Forest Service turns 100

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Nancy Baren Miller

In 1905 Congress created the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has grown from a budget of $400,000 and a core staff of 270 to a budget of more than $4 billion and 32,000 employees. Today the agency oversees 192 million acres within 155 national forests and 22 grasslands.

It manages 4,300 camp-grounds and 23,000 developed recreation sites. It has the capacity to serve 157 million people at one time. For more information, browse www.fs.fed.us.