The Transfer Act of 1905 (33 Stat. 628) transferred the forest reserves of the United States from the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...

to the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, Bureau of Forestry.

General information

On February 1, 1905, under the leadership of

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

, the National Forest Reserves were transferred from the Department of Interior to the Department of Agriculture. Gifford Pinchot was the head of the Division of Forestry which was part of the Department of Agriculture. This transfer included over 63 million acres (250,000 km²) of forest reserves and over 500 employees. This legislation was the first forestry law to be passed. This act was significant because it caused the National Forest Reserves to shift roles from a recreational role to a more economic role using science-based management. In March 1905, the Division of Forestry was renamed the

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 ...

References

The Forest Service in 1905, by David D. Roth, PHD and Gerald W. Williams, PHD(Rich Text Document)
*[https://www.fs.fed.us/eng/pubs/htmlpubs/htm00712854/page05.htm#:~:text=Fernow's%20efforts%20paid%20off%20when,establishing%20Yellowstone%20Park%20Timberland%20Reserve Bridges Within the National Forest System—A Historic Context] United States federal public land legislation Forestry in the United States {{US-fed-statute-stub