The Lure of the Forest

The Lure of the Forest

Oral Histories from the National Forests in California Context and compilation by Victor Geraci, Ph.D.

July 2005 R5-FR-005 USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region

Copyright: When a "source" is indicated beside photographs or graphics in this book, a copyright exists, and therefore, that item may not be used or reproduced in any manner apart from this book unless a separate approval is acquired. Any photographs or graphics that do not show a source are from the USDA Forest Service archives and are part of the public domain.

Cover photo-illustration was created from a Forest Service image of the Sierra Buttes Lookout Station, Tahoe National Forest

First published by the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region on July 1, 2005 ISBN 1-59351-430-1

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The Lure of the Forest: Oral Histories of the Forest Service

ii

Acknowledgements

This Region Five oral history project brought together a complex working group that encompassed the diverse talents of numerous Forest Service professionals, retirees, volunteers, and University of California at Berkeley Regional Oral History Office staff and researchers. The resulting rich product of this history by committee evolved through the hard work and talents of an army of passionate believers in the Forest Service and its role in managing and preserving America's vast forests. First and foremost is a special thank you to Regional Forester Jack Blackwell and the Forest Service Regional Office for its financial and logistical support.

Forest Service staff and volunteers, as if mustering for a fire call, assembled a sizable cohort of both past and present workers that orchestrated and executed the project. They deserve a special thanks. Regional Office Program Leadership came from Linda Lux and Steve Dunsky with help from the Retiree Program Leadership of Bob Cermak and Doug Leisz. Bob Smart and Bob Harris served as the Retiree Program Coordinators and oversaw the sub-area work completed by Janet Buzzini (Northern California), Max Younkin (Southern Sierra/Fresno), Jerry Gause (Southern California), John Fiske (Bay Area), Dick Pfilf (Washington DC), Bob Smart (Central Sierra/ Sacramento), Larry Schmidt (Eastern Sierra), and Al West (Los Padres and Southern California). Interviewers for the project included Bob Cermak, Doug Leisz, John Fiske, Jerry Gause, John Grosvenor, Bob Smart, Bob Harris, Gene Murphy, Nord Whited, Janet Buzzini, Susana Luzier, Brian Payne, Steve Kirby, Del Pengilly, Glenn Gottschall, Max Younkin, Robert Van Aken, Irl Everst, Larry Hornberger, David Schreiner, Fred Kaiser and Bill Pliler, and Steve Fitch. Many thanks to Donna Dell'Ario, Mario Chocooj and Linda Nunes for pulling it all together.

At the University of California Berkeley's Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) director Richard C?ndida Smith and Editor Shannon Page helped establish the formal cooperative working agreement. ROHO Editor Gerald Stone carefully read and grammatically corrected final drafts. I would like to give a personal thanks to ROHO Specialist Martin Meeker and Post Doctoral Fellow Eric Vettel for serving as a sounding board for much of the work I completed.

Thank You to All; Victor W. Geraci, PhD ? Project Editor University of California, Berkeley Regional Oral History Office

iii Introduction

The Lure of the Forest: Oral Histories of the Forest Service

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v

Introduction

Contents

Acknowledgements

iii

Introduction

vii

Into the Woods

1

"Called to Service"

45

Battling "Multi-Headed Dragons"

99

The Forest Community

123

Memorable People and Events

155

Bibliography

179

Biographical Sketches: Who's Who

183

The Lure of the Forest: Oral Histories of the Forest Service

vi

Introduction

Unknown observer stops on a CCC-built truck road to admire the beauty of California's

national forests. 1935

In preparation for the Forest Service's one-hundredth anniversary, Region Five retirees, with financial and logistical support from the Regional Forester, established an oral history committee. Committee members then conducted over fifty oral interviews from selected members of the region's past workforce. In order to publish the interviews, the committee entered into a collaborative agreement with the University of California at Berkeley's

Regional Oral History Office (ROHO). University employees then selected interview segments and lightly edited them for publication. In the following pages, the stories of these interviewees are synthesized into sections based on common recurring themes that reflect how these past employees remembered their service to the forests. From their stories and established historiographic sources, the following brief history emerged.

As America entered the twentieth century, its Progressive-era presidents, legislators, and a wealthy class - burgeoned by an expanding middle class - reacted to past centuries of blind faith that America's resources were infinite. Lessons learned from the exploitation of Eastern forests created a fear that the nation's resources just might be finite, and many Americans began to perceive that their Western forests needed protection and management. As America leapt onto the world stage, most citizens accepted the view that the nation's forests should be treated as a renewable resource for future generations.

In response, politicians set aside millions of acres of Western forests as a safeguard for the future. Those given the management responsibility quickly realized that the nation did not have the trained

vii Introduction

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