and stakeholder groups in response to the President's direction to Federal agencies to adopt a comprehensive strategy under the plan to better safeguard rivers and other bodies of water on Federal lands “Survey and Manage Species,” that is those that are not listed under the Threatened and Endangered Species Act, yet are sensitive and/or indicators of how well an ecosystem is functioning, are ruled by the court as requiring extensive studies by the Forest Service 2000 President Clinton on January 11 th uses the Antiquities Act of 1906 to expand the 24,165-acre Pinnacles National Monument in California by 7,900 acres and establish three new national monuments (NM): The Grand Canyon-Parashant NM with some 1,014,000 acres along the northern rim of Grand Canyon in Arizona to protect cliffs, desert, and scenic areas; the Agua Fria NM of some 71,400 acres also in Arizona to protect American Indian ruins; and the California Coast NM that includes more than a hundred small islands, rocks, and reefs within 12 miles of the coastline of California On February 16th the President announces that he is assigning the Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman a study of a possible new national monument to protect the remaining 38 Sequoia groves and surrounding areas on the Sequoia National Forest A Forest Service team is given 60 days to recommend or reject national monument status for the area of more than 400,000 acres On April 15th, on a visit to California, President Clinton proclaims a 328,000acre Giant Sequoia National Monument on the Sequoia National Forest The new monument is in two sections that protect about half of the remaining Sequoia groves President Clinton announces on June th that he is invoking the Antiquities Act again to establish four new national monuments: The 200,000-acre Hanford Reach along a 51-mile stretch of the Columbia River in Washington, the 52,000-acre Cascade-Siskiyou in southwest Oregon near the California border, the 164,000-acre Canyons of the Ancients in southwest Colorado, and the 134,750acre Ironwood Forest in southern Arizona All the new monuments are to be managed by the BLM except for the Hanford Reach NM which will be managed by the USDI Fish & Wildlife Service in coordination with the Department of Energy On July 7, 2000, President Clinton names the Anderson Cottage as the President Lincoln and Soldiers’ Home National Monument The 14-room, stucco cottage–listed as a national historic landmark in 1973–is where President Lincoln and his family lived during the summers of 1862-64 It was at this cottage that President Lincoln wrote the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation Three other presidents have used the cottage as a retreat from the White House The cottage is on the grounds of the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home about three miles north of the White House in northwest DC Clinton also announces a $750,000 matching grant to be used for preservation efforts at the new national monument It is to be managed by the Soldier’s Home On October 24th, the president signs an act to establish a new national monument–the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is southern California The new monument contains 272,000 acres of federal, state, county, Indian, and private lands On the same day, after considerable public response, state concurrence, and congressional agreement, a 425,000-acre area becomes a Steens Mountain BLM Cooperative Management and Protection Area in legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton into law On November 9th President Clinton uses provisions of the Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona and greatly expanded the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho The total acres of the new or expanded national monuments is 1,008,440 acres On November 22nd, the president signs the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act that encompasses spectacular landscapes in southern Colorado On December 4th, the president again uses an executive order to create an 84 million acre (131,800 square miles) ecosystem reserve around the coral reefs in Hawaii that extend along 1,200 miles of islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve is designed to protect and preserve millions of acres of undersea coral reefs, coastal islands, and unique land and sea life 2001 In one of President Clinton’s last days in office, on January 17, 2001, he sets aside new monuments in California, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho The new monuments include: Pompeys Pillar near Billings, Montana; Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks in north-central New Mexico near Santa Fe; Sonoran Desert in Arizona near Phoenix; Carrizo Plain between San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield, California; Upper Missouri River Breaks in north-central Montana; Minidoka Internment (for Japanese Americans confined in World War II); Virgin Islands Coral Reef in the U.S Virgin Islands; and the Buck Island Reef also in the U.S Virgin Islands is an expansion of the existing monument off St Croix Three days later, the president signs a bill to establish the Governors Island National Monument The 720-acre site, located in the New York City harbor, is the last monument established by the Clinton administration The new monuments contain about 1,103,437 acres ... Printers) that is an interesting blending of fact and speculation about the role of trees and forests in the welfare of the people This forms early opinions about the coming concerns over the. .. century, stimulating broad interest in and appreciation for special qualities of the American landscape, including its wilderness Throughout the last half of the nineteenth and into the early twentieth... The Sylva Americana This is the first compilation of the description of forest trees in the United States This book proves to be influential in the understanding of trees and forest for the American