The United States Forest Service Northern Region consists of twelve national forests and one national grassland across five states (Montana, Idaho, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota). The Northern Region, also known as Region 1, currently includes the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Bitterroot National Forest, Gallatin National Forest, Flathead National Forest, Custer National Forest, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Nez Perce National Forest, Clearwater National Forest, Helena National Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Lolo National Forest, Kootenai National Forest and the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
The Northern Region Archives collection was officially organized in the early 1980s by Public Affairs Officer Judson Moore and others as a means to preserve some of the history and heritage of the Northern Region. Moore collected items throughout his career and from retiring foresters throughout the region. In 1990 the collection was inventoried by the region's records administrator and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)-Pacific Alaska Region. At that time, eighty-three boxes of materials from the Northern Region archives were transferred to the NARA facility in Seattle, Washington. In some cases a copy was created of original material sent to Seattle and retained for use in the Northern Region archives collection. These copies and the remaining collection became the responsibility of the Public and Governmental Relations Unit at the Regional Office.
The contents of the Northern Region Archives collection, frequently referred to as the Region 1 Archives, were transferred to the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections on long-term loan for safekeeping and access during the move of Region 1 headquarters in Missoula, Montana, in 2016.
The Northern Region Archives collection includes published and unpublished materials, some created by the USFS and its employees, and some collected by the Northern Region archives for documentary or historical value. The collection contains information on a broad range of topics from fire management and grazing regulations to the region's well known photography program established by K.D. Swan. Materials include posters, pamphlets, government reports, work diaries, correspondence, scrapbooks and photographs. The collection is currently arranged in seven series, six designated and organized by Northern Region employees in the 1990s and 2000s and the seventh consisting of electronic files supporting access to the collection.
This collection is currently unprocessed and largely uninventoried.
This collection is currently arranged in seven series:
Series I: Photographs, 1896-1993, approximately x linear feet
Series II: Historical Files, 1850s-2010, approximately x linear feet
Series III: Morgue Files, 1990s-2000s, approximately x linear feet
Series IV: Albums, 1930s-1960s, approximately x linear feet
Series V: Artifacts, 1907-2005, approximately x linear feet
Series VI: Oral Histories, 1977-1996, approximately x linear feet
Series VII: Electronic Files, approximately 34 GB
This collection is currently unprocessed and largely uninventoried. Researchers are encouraged to contact Archives and Special Collections to request access in advance of use. Series III: Morgue Files, Series V: Artifacts, Series VI: Oral Histories, and Series VII: Electronic Records are currently closed to research pending inventory. Contact Archives and Special Collections for details.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using collection materials in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana, but some collection materials are in the public domain.
United States Forest Service Northern Region Archives Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection was built and maintained by employees of USFS Northern Region (Region One) until contents of the collection were moved from the Northern Region archives vault to the University of Montana Archives and Special Collections in 2016. Electronic files were transferred to the Archives in 2015.
This collection is on loan from the USFS Northern Region. It was transferred to the University of Montana in 2016.
Additions to the collection are not expected in the short-term.
This collection is currently unprocessed and only partially inventoried. With the exception of some minor reboxing to accomodate archival shelving, this collection remains in the condition and order in which it was received.
The National Archives and Records Administration in Seattle holds additional official records and unofficial historical files generated by the USFS Northern Region. The majority (perhaps all) photographs in the collection were reproduced in the past and sent to the National Archives 'Washington Office."
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series consists of over 10,000 photographs. Photos were used by the USFS in publications, to illustrate policy decisions, record scientific experiments and document natural disasters like fire and earthquakes.
Images are arranged by a number, beginning with 99, that was assigned by the Northern Region archives starting in the year 2000. In an inventory created at that time, each image was assigned a category and a subcategory. For example a picture of a bridge with sign beside it could be assigned to the top level category of Engineering and subcategory of Bridges. The same photograph might also appear in top level category Operations and the subcategory Portals and Signs.
Each individual image also has a unique Washington D.C. Office (WO) number. The WO number is the permanent number assigned to an image by the USFS Washington D.C. office. In theory, all official images taken by the regional photographer were sent back to USFS office in Washington D.C. to be duplicated and assigned a permanent number. Images and negatives were then returned to the Regional Office with their WO number printed on them.
Within this series is a group of images called camera points. Camera points are a run of images, taken every few years, in the same location. Locations were mapped by rangers and data regarding the site was also kept. A single camera point can contain anywhere from three to eight images from a variety of years, for example images from 1891, 1907, 1915, 1935, 1956 and 1972. Each camera point is kept in a single folder, has a unique 99 number and a camera point (CP) number. Individual images within a point are noted by the date they were taken and or their WO number.
At this time, subject access is provided to the images via physical binders of photocopies maintained by Archives and Special Collections.
This series consists of paper-based materials related to the history of the USFS Northern Region. Files can contain both published and unpublished materials, as well as both original documents and copies. Documents include newspaper clippings, official USFS and Regional Office directives and directories, correspondence, maps and retiree newsletters.
Files are organized by government file codes that group like subjects. As examples: 1680-1 is Archival History which includes directives on photographs and how the regional photography program worked. 1950 is Forest Service Environmental Impact Statements and 2300 is Recreation Management which contains reports, plans, brochures etc. on recreation management in the region.
This series consists of 1,501 files. Each file was created for an individual USFS employee, volunteer and/or spouse of an employee. Some files contain a single item, while others chronicle an individual's entire career. Items within the files can include obituaries, news releases, personnel action notices, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories and excerpted biographical content. In some cases items within files are copies, not originals. The files were previously divided into two categories: morgue files and personnel files.
The files in this series are arranged alphabetically by last name.
This series is currently restricted. Because of the presence of some personnel material within a portion of the files, permission is required to access any file. Contact Archives and Special Collections for information.
This series consists of 30 photograph and/or scrapbook albums, including nine 'camera point' albums arranged by subject. The albums are either personal (created by someone associated with the USFS) or official (created as an approved record for the agency.) The albums contain variety of features such as landscapes, structures, hiking, pack trains and forest work.
Note, the camera point albums in this series are not the same as the camera point albums in the Photographs series. These camera point albums are photographs grouped by subject matter, with varying dates and locations.
Both personal and official albums in this series contain images with Washington Office (WO) numbers. All but one of the camera point albums have an inventory listing the WO numbers of the images within the album.
In a few cases the 'albums' are acutally accumulations of loose photographs and are not fixed within an album.
This series has not yet been inventoried or arranged.
This series consists of a wide variety of items and 'mini collections' catagorized under the label 'artifacts.' These include the papers of Regional Forester Charles Tebbe and Forester Junius Benedict, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newsletters, fabric forestry boundary markers, pamphlets, oversized photographs, forest service manuals, personnel cards and ranger journals. The items and collections were acquired mainly through donation by former and/or current USFS employees.
This series has not yet been arranged. A rough inventory of the series is available from Archives and Special Collections.
This series is currently restricted. Because of the presence of some personnel material within a portion of the files, permission is required to access any file. Contact Archives and Special Collections for information.
This series contains a collection of oral history audiocassette, VHS, and reel-to-reel tapes. The interviewees include former USFS chiefs and employees. Several of the interviews were conducted with media organizations. The series may include transcripts, though physical transcripts may be located in the Historical Files series (both series are currently uninventoried.)
This series has not yet been arranged.
This series is currently restricted. Because of the material formats and lack of inventory, permission is required to access any oral history. Contact Archives and Special Collections for information.
This series consists of electronic files created by Northern Region archives employees which serve as initial inventories and access points to the content of the other six series in this collection.
This series is not considered arranged for research access.
This series is currently restricted. Because not all files have been reviewed for content, permission is required to access these files. Contact Archives and Special Collections for information.