Watts, Lyle Papers

Dates: 1910-1972

Chief, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, 1943-1952

The papers of Lyle Watts contain correspondence, memorandums, photographs, articles, and speeches primarily related to Watts' career with the U.S. Forest Service.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 3 linear feet, 1 linear inch (approximately 5,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Copyright in the unpublished writings of Lyle Watts in these papers has been donated to the people of the United States. In addition, documents prepared by United States government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents that do not fall into these two categories is presumed to remain with the creators of the documents.
Processed by: Jan Davis, Sharie Simon, Randy Sowell and David Clark (2007)); Jim Armistead and David Clark (2015).


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1890 (November 18)

  

Born, Cerro Gordo, Iowa

1913

  

B.S. in Forestry, Iowa State College

1913-1928

  

Forester, U. S. Forest Service

1928

  

M.A. in Forestry, Iowa State College

1928-1929

  

Dean, School of Forestry at Utah State Agricultural College

1929-1936

  

Senior Silviculturist at the Intermountain Forest and Range Station at Ogden, Utah; Director, Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Stations in Missoula, Montana; U.S. Forest Service

1936-1939

  

Regional Forester, North Central Region, U.S. Forest Service

1939-1943

  

Regional Forester, North Pacific Region, U.S. Forest Service

1943-1952

  

Chief Forester, U.S. Forest Service

1944-1945

  

Member, Technical Committee on Forestry and Primary Forest Products, United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture

1945-1951

  

Technical Advisor to the U.S. Delegate and Chairman, Advisory Committee on Forestry, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

1962 (June 15)

  

Died, Portland, Oregon
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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Lyle Watts contain correspondence, memorandums, photographs, articles, and speeches related to Watts' career in the U.S. Forest Service, which spanned four decades. Watts began his career as a forester in 1913 and retired in 1952 as the Chief of the Forest Service. The collection consists of one series: a Subject File.

The Subject File consists of articles, addresses, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed materials, and reports relating to Watts' Forest Service career and his personal life. The articles and addresses contain Watts' Master's thesis, memorandums, reports, speeches and articles related to Forest Service activities and policies, wildlife, recreation, industry, World War II, conservation, agriculture, federal appropriations and budgets, forest fires, and water resources. The correspondence contains documents mostly of a personal nature but still pertaining to Watts' career with the Forest Service including biographical information, legislation, congratulatory letters, club memberships and retirement. The photographs are of Lyle Watts, Smoky the Bear, and Forest Service staff, lands and buildings.

Other topics include the American Forestry Association, Citizen's Committee on Natural Resources, Izaak Walton League, Klamath Indians, Democratic National Committee and Water Resources Committee. Also included is correspondence with Congresswoman Edith Green, Senator Wayne Morse, and Senator Richard "Dick" Neuberger.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of Clinton Anderson and Charles Brannan, both of whom served as Secretary of Agriculture during the Truman administration. The papers and oral history interview of Daniel Goldy also contain information on government forest policy during this period.

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

  

Series

1-7

   SUBJECT FILE, 1910-1902
Articles, addresses, correspondence, memorandums, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed materials, reports and speeches relating to Watts' Forest Service career and his personal life. Arranged alphabetically.
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FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1910-1972

Box 1

  • American Forestry Association
  • Articles and Addresses, 1927-1934
  • Articles and Addresses, 1935-1937
  • Articles and Addresses, 1938-1939
  • Articles and Addresses, 1940
  • Articles and Addresses, 1941-1942
  • Articles and Addresses, 1943
  • Articles and Addresses, 1944-1945

Box 2

  • Articles and Addresses, 1946
  • Articles and Addresses, 1947-1948
  • Articles and Addresses, 1949-1950
  • Articles and Addresses, 1951-1952
  • Articles and Addresses, 1953-1954
  • Articles and Addresses, 1955-1957

Box 3

  • Audio Recording [2015 accretion]
  • Biographical Material [includes 2015 accretion]
  • Citizen's Committee on Natural Resources
  • Congratulatory Letters and Acknowledgements
  • Correspondence, Appointment as Chief of the Forest Service [2015 accretion] [1 of 2]
  • Correspondence, Appointment as Chief of the Forest Service [2015 accretion] [2 of 2]
  • Correspondence, Death of Lyle Watts

Box 4

  • Correspondence, Forest Service [1 of 3]
  • Correspondence, Forest Service [2 of 3]
  • Correspondence, Forest Service [3 of 3]
  • Correspondence, Move to Portland
  • Correspondence, Personal [1 of 3]
  • Correspondence, Personal [2 of 3]
  • Correspondence, Personal [3 of 3]

Box 5

  • Correspondence, Retirement [2015 accretion] [1 of 2]
  • Correspondence, Retirement [2015 accretion] [2 of 2]
  • Green, Edith
  • Honors and Awards [includes 2015 accretion]
  • Izaak Walton League [includes 2015 accretion]
  • Kennedy, John F. [2015 accretion].
  • Klamath Indian Legislation
  • Legislation—Grazing
  • Morse, Wayne

Box 6

  • Neuberger, Dick [1 of 2]
  • Neuberger, Dick [2 of 2]
  • Personnel, Retirement
  • Photograph Album, Official Photos, 1911-1927 [2015 accretion]
  • Photograph Album, Official Photos, 1927-1955 [2015 accretion]
  • Photograph Album, Summer 1950
  • Photographs, Forest Service [includes 2015 accretion]
  • Photographs, Forest Service, Region 1 to Region 10
  • Photographs, Glass Plates
  • Photographs, Picture Memories of Region Nine
  • Photographs, Regional Office Personnel of Region Nine
  • Photographs, Smokey the Bear [includes 2015 accretion]
  • Political
  • Printed Materials [includes 2015 accretion] [1 of 3]

Box 7

  • Printed Materials [includes 2015 accretion] [2 of 3]
  • Printed Materials [includes 2015 accretion] [3 of 3]
  • Quetico-Superior Area
  • Roosevelt, Franklin D. [2015 accretion]
  • Scrapbook, Forest Service
  • Truman, Harry S. [2015 accretion]
  • Water Resources Committee
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