Smithsonian - Perishable Pundit

[35]A forest ranger in 1910 poses while carrying hisheavy equipment load. After passing a writtenexamination, rangers had to endure hardships andperform labor under trying conditions.In1919 Helen Dowe was one of the earlyfire lookouts in Colorado's Pike NationalForest, scanning the landscape for smokeand signs of fire belowWood and other forest products are stillin demand, and the Forest Service mustsearch for the best ways to balance social,economic, and ecological demands.The forests have additional value ashomes to countless species of fish, birds,other wildlife, and plants, some ot which arethreatened or endangered. Forest Serviceemployees must look tor ways to protecthabitat while providing places for the publicto view plants and wildlife with minimal environmentalimpact. Fresh water from nationalforests and grasslands teeds into hundredsot municipal watersheds across the country,thereby providing clean drinking water tonearly do million people. And as the nationbecomes increasingly urban, people look totheir national forests as places tor fun andrecreation. They want somewhere they cancamp and hike, breathe fresh air, sit underORIGINAL FOREST RANGERSON THE JOBAs the multiple-use mission ot the agencyevolved, so did the Forest Service workforce.In the newly minted Forest Service ot 1905.allemployees were men. Rangers were custodiansof the land and proudly donned newuniforms with Forest Service shields, rodeon horses, carried guns, and wore hats. Theywere paid $60 per month and had to furnishtheir own equipment and pack animals.To be hired as .1 forest ranger, a man hadto have both scientific knowledge and practicalskills. He had to know about forestry, ranching.livestock, lumbering, mapping, and cabin building.In addition, he had to demonstrate that he couldsaddle and ride a horse, pack a mule, use a compass,and shoot a rifle. Some applicants were evenasked to cook a meal. In 1905, all Forest Servicethe shade ot trees, and listento birds sine.regulations could be contained 111 a single 142-FOREST SERVICE, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY