Forty Years a Forester

by Elers Koch, John N. Maclean (Foreword), Char Miller (Editor)

Elers Koch, a key figure in the early days of the U.S. Forest Service, was among the first American-trained silviculturists, a pioneering forest manager, and a master firefighter. By horse and on foot, he helped establish the boundaries of most of our national forests in the West, designed new fire-control strategies and equipment, and served during the formative years of the agency. Forty Years a Forester , Koch’s entertaining and illuminating memoir, reveals one remarkable man’s contributions to the incipient science of forest management and his role in building the human relationships and policies that helped make the U.S. Forest Service, prior to World War II, the most respected bureau in the federal government.

This new, fully annotated edition of Koch’s memoir offers an unparalleled look at the Forest Service’s formative ambitions to regulate the national forests and grasslands and reminds us of the principled commitment that Koch and his peers exemplified as they built the national forest system and nurtured the essential conservation ethic that continues to guide our use of the public lands.
 

Genres: History

246 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiographical account of Elers Koch who started working as a forester when the U.S. Forest Service begun near the beginning of the 20th century. Gifford Pinchot established the forest service, being the very first chief and perhaps the very first United States Forester. He hired the first group of young men, with Koch being among them, and the only one that grew up in the West.

While the book starts with his early days of growing up and college, there isn’t very much of his personal life, instead it is focused on being a forest ranger. The earliest days were taken up mostly as surveying the forests, drawing up maps then claiming them for protection. Then as inspector. The forest service also handled the logging, determining which trees should be cut and which should stay, so they were involved in managing the forest. And of course, there are forest fires. Several chapters discuss this and are among the most exciting passages of the book when escaping near death from the flames.

Koch occasionally compares how things were done in those early days to now, such as using airplanes and smoke jumpers helping out in fighting the forest fires. Of course his “today” is now many decades ago and things have changed even more. Koch advocated for sometimes not fighting a natural fire and letting it burn as the best way to manage the forest. That was not the policy at the time. Another thing Koch did not approve was in this all-out effort to save the forest from burning, roads were made and developed throughout the woodlands, thus ruining the pristine wide open lands and wilderness.

When the book was originally written in 1949 Koch could not find a publisher. He died before it was published, it took nearly 50 years before the book found a publisher. This is a very readable book and an fascinating account of what it was being a forester over a hundred years ago. Glad this book finally found a publisher.

I listened to the audiobook version but also had access to an eBook which I used to glance through and see the photographs and maps that were included. Those are always a nice addition to a non-fiction book, particularly an autobiography.

[Drew Norwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norman Maclean's "USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky" led me here. Elers Koch was a typical self-made, Western man of his era--competent, tough, hard-working, and also intellectual. This memoir gives you a view into the early days of the U.S. Forest Service, what seemed to be the halcyon days of civil service, and that generation of Western men living at the turn of the 20th century.

[Dickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific memoir

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are fortunate that Char Miller found and prepared this memoir to share with readers today.

As one of the first members of the U.S. Forest Service, Elers Koch's narrative reveals many of the challenges of a new government agency. By sharing his experiences with people, animals, terrain, weather, and fires, as well as other government agencies and programs, Koch memoir fills the scope of forest management.

If my husband had read this book as a young man, our lives would have been vastly different, as I foresee that he would have become a Forest Ranger.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of the early days of U.S. forestry from a critically nuanced viewpoint. We’re still paying for the sins of policy in those days.

Pro tip: skip the preface. John MacLean is a tremendous author, but he gives little more than a regurgitation here.