United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

Guard Station is an administrative building located in a

National Forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

which is not at the same location as the District Ranger's headquarters (the

Ranger Station A ranger station is a building complex typically including a dwelling and outbuildings which support a ranger or other guardian of a wilderness or national forest area. For example, the Cold Meadows Guard Station in Idaho County, Idaho, United S ...

). They usually have office and workshop space, tool storage and often sleeping quarters. Fire, trail, road and other work crews are frequently stationed at these sites during busy times of the year. Casa Vieja GS

History

In the 1920s and 1930s, Forest Service employees often traveled many miles from local

ranger station A ranger station is a building complex typically including a dwelling and outbuildings which support a ranger or other guardian of a wilderness or national forest area. For example, the Cold Meadows Guard Station in Idaho County, Idaho, United S ...

s to forest work sites. Since the forest road networks were not well developed, getting to a job site meant a long trek, carrying all the equipment needed to perform the field work. This made it impractical for employees to make daily round trips. To facilitate work at remote sites, the Forest Service built guard stations at strategic locations throughout the forest to house fire patrols and project crews.Jacoby, Jayson
"Rustic Forest Service cabins available for rent"
, ''

Baker City Herald The ''Baker City Herald'' is a tri-weekly paper published in Baker City, Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delinea ...

'', Baker City, Oregon, 28 January 2013. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Forest Service greatly expanded its road network, allowing employees to get to most National Forest areas within a few hours. As a result, guard stations lost their utility. The Forest Service found new uses for some stations, but many were demolished or abandoned. In the 1990s, historic preservation groups with the support of Forest Service employees began pressing National Forest managers to preserve the remaining structures. To finance the preservation effort the Forest Service started renting some guard stations to the public.

References

{{reflist, 2 United States Forest Service