Editing United States Forest Service (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the United States Forest Service}}

In 1876, Congress formed the office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the United States. [[Franklin B. Hough]] was appointed the head of the office. In 1881, the office was expanded into the newly formed '''Division of Forestry'''. The [[Forest Reserve Act of 1891]] authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as forest reserves managed by the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]]. In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the '''Bureau of Forestry'''.

The [[Transfer Act of 1905]] transferred the management of forest reserves from the [[United States General Land Office]] of the Interior Department to the Bureau of Forestry, henceforth known as the '''United States Forest Service'''. [[Gifford Pinchot]] was the first [[United States Chief Foresters|United States Chief Forester]] in the [[Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref>{{cite web |title="Our History" |url= https://www.fs.usda.gov/learn/our-history|website=USDA |date= October 2, 2015|access-date= 31 March 2023 }}</ref>

A historical note to include is that the [[National Park Service]] was created in 1916 to manage Yellowstone and several other parks; in 1956, the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish and Wildlife Service]] became the manager of lands reserved for wildlife. The [[United States Grazing Service|Grazing Service]] and the [[United States General Land Office]] were combined to create the [[Bureau of Land Management]] in 1946. Also of note was that it was not until 1976 that the [[Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976|Federal Land Policy and Management Act]] became the national policy for retaining public land for federal ownership.<ref>{{cite web |title= Chapter Three: BLM Management in the East Mojave |url= https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/moja/adhi3.htm|website=National Park Service|access-date= 4 April 2023 }}</ref>

Significant federal legislation affecting the Forest Service includes the [[Weeks Act]] of 1911, the [[Taylor Grazing Act of 1934]], P.L. 73-482; the [[Multiple Use – Sustained Yield Act of 1960]], P.L. 86-517; the [[Wilderness Act]], P.L. 88-577; the [[National Forest Management Act]], P.L. 94-588; the [[National Environmental Policy Act]], P.L. 91–190; the [[Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act]], P.L. 95-313; and the [[Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act]], P.L. 95-307.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd608146.pdf|title=Selected Laws Affecting Forest Service Activities|author=United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service|publisher=Government Publishing Office|publication-date=April 2004|access-date=December 25, 2023}}</ref>

From the early 1900s to the present, there has been a fierce rivalry over control of forests between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior. Their roles overlap but numerous proposals to combine the two have failed.<ref>Richard Polenberg, "The Great Conservation Contest." ''Forest History Newsletter'' 10.4 (1967): 13-23.</ref>  Most recently, in 2009, the [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) evaluated whether the Forest Service should be moved from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior, which already manages some {{convert|438|e6acre|km2}} of public land through the [[National Park Service]], the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish and Wildlife Service]], and the [[Bureau of Land Management]]. GAO ultimately did not offer a recommendation upon the conclusion of its [[Government performance auditing|performance audit]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-09-223|title=Federal Land Management: Observations on a Possible Move of the Forest Service into the Department of the Interior|author=Robin M. Nazzaro, Audit Principal; David P. Bixler, Assistant Director; Ulana Bihun; Ellen W. Chu; Susan Iott; Richard P. Johnson; Mehrzad Nadji; Susan Offutt; Angela Pleasants; Anne Rhodes-Kline; Lesley Rinner; Dawn Shorey; Sarah Veale; Muriel Brown; Douglas Cole, Melinda Cordero; and Mike Jenkins|publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office|publication-date=February 11, 2009|access-date=December 25, 2023}}</ref> The Forest Service remains a part of the USDA.