The North Carolina Forest Service

The North Carolina Forest
Service
100 Years of protecting, managing and promoting
1915 - The N.C. Forest Service is born
The North Carolina General Assembly
passes a forest protection law that
authorizes the hiring of Fire Wardens in
the state. John Simcox Holmes is
appointed State Forester and State
Forest Warden.
John Simcox Holmes
1921 - First county cooperators
Counties begin cooperative firefighting agreements with the
NCFS. The first cooperators are
Avery, Buncombe, Jackson and
New Hanover counties.
Craven County Warden fighting a road-side fire in 1926
1922 - Over 20 county cooperators
Each cooperating county has a Fire
Warden.
By 1990, all one hundred North
Carolina counties have a County
Ranger or Forester.
1926 – First fire tower
Erected in Harnett County. It’s
known as The Cameron Hill Tower.
The original Cameron Hill Tower
1928 – First tree seedling nursery
Begun on a 4 acre tract of
land outside of Clayton, the
nursery will expand rapidly
and stay in operation until
late in the 20th century.
Eventually, nurseries near
Goldsboro, Crossnore,
Hendersonville and Morganton
will be constructed.
1933 to 1938 – Civilian Conservation Corps
The Great Depression leaves many
out of work. In response, the
Roosevelt administration, as part of
the “New Deal” creates the Civilian
Conservation Corps. In North
Carolina the young men of the Corps
construct 52 fire towers, hundreds
of miles of forest trails, several
buildings, and plant almost 15
million tree seedlings.
CCC camp in Brunswick County
1937 – Forest Management Branch
Begun under the supervision of
future State Forester Fred H.
Claridge the branch is responsible
for helping forest landowners get
more out of their land.
Forest Service personnel assisting landowners
1939 – Bladen Lakes State Forest
Land is acquired from the federal
government for this demonstration
and research forest. It still operates
today and is funded entirely from
receipts generated by timber sales
and other forest products.
Also in 1939, the NCFS is first given
responsibility for the study and
control of forest insects and diseases
in the state.
Bladen Lakes State Forest, 1949
1945 – A new State Forester
William K. Beichler becomes the second North
Carolina State Forester following the
retirement of John Simcox Holmes.
William K. Beichler
1950 – Cooperative Forest Management Act
This federal law makes funds
available for hiring Service Foresters
to provide forest management
advice to landowners.
Assisting a landowner in Lenoir County, 1964
1951 – “The Colonel”
Fred H. Claridge, known as “The
Colonel” in deference to his World
War II service, is named State
Forester. He has worked with the
agency since the 1920s.
Fred H. Claridge
1953 – Airplanes and insects
The Forest Service purchases its first
airplane, a Piper Cub used for aerial
surveying and fire spotting.
The Forest Pest branch is created in
response to the newly passed Forest
Insect & Disease Law.
Preparing for a pest control survey, mid-1950s
1955 – “The Fire of the Century”
Over 600,000 acres burn from a
single fire covering areas of Hyde,
Washington, and Tyrrell counties.
Partly as a result of this blaze, North
Carolina joins in a wildfire mutualaid compact with other Southern
states.
From the Washington Daily News, April 4, 1955
1960– First water bomber
A surplus Navy N3N biplane
is converted by NCFS
personnel into a water
bomber.
The modified N3N being loaded
1963– Improving trees, fighting fires
The Tree Improvement Program begins
selective breeding of trees at Edwards
Nursery in Goldsboro.
“Black Thursday” occurs on April 4 as 127
fires burn about 185,000 acres in the
state.
Examining a grafted seedling, 1964
1966 – New leadership, “Black Friday”
Ralph C. Winkworth becomes the
fourth North Carolina State Forester.
On April 1, 74,000 acres burn from
nearly 500 fires in North Carolina
and South Carolina.
Ralph C. Winkworth
1970 – “Out West”
NCFS becomes the first state
agency east of the Mississippi to
send a hand crew to a western
fire.
Three crews are sent to
Washington state during the
summer of 1970.
Crewmembers departing from Raleigh-Durham airport
1973 – Small State Forests
Part of NCFS’s first nursery is reestablished
as Clayton State Forest. The Small State
Forest System is described by State Forester
Ralph Winkworth as "…a supplement to the
state park system with the primary mission
of explaining the forest and forestry."
Clayton State Forest will be renamed in 1975
for former nursery supervisor Moody
Clemmons. The Small State Forests will be
renamed Educational State Forests in 1986.
1977 – Forest Development Program
The General Assembly passes a law
providing for a cost-share program
for forest landowners. The Forest
Development Program provides the
aid needed to keep acreage in
forestland.
1981 – Fifth State Forester
H.J. “Bo” Greene becomes State Forester.
H.J. “Bo” Greene
1985– The Allen Road Fire
This coastal blaze burns 93,000
acres in April.
April 7, 4:00 pm, Tyrrell County
1986 – Harry Layman and the Topsail Fire
Harry Layman is appointed the sixth State
Forester. He is the first State Forester to
come from outside the division.
The Topsail Island Fire burns 73,000
acres.
Harry Layman
1987 – B.R.I.D.G.E.
The Young Offender Forest Conservation
Program puts non-violent inmates to
work as firefighters and gives them
valuable job skills in trades such as
carpentry and landscaping. The first
camp is opened in Burke County.
The program is informally known as
BRIDGE, which stands for Building,
Rehabilitating, Instructing, Developing,
Growing, and Employing.
A BRIDGE crew digging fireline
1991 – Stan Adams
Retired U.S. Forest Service employee
Stan Adams becomes the seventh North
Carolina State Forester.
Stanford M. Adams
1992 – Hurricane Andrew
The NCFS becomes the first
state emergency response
agency to send an Incident
Management Team out of
state. The team manages
response efforts in Florida
in the wake of Hurricane
Andrew.
Damaged and destroyed homes in Florida
1996 – DuPont State Recreational Forest
The state begins the first land
purchases for what will become the
10,400 acre DuPont State
Recreational Forest. Today, the forest
welcomes well over 450,000 visitors a
year.
Visitors enjoy a waterfall at DuPont State Recreational Forest
2000 – The Blodgett Trailhead Fire
A NCFS Incident Management Team
becomes the first state team east of the
Mississippi to supervise the response to a
Western fire when it takes charge of the
Blodgett Trailhead Fire. Several NCFS
teams have since managed blazes “out
west”.
A morning Incident Action Plan for the Blodgett Trailhead Fire
2003 – Shuttle Columbia Disaster
The NCFS sends two Incident
Management Teams and several
other personnel to Texas to assist
with debris recovery after the space
shuttle Columbia tragically
disintegrates on re-entry.
Tents for response workers in Texas
2004 – One Million Acres
The Forest Development
Program hits an impressive
milestone; one million acres of
forest land improvement in the
state.
2005 – Hurricane Katrina
Teams are sent to Louisiana and
Mississippi to help areas devastated by
this massive storm.
2007 – A New Leader
Wib Owen, a long-time employee of the
Wildlife Resources Commission becomes
State Forester.
Wib Owen
2008 – The Evans Road Fire
40,704 acres burn on state and federal
land in three different counties.
2010 - Forestry License Plate
In recognition of the importance of forestry in
North Carolina and the state's status as the
birthplace of professional forestry in the United
States, the N.C. General Assembly has approved
a special "First in Forestry" license plate. $20 of
the $30 fee collected for each plate will go
toward forestry education programs in the
state.
The plates are available for purchase from the
NC Division of Motor Vehicles online and at
offices throughout the state.
2011 – A New Home and a Summer of Fire
An act of the General Assembly transfers the
NCFS from the Department of Environment
& Natural Resources to the Department of
Agriculture & Consumer Services.
Shortly after the transfer, multiple large
blazes keep the NCFS busy all summer. The
Simmons Road Fire burns 5,348 acres; the
Pains Bay Fire burns more than 45,000
acres, mainly on federal land; and the
Juniper Road Fire burns 31,140 acres.
2012 – Greg Pate
Former Nursery Program Supervisor and
Coastal Plain Regional Forester Greg
Pate is appointed State Forester.
Gregory Pate
2014 – Ten State Foresters
David Lane is appointed the 10th North
Carolina State Forester.
David Lane
2015 – One Hundred Years
The NCFS celebrates 100 years of service
to the people of North Carolina.