In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, logging in East Texas was like the “Wild West”. There was no regulation and “cut and run” logging, which often severely damaged entire watersheds, streams, riparian zones (streamside areas), caused significant soil erosion, and filled streams, creeks, bayous, and rivers with sediment, was the rule of the day.
People complained to their state representatives and senators about the effects of logging, which reduced water quality and altered water quantity in their communities. No one was replanting logged areas, so there was no expectation that forests would grow back.
Some people were distressed by this situation. One of these people was William (W.) Goodrich Jones, a businessman, often called the “Father of Forestry in Texas”. The idea was to properly manage forests so that they provided for wood and other uses over the long-term. Jones’ motto was, “For every tree cut, plant a tree”. Texas Arbor Day began with the support of Jones and others in Temple, Texas in 1889.
In 1913, he convinced legislators to introduce a bill in the Texas Legislature to create a state forest service. This bill did not pass. The Texas Forestry Association (TFA), a private organization, was organized in 1914 by businessmen, including W. Goodrich Jones, who were alarmed about the situation. After the formation of the TFA, Jones and others again lobbied the Texas Legislature for a state forestry agency. In 1915, the State Department of Forestry was approved by the Texas Legislature. This agency became the Texas Forest Service (TFS).
The law that created the TFS required that a state forester be appointed by the Board of Directors of Texas A&M College; a department of forestry be established at the college; and that there be authority to purchase lands for timber production as state forests. The state legislation required that the TFS “assume direction of all forest interests and all matters pertaining to forestry within the jurisdiction of the state.”
From the beginning, the focus of the TFS was to work with private landowners so they would practice forestry and convert sub-marginal agricultural lands to forests; protect private forest lands from wildfires, insects, and diseases; inform the public about forests as an economic renewable natural resource; educate citizens in the uses and abuses of forests; and assist the forest products industry in development of products and improved production techniques.
The TFS has five state forests. E.O. Siecke State Forest (1,722 acres) in Newton County and was bought in 1924; W. Goodrich Jones State Forest (1,725 acres) is in Montgomery County and was bought in 1924; I.D. Fairchild State Forest (2,896 acres) is in Cherokee county and was bought in 1925; the John Henry Kirby State Forest (626 acres) is in Tyler County and was donated in 1929; and the Paul N. Masterson Memorial Forest is in Jasper County and was donated in 1984. These forests serve as demonstrations of how to sustainably manage forestland.
A sixth forest, Mission State Forest, is in Houston County, was given to TFS in 1935, and is the site of the San Francisco de los Tejas Mission. In 1957, this forest was given to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where it is operated as the Mission de Tejas State Park (660 acres).
The TFS also operates two nurseries where tree seedlings are grown. These two nurseries are Indian Mound Nursery in Cherokee County and West Texas Nursery in Lubbock, Texas.
There are different programs within TFS’s two divisions: Forest Resource Development Division and Sustainable Forestry and Forest Resource Protection division.
See next month's article for a detailed description of these divisions and programs.