Archives West Finding Aid

The Forest Service Equipment Development Center Photograph Album (P 311) is comprised of 117 black-and-white and color photographs depicting the work of the Center's staff and other United States Forest Service (USFS) employees during the 1970s. The album includes photographs of USFS cameramen, interior and exterior shots of the Forest Service Equipment Development Center facilities in Missoula, Montana, and images created and edited for use in Equip Tips, the Center's publication. Of particular note are photographs depicting the use and features of various firefighting equipment including a belt first aid kit, a disposable sleeping bag, a fire shelter, and a mobile fire retardant sprayer. Some of the photographs include graphic overlays or show other evidence of manual edits made for publication purposes.

The bulk of the album is comprised of photographs depicting USFS employees working in the field, often in tasks related to wildland firefighting. The photos document life and work in field camps; use of helicopters for reconnaissance, rescue, and cargo delivery operations; use of planes and ground vehicles for dispersal of fire retardant; creation of firebreaks; and operation of snowmobiles and Sno-Cats. There are also several photos of wildfire blazes and post-fire remains, including two color photographs of a fire in progress. Perhaps most notable are fourteen images, including six in color, showing interior shots of a smokejumper plane and smokejumpers in action.

Though most photographs in this album do not include captions or other identifying information, there is indication that several of the photos were taken in the Humboldt-Toiyabe (California), Custer Gallatin (Montana), and Bitterroot (Idaho) National Forests. Several other photos feature captions indicating they are of the 1967 Sundance and Trapper Peak wildfires in northern Idaho. The majority of the album's photographs are unattributed, though three photographs are credited to J. Malcom Greany and one photo to Martin Onishuk.

The album also includes three photographs from a rodeo and three photographs of post-eruption Mount Saint Helens. Photocopies of three Equip Tip articles from 1971 and 1972, two featuring photos from the album, are also present.