It contained all the trained foresters in the Government service, but had charge of no public timberland whatsoever.
The Government forest reserves of that day were in the care of a Division in the General Land Office, under the management of clerks wholly without knowledge of forestry, few if any of whom had ever seen a foot of the timberlands for which they were responsible.

Thus the reserves were neither well protected nor well used.

There were no foresters among the men who had charge of the National Forests, and no Government forests in charge of the Government foresters.
In my first message to Congress I strongly recommended the consolidation of the forest work in the hands of the trained men of the Bureau of Forestry.

This recommendation was repeated in other messages, but Congress did not give effect to it until three years later.

In the meantime, by thorough study of the Western public timberlands, the groundwork was laid for the responsibilities which were to fall upon the Bureau of Forestry when the care of the National Forests came to be transferred to it.