This collection includes interviews with former Bureau of Land Management administrator Robert Wolf. Wolf details the history of the Forest Service from 1870 to 2001, its practices, legislation, controversies, the Congressional processes by which specific laws are enacted or defeated and the roles of legislators and governmental agencies in these processes. The interviews were conducted from 1989 to 2001 by multiple interviewers. Wolf also discusses specific Forest Services practices such as clearcutting, use of public lands, timber sales and bidding, multiple use of forests lands, roads, budgeting, reforestation, recreation and the controversies over the Klamath and Quinalt tribal forest lands and allotments. The original interviews are held as Oral History collection OH 227 at Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula.
This collection includes 43 interviews.
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Robert Wolf Communication, August 26, 2000
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf talks about his experience with Dutch elm disease on summer crews in 1939 and 1940. He describes Huntington Forest grouse and deer surveys from 1941-1942. He also discusses his experiences during the 1940s including being a lookout in the Siskiyou National Forest in ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Communication, February 5, 2001
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf describes a Bureau of Land Management meeting with Escalante permit holders of Utah and their attorney William Rehnquist.
This is an email addition to the collection written by Wolf.
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Robert Wolf Communication, March 2001
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the forest industry’s 1962 “four points” agenda. He also describes a 1962 timber industry caper, and President Richard Nixon’s tax woes during the Nixon impeachment hearings of 1973.
This is an email addition to the collection written by Wolf.
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 17, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Biographical interview of Robert Wolf followed by broad view of Wolf’s work with the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Bureau of the Budget, Comptroller General, various congressional committees, and the Congressional Research Service. Wolf recalls his experiences during the Nixon Era, including memories of ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 18, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the history of the Forest Service from 1900 to the 1980s. He describes the below-cost timber sales and Forest Service management goals, including justifications for deficit sales beginning with Giffort Pinchot in 1906 and continuing into the 1980s. He mentions other issues ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 18, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf recalls the Aztec Land and Cattle Company as related to the 1954 Forest Service dispute over land in New Mexico, disputes in Oregon over railroad land ownership, and which U.S. federal agency had control over national forest lands.
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 19, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the history of the Multiple Use Act of 1960. He talks in depth about the process of including definitions in the act, wilderness versus multiple use, the legislative process, and conflicts among the various governmental agencies. He also describes the significance of ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 20, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the proposed termination of the Klamath Reservation from his position on the comptroller general’s staff in the 1950s. He also considers the attitudes of parties involved, including Senator Dick Neuberger, the BIA, the state of Oregon, the timber industry, and various factions ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 20, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf describes his experiences related to the 1976 passage of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes bill HR 9719 (PILT). He discusses the initial county pressure and county expectations as well as industry and forest service response to the bill. He also talks about ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 21, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf describes the historical process behind the 1974 Resource Planning Act including the issue of roads and the assessment of forest lands in regard to planning and funding. He talks about the effectiveness of the Act. He also discusses Nixon’s proposal to abolish regional ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 24, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the Forest Road and Trail Act of 1964. He recalls the congressional debates related to the act. He describes the potential uses of the roads, quality of roads to be built, construction parameters, repair costs, and the historical development of the U.S. ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 24, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf explains aspects of grazing fees, including the origins from Gifford Pinchot’s role in the early 1900s. He also describes the changing philosophies related to grazing fees in addition to the various economic determinations used. He continues to talk about the politics of grazing, ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 25, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf explains the history of the Youth Conservation Corps [YCC] from its forerunner, the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC], to the legislation enacted between 1950 and 1964. He discusses the parts played by Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, and John F. Kennedy in the formation ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 25, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf describes his experiences in the 1961 Vale, Oregon grazing dispute. He discusses specific issues related to the dispute including federal grazing practices, degradation of grazing lands, and ranchers’ responses to Bureau of Land Management. He describes at length the controversy and the results.
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 25, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf revisits the National Wilderness Preservation Act of 1963, recalling the behind-the-scenes congressional activity. He recalls Hubert Humphrey’s initial interest in the concept and Scoop Jackson’s role and philosophy. He describes the timber industry’s response to the act. Wolf describes the application of the ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 26, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf and interviewers talk about the events leading up to and following the passage of the National Forest Management Act of 1976. The issues discussed include principles behind the act, congressional activities, the motivations of specific people, committee hearings, implementation, and sustained yield.
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Robert Wolf Interview, April 27, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf pauses at this mid-point in this interview collection with a reminder that all events and personalities described within these oral histories reflect his viewpoint. From there he goes on to respond to specific questions about agency policy and community stability. He also discusses ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 13, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf describes the behind-the-scenes process of pushing the Small Business Set-aside Amendment through the U.S. House of Representatives. He discusses the main individuals involved in the process including himself and Montana Senator Mike Mansfield. He also talks about the timber bidding process in terms ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 13, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the General Accounting Law. He provides background information about the law including deficiencies of the public timber program 1954-55, 1955-56 hearings in the West, and the Al Serena mining claim. He describes the role played by the following entities in the formation ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 13, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses the history of capital gains tax policy from the 1940s through to the 1990s and its effect on the timber industry. He explains how the policy could be a subsidy for the forest products industry. Wolf also describes the congressional maneuvering related ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 14, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf takes up the early history of log exports, the Morse Amendment of 1968, differences between Alaska and the lower 48 states, abuse of the Tongass Forest in Alaska, Native American sales to Japan, the role of Western Forest Industries Association, the roles of ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 14, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf recalls a national focus on “full development of public resources” during the 1950s and the resulting impact. He begins with the history of Region One in establishing national policy and moves into congressional activity. He describes clear-cutting methods and justifications, grazing, recreational beginnings, ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 15, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf discusses disaster aid policy through overviews of four events: the Montana earthquake of 1959 and the impact on the Madison River, the Alaskan earthquake of 1964 and the impact on the railroad, Mount St. Helens, and the East coast hurricane of 1960. Some ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 15, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf tells the tale of the “Sweet Swap,” a nearly scandalous land exchange in Oregon involving the Bureau of Land Management and a timber man named Sweet from California. He describes how Senator Lee Metcalf had previously prevented J. Neils Lumber Co. from getting ... Read More
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Robert Wolf Interview, November 15, 1989
Robert E. Wolf
Robert Wolf examines public land law from several perspectives. He explains that the history of public land law involved the poorly regulated “withdrawal” of public lands by the military which resulted in the Ingalls (?) Act to standardize regulation. Wolf describes the second phase of ... Read More