Aaron Parley Christiansen daybooks, 1915-1921

This collection consists of the soft-bound daybooks of Aaron Parley Christiansen. Christiansen was a career Forest Service ranger. These particular daybooks cover the period from 1915 to 1921 when Christiansen was an assistant forest ranger in the Uinta Forest. Stationed out of Nephi, Utah, the books contain a log of his work activities in the field and in the office. In essence, these records were a time card. The books contain an excellent account of the duties of a forest ranger in the early twentieth century.

While working in the Uinta National Forest, Christiansen was required to keep a daily log of his activities, and these books represent that record. Some of the subject matters that are mentioned in the books are timber sales, grazing leases, road building, fighting forest fires, and reseeding projects. Christiansen spent a great deal of his time in the field, primarily working out of the Salt Creek Ranger Station many of the entries were noted from the Salt Creek area. Of particular interest are the comments concerning Forest Service philosophy and of Christiansen's philosophy about conservation.

The books number fifteen in total and were turned in on a monthly basis to his supervisor. The words "examined by" followed by an initial appear throughout the books. The book, after being scrutinized, would be returned to Christiansen, many times he would then enter another month in to the book. This accounts for alternated months appearing in the same book.