Verne Lester Harper, Former Deputy Chief of Research and Development
1951-1966
USDA Forest Service
Research & Development Milestones under Verne Lester Harper's Leadership
The Research Branch published the Timber Resources Review in 1958. This review included a comprehensive assessment of U.S. timber resources.
Harper advocated for a strong outdoor recreation research program. In 1958, Senators Hayden and Stennis backed the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission. Strong support for the Forest Service outdoor recreation research budget followed.
Harper reorganized the research organization from centers to projects, with a senior scientist leading a project and supervising the staff. This reorganization improved research and administration at the field level, and continues into this century.
By 1960, researchers lacking a Ph.D. degree were enrolled in university training, assisted by the Government Employees Training Act of 1958. This program allowed about 10 percent of Forest Service researchers each year to gain advanced degrees.
The McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962 made funding available to State agricultural experiment stations and to forestry schools and programs at land grant colleges of agriculture for forestry research. The research covered such areas as reforestation, woodlands and related watershed management, outdoor recreation, wildlife habitats, and wood utilization. This act boosted Forest Service cooperative research, which continues in the 21st century.
