forestry school in the United States. - ScholarsArchive at Oregon ...

The Beginnings 15
Charles G. Hyde (Engineering), and Joseph N. LeConte (Engineering
Mechanics) 27
The earthquake of April 18, 1906 delayed the work of the committee,
but by June 6 its report had been sent to Wheeler. The report28 stated:
"We have carefully examined the curricula of eastern Forestry
schools and compared the elements thereof with the courses of
instruction now given in the University of California, to ascertain
their equivalence and correlation. As a result of this study we submit
the following:
"First: a draft of a 'Pre-Forestry Course', of which a copy is
transmitted herewith. This will serve two purposes: (a) suggestive
to students who desire to take one or more years in the University
in order to gain advanced standing in an eastern institution offering
a full forestry course; (b) involving a schedule for graduation
from this University which shall best prepare for a post-graduate
course in forestry at such an institution.
"Second: the conimittee is convinced that a student pursuing
this proposed Pre-Forestry Course will not only cover the subjects
included in an eastern forestry curriculum, but will enjoy a more
full and thorough development of these subjects in this University
because our work is upon a two term (rather than a 3 term) per
year basis and this permits more satisfactory instruction in certain
subjects which in some eastern institutions must be more or less
fragmentary. It may also be noted that the Pre-Forestry Course
which we propose has close engineering relations and is in fact
consistent with ultimate acknowledgment of the successful student
as a forest engineer. This is the end to which your committee
believes university instruction in forestry must attain to be true to
its name.
"Third: it should be noted that all instruction indicated in this
Pre-Forestry Course is now given in the University of California,
except the special subjects marked with an asterisk (*) 29 in the
Senior Year. These pertain to forestry policy and practice and
your committee is convinced that provision for an Assistant Professor
of Forestry would cover these subjects for the present, and
that the University can offer a full forestry course when such an
officer begins his work. The installation and equipment of a Department
of Forestry can follow as soon as the additional cost
thereof can be provided."
ttLoren E. Hunt, lecturer in Civil Engineering, was subsequently added to the committee. Jepson prob.
ubly would have been the Botany representative on the committee had he not been in Europe. LeConte,
no doubt, was appointed because of demonstrated inteeest in forestry. In 1902, he had considered taking a
forest supervisor position. However, he gave up the idea when Pinchot in a letter on February 3, 1902, to
W. R. Dudley of Stanfard (see details later in this chapter) made it plain that "his duties wsuld require his
whole time thraughoist the year."
tsThe Wickson Report, referred to in numerous correspondence sources, became the abject of a wide.
spread search by Wieslander and Casamajor in the preparation of this history. Many strange and dusty records
depositories around the University were searched in vain. Finally, on October 22, 1963, Mrs. Esther Johnson,
Forestry librarian, came upon the handwritten original tucked away in a mislabeled envelope and recsgnized
it as the long searched for document. It was a red-letter day fur amateur historians.
t0The special subjects were: Silviculture, 6 units; Forest Mensuration, 3 units; and Lumbering, 3 units.