نبذة مختصرة : Records consist of Subject Files of the Forestry Division, Office of State Forester, and records of the Forest Management Bureau when the Forestry Division was part of State Lands. RS 283 (32:6-1); RS 283 Oversized Boxes (Ov1-Ov3) (25:8-5); RS 283 Volumes (120:9-4).
Records consist primarily of subject files (1940s-1970s) for forestry- and conservation-oriented organizations, state agencies, and federal agencies, and topical subject files. These files include information on the broad range of the Forestry Division's functions including forest fire protection, insect control, timber harvesting, forest research, land use, land exchanges, and a myriad of related topics. In addition there are legal documents including cooperative agreements on forest fire protection, community forestry programs, real estate appraisal, tree planting, and other topics; maps, including land classification, land condition, and land ownership plats; organizational materials, including administrative manuals, organization charts, and work plans; reports, including cooperative forest management reports, forest fire reports, monthly narrative reports, narrative reports of meetings attended, and individual reports on many topics.
Some of the collection's most valuable material is in the miscellany series, including land and timber evaluation sheets for each piece of state forest land, describing in considerable detail the types of plants present, the value of the timber, and the watershed conditions. This series also includes various types of permits issued by the Forestry Division, including Christmas tree permits, special use permits, timber permits, and timber sales.
There are subgroups for the Montana State Board of Forestry, consisting of minutes (1947, 1951, 1955, 1962); for the Civilian Conservation Corps/ Emergency Conservation Work including printed material and subject files on six forest CCC camps in western Montana; the Forest Lands Advisory Commission, consisting of a report (1945) to the governor and materials on which the report was based; and the Montana Rural Fire Fighters Service, consisting of correspondence (1944-1947), legal documents (1942-1946), minutes (1942-1945), annual and monthly reports (1944-1960), a subject file on cooperation with the Cooperative Extension Service, and other materials.
Timber Sale and Timber Permit files (found in the Subject Files series) include Brush Disposal Records. However, some Brush Disposal Record cards are stored separately from their T.S. or T.P. files, in box 49.
Earlier material on the management of state forest lands is included in the Board of Land Commissioners Records (Record Series 29).
Note: Transfer; Montana Dept. of State Lands, Forestry Division; March 1982, S1982-05.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of State Lands, Forestry Division, March l982, May and August 1986, March 1988, June 1992. S1986-18.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of State Lands, Forestry Division, August 1986, S1986-32.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of State Lands, Forestry Division, March 1988, S1988-06.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of State Lands, Forestry Division, June 1992, S1992-11.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forest Management Bureau, 1992, S1992-24.
Transfer, Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forestry Division, Helena MT, 2008, S2008-05
Transfer, Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forestry Division, Helena MT, 2008, S2008-24
Transfer, Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation, Montana Forestry Division, Helena MT, 2009, S2009-29
The Montana Office of State Forester was established by the legislature in 1909. Prior to that year the functions of the office had been performed by the State Board of Land Commissioners (see RS 29) and its administrative arms, the Register of State Lands and the State Land Agent. With statehood, Montana received from the Federal Government land sections 16 and 36 to support public schools. The State Board of Land Commissioners was given the right to select lands "in lieu of" lands already taken for homesteads, mining claims, Indian Reservations, and railroad grants. Some of these lands were in large blocks which became the basis for several state forests including the Swan River State Forest and the Stillwater State Forest.
The 1909 legislature established the Office of State Forester, and its governing body the State Board of Forestry, under the Board of Land Commissioners. The new Office was given the authority to administer the state's forest lands, to fight forest fires, and teach classes at the State University. The 1909 law also established procedures for evaluating state timber lands, administering timber sales, arranging for brush removal, protection of watersheds, and other administrative tasks. During the 1940s the State Forester also served as State Park Commissioner.
From 1971 to 1981 the Forestry Division was part of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and then was returned to the Department of State Lands. Again in 1995, the Forestry Division was returned to the Department of Natural Resources. State Foresters included Charles Jungberg (1910-1914), John C. VanHook (1914-1921), Robert P. McLaughlin (1921-1926), Rutledge Parker (1926-1954), Gareth Moon (1955-1980), and Gary G. Brown (1981-1992). Assistant State Foresters included L.L. White, Emil A. Anderson, and Robert W. Arnold.
The Forest Management Bureau, now part of the Trust Land Management Division (State Lands) of the Department of Natural Resources, manages Montana's forested trust lands to maximize long-term revenue while promoting healthy and diverse forest. The FMB previously operated through the Forestry Division when the Forestry Division was part of the Department of State Lands, but remained with Trust Land Management (State Lands) when State Lands was absorbed into the DNRC, and the Forestry Division became part of DNRC in 1995. The FMB historically, and currently, conducts environmental reviews of proposed management activities, prepares contracts for those activities, completes the field work for forest management, as well as develops the State Forest Land Management Plan (SFLMP). One of the primary activities of the FMB is to conduct forest product sales and manage timber harvesting, including issuing forest timber permits, as well as conservation, inventory, and forest and state land management.
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