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Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forestry Division records, 1913-2001

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana. Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
Title
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forestry Division records
Dates
1913-2001 (inclusive)
Quantity
52 linear feet
Collection Number
RS 496 (Formerly RS 283)
Summary
This collection is a sub-subgroup (Bureau) of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records, RS 496. The Forest Management Bureau (formerly the Forestry Division) currently (as of 2024) operates within the Forestry-Trust Lands Division. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records. Forest Management Bureau records consist primarily of subject files, and also include correspondence, legal documents, minutes, maps, clippings, and more.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for encoding additions to this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
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Historical Note

The Montana Office of State Forester was established by the Montana Legislature in 1909. Prior to that year, the functions of the office had been performed by the State Board of Land Commissioners (see RS 496 primary finding aid) and its administrative arms, the Register of State Lands and the State Land Agent. With statehood, Montana received land sections 16 and 36 from the Federal Government 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 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.

Forestry Division was part of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation from 1971 to 1981, after which it returned to the Department of State Lands. In 1995, the Forestry Division returned to DNRC. 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 (formerly part of the Trust Land Management Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) 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 when the Department of State Lands was absorbed into the DNRC in 1995. The Forest Management Bureau 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.

As of 2024, the Forest Management Bureau operates within the Forestry-Trust Lands Division of DRNC.

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Content Description

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 (see primary finding aid).

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by series.

Location of Collection

RS 283: 32:6-1; Oversized Boxes (Ov1-Ov3) 25:8-5; Volumes 120:9-4

Processing Note

Processing Note:

In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 496, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's various Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 496. Rather than reprocessing over 280 linear feet of DNRC materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.

Additional Processing Note

The Forestry Division used many filing systems over the years, but has always had what is basically a subject file approach. From the 1930s to 1940s broad subject categories were used and these were subdivided (e.g. FIRE COOPERATION--SLASH DISPOSAL). Sometime in the 1950s, the agency switched to a numerical file system. Subjects were given decimal numbers similar in concept to Dewey library numbers. State, federal and private organizations were given a combination of a two-digit number and an acronym for their name (e.g. 82-USFS: 82 for federal government and USFS for U.S. Forest Service). In many cases un-numbered files were merged into the new numbering system, in other cases they were not. Several major changes were made in the numbering system over the years in addition to very frequent minor changes. One file folder sometimes had 2 or 3 different numbers, with the numbers inside the folder often disagreeing with the number on the folder label.

The processor decided it was not possible to retain the numbered system. The basic concept of subject files divided up into agency files, organization files, and topical files has been retained, however. File numbers appearing either on the folder label or on the materials inside the folder have been listed in brackets at the end of the folder title, for reference purposes. Copies of the different versions of the file code are at the end of the collection.

Digital version of table of Stillwater Unit Conservation Corps Projects Proposed, April 24, 1933, box 23, folder 10, available upon request. DVD A-1 Page 1 image MHS 031604 10 : JPEG, 3785 KB; Page 2 image MHS 031604 11 : JPEG, 3307 KB; Page 3 image MHS 031604 12 : JPEG, 3321 KB.

Boxes 26-49 were added to the collection in 2012, having previously formed a second, unprocessed collection.

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, and can be found in box 49.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information is available upon request.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Air--Pollution
  • Christmas tree growing
  • Civil defense
  • Conservation of natural resources
  • Earthquakes
  • Fire fighters
  • Fire prevention
  • Fire protection districts
  • Forest fires
  • Forest management
  • Grazing leases
  • Insect pests--Control
  • Land tenure
  • Lumber trade
  • Mountain pine beetle
  • Nuclear warfare
  • Pesticides
  • Reclamation of land
  • Smokey bear
  • Soil conservation districts
  • Spruce budworm
  • State forests
  • Watershed management
  • World War II

Geographical Names

  • Bighorn Canyon (Mont. and Wyo.)
  • Bitterroot River Valley (Mont.)
  • Buffalo Creek Grazing District (Mont.)
  • Clearwater State Forest (Mont.)
  • Columbia River Basin
  • Deer Lodge County (Mont.)
  • Flathead Indian Reservation (Mont.)
  • Flathead Lake (Mont.)
  • Flathead River Valley (B.C. and Mont.)
  • Fort Missoula (Mont.)
  • Gallatin County (Mont.)
  • Glacier National Park (Mont.)
  • Goat Creek (Mont.)
  • Granite County (Mont.)
  • Jefferson County (Mont.)
  • Lewis and Clark County (Mont.)
  • Lincoln County (Mont.)
  • Madison County (Mont.)
  • Mineral County (Mont.)
  • Missoula County (Mont.)
  • Park County (Mont.)
  • Powell County (Mont.)
  • Ravalli County (Mont.)
  • Sanders County (Mont.)
  • Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (Mont.)
  • Smith River (Mont.)
  • Swan Lake (Mont.)

Finding aid prepared by MTHS Staff; Updated by Lindsey Mick
2004, 2013; 2024

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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