The Forest Service and the greatest good: a centennial history

Abstract

America's oldest and largest federal land management agency -- the Forest Service -- is examined from its roots in the 1800s to present day in this illustrated history. As exemplified by the endless interpretations of the 'greatest good' -- as it first applied to timber, grazing, and watershed protection and later included recreation, wilderness, wildlife, and eventually the consideration of ecosystem management -- this is the story of the myriad conflicts that have pitted America's primary land-management agency against the President. By documenting the establishment of the National Forest System and subsequent conservation policies, the work profiles the numerous men and women working as Forest Service agents in the National Forest System who are dedicated to researching and developing new ways of addressing the conflicts over natural resources management on the 193 million acres of federal land. The book is the companion to the documentary film The Greatest Good: A Centennial History of the Forest Service.