Outdoor Women inside the Forest Service 1971-2018

The US Forest Service was established in 1905 and for the following 60-70 years was staffed primarily by men engaged in the production and harvest of timber. Social and economic changes that emerged from the civil rights and environmental movements of the 1960s and 1970s, however, changed the scope and priorities of the service and created opportunities for women to find employment within the agency. Here, career Forest Service employee Lauren Turner offers a brief history of the agency and then profiles the careers of 42 women who have spent most or all of their working lives in that agency. A final chapter provides a frank review of the collective challenges, rewards, and accomplishments of women who have been employed by the Forest Service since the early 1970s. This review is the first of its kind involving women in the Forest Service and, as such, it adds a rich layer to the history of both the agency and that of modern women. In addition, it serves as a beacon to attract and inform young women of today who might themselves be interested in the outdoor, environmentally important work that is undertaken by the Forest Service.