Smithsonian - Perishable Pundit

employees, the USDA Forest Serviceislarger than any other land-managementagency, including the Bureau ofLand Management (roughly 11,000employees), National Park Service(roughly 20,000 employees), and Fishand Wildlife Service (roughly 9,000employees), alloí which are part ofthe Department of the Interior.THE STATUS OF THE NATIONALFOREST SYSTEM TODAYFor the past100 years, the missionof the Forest Service has often beendescribed inPinchot's words as conservationfoinumbei 111the greatest good oj the greatestthe long run. However, theidea oí what is the greatest good canchange. Accordingly, the Forest Servicehas had to deal with many stronglyheld opinions about how nationalforests should be managed and used.Employing a concept of multiple use,and thus differentiating itself fromother land management agencies, theForest Service has tried over the yearsto accommodate awide variety ofuses for the forests and grasslands itmanages: timber, grazing, recreation,wildlife, and watershed protection.The relative value of extractingresources from national forests oftenchanges with current national events.For instance, after World War IF thedemand tor wood surged as AmericanGIs returning from the war needednew housing for their families andasthe United States was helping torebuild [apan.As a result, the ForestService was pressured to exchangeolder, slow -growing timber standstor younger, taster-growing trees.Golden Aspen trees in Idaho'sSawtooth National Forest.SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL