United States Forest Service Northern Region Aerial Photograph Collection, 1932-1978
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- United States Forest Service. Northern Region
- Title
- United States Forest Service Northern Region Aerial Photograph Collection
- Dates
- 1932-1978 (inclusive)19321978
- Quantity
- approximately 65 linear feet
- Collection Number
- Mss 860
- Summary
- This collection consists of approximately 160 reels of aerial photographs taken by the United States Forest Service Northern Region (Region One.) The majority of the collection is imagery of Montana and Idaho from 1932 to the 1940s. The images are in negative format on film reels. These are duplicate images; the original film is at the National Archives and Records Administration.
- Repository
-
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu - Access Restrictions
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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.
- Languages
- English, Visual
Historical Note
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.
Starting in the late 1920s the Northern Region used aerial photography to assist in the creation of maps that were used for a variety of purposes, including timber surveys.
Content Description
This collection of US Forest Service aerial photography consists of reels of film, 9 inches wide and hundreds of feet long, with anywhere from 200 to 1000 images per reel. Each reel has a number of projects (flightlines). The majority of the images are of Central and Western Montana and Northern Idaho, but some images are of parts of Eastern Montana, Eastern Washington, British Columbia and Alberta. 157 reels have black and white negative images from the 1930s and 1940s. The collection also likely includes some color infrared film from 1968, and color infrared panoramic images from 1972, 1974 and 1978 taken from a U2 plane at 65,000 feet.
The collection also includes pdf files of a set of note cards and two binders which provide information about when a flightline was flown, on what date, by whom, and at what altitude. Some pages are annotated with information about when the original film reel was sent to the National Archives and when the duplicate reels of film were received from NARA. Some projects have associated black and white flightline maps, which may be reproductions of original maps held at the National Archives.
There is no logical order to the flightlines on the reels of film. For example, a single reel may have flightlines from 3 different years.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available
Some images in this collection have been scanned by Archives and Special Collections and made available online in the University of Montana’s institutional repository as the United States Forest Service Aerial Photographs.
Restrictions on Use
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. These materials are in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
United States Forest Service Northern Region Aerial Photograph Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
This collection is still being processed (organized for access). It currently consists of three series:
Series I: Aerial Photographs, 1932-1978, 157 reels
Series II: Aerial Photograph Binders and Notecards, three electronic files
Series III: Flightline Maps
Custodial History
The aerial images in this collection were held by the USFS Northern Region office until transfer to the Archives.
Acquisition Information
The aerial images in this collection were delivered to the Archives in 1994 when they were disposed of by the US Forest Service regional headquarters in Missoula. The print indexes (note cards and note books) were loaned by the USFS Northern Region Supervisory Cartographer for scanning and were subsequently returned. Digital copies of flightline maps were given to the Archives by the USFS Northern Region Supervisory Cartographer or acquired from the National Archives.
Processing Note
The original USFS numbering on each can (reel) was retained by Archives and Special Collections (ASC). ASC is creating an ArcGIS map of image centerpoints for the 1930s photographs and has made some scanned images available online. More information about this indexing and access work is available on the ASC Aerial Photography webpage.
Related Materials
The National Archives and Records Administration holds the records of the United States Forest Service (RG 95). The original imagery of this collection is held by the Cartographic Branch of the National Archives at College Park.
Detailed Description of the Collection
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