The Forest Service Equipment Development Center, now the Missoula Technology & Development Center (MTDC), was created in the 1940s to support the United States Forest Service's (USFS) wildland firefighting mission. Beginning in the 1960s, the Center expanded to support all USFS equipment needs. During this time, the Center had a significant role in developing tools and techniques for the USFS Smokejumpers as well as other wildland firefighting and survival equipment. Today, the MTDC continues to oversee equipment development, production, and implementation throughout the Forest Service.
This album was donated to the Oregon State University Archives as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection. It now resides independently in the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center.
This photograph album was accessioned as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG). It has since been separated from that collection and processed independently.
During processing the contents of this album were removed from their housing, a binder featuring the title "Camera in the Wilderness" and the monogram "PE". The binder's title appeared to be unrelated to the contents of this collection.
The collection is open for research.
Forest Service Equipment Development Center Photograph Album (P 311), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Other materials relating to the history and work of the United States Forest Service include the
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings also include numerous maps and aerial photographs generated by the USFS in the
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
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