1946-1960

1946

May 16, Reorganized Plan No. 3. Consolidate the General Land Office and the Grazing Service to form the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the interior.

Army Corps of Engineers established.

June 12, Plum Creek Lumber Company owned by, DC Dunham, saws its first log at its new mill in Columbia Falls.

4It starts with 10 employees at $1.05/hour.

4Plum Creek is named for a small creek 70 miles northeast of Bemidji, Minnesota where DC Dunham had operated a mill before moving to Montana.

4This is the same stream that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in her book, “ On the banks of Plum Creek.”

1947

June 25, Forest Pest Control Act. Declared it to be a federal policy to protect all forestlands from the destructive insects pests and diseases.

Bureau of Land Management creates a Forestry Division.

Pinchot writes his autobiography, Breaking New Ground.

1948

June 22, Thye-Blatnick Act. Authorized the forest service to purchase lands within the Quetico-Superior Wilderness for recreation purposes.

June 30, Water Pollution Control Act. Taft-Barkley Act. Cooperative program for stream pollution abatement. Helped restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of our nation’s waters.

Division of Forest Fire Research is established.

April 21, Aldo Leopold dies from a heart attack while fighting a fire.

1949

Winter of 49-50, known as the Blow of 49, blows down almost two thirds of the standing timber in the upper Lochsa drainage. By 1953 the Spruce bark beetle has infested all of the adjacent standing timber Over 140,000,000 b.f. of salvage is put up for bid.

Mann Gulch fire outside Helena, kills 13 Smoke Jumpers.

The Anaconda Company moves its railroad logging operations from Woodworth to Chamberlain Creek. ACM ends its Railroad logging operations in 1946. By 1949, all of the company track is dismantled.

1950

August 9, Fish Restoration and Management Act. Dingell-Johnson Act. Revenue from tax on fishing equipment and baits and flies to be used in cooperation with states for fish restoration and management programs.

June 27, Smokey [the] Bear rescued from the Capitan Gap fire on Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. In 1965, Smokey was given his own zip code: 20252.

Red Skies over Montana released, which was filmed in part in western Montana

1952

May 23, Smokey [the] Bear Act. Protected Smokey symbol from unauthorized use.

1954

The movie Timberjack is filmed in Montana.

1955

June, Anaconda Mining Company changes its name to The Anaconda Company.

Forest Science, a quarterly begins devoted primarily to basic scientific research and its results.

1960

June 12, Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act. Directed the Forest Service to give equal consideration to outdoor recreation, range, timber, water, and wildlife and fish resources and to manage them on the basis of sustained yield.