Weeks Act
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The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
on March 1, 1911. Introduced by
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
, the law authorized the United States Secretary of Agriculture to "Examine, locate and recommend for purchase ... such lands within the watersheds of navigable streams as ... may be necessary to the regulation of flow of navigable streams...." This meant that the federal government would be able to purchase private land if the purchase was deemed necessary to protect
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s' and watersheds'
headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...
in the
eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...
. Furthermore, the law allowed for land acquired through this act to be preserved and maintained as national forest territory. Six years earlier, the Transfer Act of 1905 transferred control over the federal forest reserves from the
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 ...
of 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 ...
to the Department of Agriculture and its Forest Service. Responsibility for land purchased through the Weeks Act was not given to former Chief Forester
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 ...
because he resigned from the National Forest Reservation Commission in 1907, with the stipulation that he would only resign if he could appoint his successor. This stipulation led to the Forest Service's tradition of picking a head with forestry knowledge. With the land acquired through the Weeks Act, Pinchot's successor obtained the power to issue permits for water power development on National Forests. The Weeks Act appropriated $9 million to purchase 6 million acres (24,000 km2) of land in the eastern United States. The Weeks Act also provided measures for more cooperation between federal and state governments in regard to fire control. This legislation was heavily influenced by the fire season of 1910 because it wreaked havoc across the western United States, particularly in
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, where 85 people, including 72 firefighters, were killed in fires and more than of land and roughly of timber were destroyed by the Great Fire of 1910. This year's fire season alone put the US Forest Service $1.1 million in debt. The Weeks Act also authorized establishment of the National Forest Reservation Commission to consider and approve purchase of these identified lands. The commission was composed of the secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and War (for the Corps of Engineers), as well as two members each from the
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and
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. Jacob Gallinger, who had sponsored the Senate's version of the bill, was named a member of the initial committee. The commission would exist from 1911 to 1966. The drafting of Weeks Act was originally motivated by the intent to purchase lands in eastern United States, where the federal government owned no large tracts of land devoted to conservation. Later western lands were acquired under the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act was substantially expanded and modified by the Clarke–McNary Act in 1924. Major national forests that were formed under the Weeks Act are the Allegheny National Forest, White Mountain National Forest, Green Mountain National Forest,
Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The P ...
, George Washington National Forest, and Ottawa National Forest. To date, the Weeks Act has protected more than 20 million acres of forestland, which has had a tremendous benefit for ecosystems and society by providing habitat for plants and animals, creating lucrative recreation spots for tourists, and creating economic opportunities for local communities, stimulating the economy.Weeks Act - Forest History Society
Retrieved 2015-11-23. The Weeks Act effectively outlawed some Native American fire management practices. The Weeks Act was involved in the '' United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Assn.'' decision.


See also

* Clarke–McNary Act, an expansion in 1924 * Environmental history of the United States


References


External links


The Weeks Act
a history of the bill from the Forest History Society website.
Library of Congress - American Memory-Evolution of the Conservation Movement 1850-1920
a description and text of Weeks Act {{US Environmental law Nature conservation in the United States United States federal environmental legislation United States federal legislation articles needing infoboxes United States federal public land legislation 1911 in the environment 1911 in American law March 1911 in the United States Great Fire of 1910