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WhiteMountainHistory.org - Telling the story of 200 year of White Mountain History
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Weeks Act Centennial
100 years of Stewardship and Conservation Leadership
The year 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, a landmark piece of conservation legislation that made the creation of the National Forests east of the Mississippi River possible.
The Weeks Act enabled the federal government to purchase lands for incorporation into the National Forest system, helping create the productive, sustainable, and scenic landscapes millions of people value today. The future of sound land stewardship in eastern forests was an uncertainty a century ago.
The environmental issues of today continue to highlight the importance of sustainably managed forests as we face a myriad of national and global conservation challenges.
Background
In the decades prior to 1911, the unregulated logging practices of private timber companies in the White Mountains had resulted in a damaged landscape susceptible to both fire and flood. Fires had burned thousands of acres, and flash floods affected the water power necessary to the mills of major industrial centers downstream, such as Manchester, New Hampshire and Lowell, Massachusetts. Concerns over losses to industry, business, and tourism, and the growing conservation movement, led to citizen action. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) spearheaded an effort to ensure permanent protection of the White Mountains from further depredation. After years of lobbying and intense public pressure, Senator John Weeks of Massachusetts, a native of Lancaster, New Hampshire, introduced legislation that became known as the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act was passed by Congress in 1911, appropriating 9 million dollars to purchase 6 million acres of land in the Eastern U.S. In turn, this led to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in 1918, and twenty-one other national forests throughout the north and southeast. Many of the groups who were instrumental to the passage of the Weeks Act, including the SPNHF and the AMC, are still active today, and the WMNF has grown from 7,000 acres to almost 800,000. Today, the reforested mountains and hillsides supply forest products and provide magnificent recreational opportunities while maintaining healthy watersheds and ecosystems.
Celebrating the Weeks Act Centennial
To commemorate this important anniversary, the Society for Protection of NH Forests, Appalachian Mountain Club, NH Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED), Plymouth State University, Weeks State Park Association, the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, and the White Mountain National Forest, have joined forces to celebrate the Weeks Act Centennial. Many other groups will be joining in the celebration throughout the year.
Some activities being planned for the Centennial include a large celebratory event in the White Mountains, ongoing interpretive educational events and field trips, volunteer opportunities and service trips, lectures and intellectual inquiry with historians, conservationists, and others who have helped to shape the history and culture of the White Mountain region. Additional information and a list of upcoming events are available at Weekslegacy.org and WMNF websites. |
