Women in the Forest Service
Celebrating women
Women have been at the forefront of the Forest Service since its inception in 1905, serving in roles as advocates, foresters, rangers’ wives, clerks, information and education specialists, scientific researchers and lookouts. In these roles, they pioneered and supported the development of the agency’s forest management infrastructure, information base, conservation education, scientific research, and fixed-point fire detection system. Although women were not allowed in forestry schools or hired in professional or field positions during the first half of the 20th century, they found rewarding careers in the agency through alternative paths, studying environmental sciences or providing insight from the lens of daily administration.
After passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, women applied for professional and field positions and moved into jobs as foresters, firefighters and even district rangers and forest supervisors, leading to the first female Chief of the Forest Service in 2007. Women have had a profound impact on the Forest Service, working as a vital core from day one to help shape the agency’s information base and administrative infrastructure. Scroll down to learn more about women within the Forest Service through six biographical features, an interactive timeline, links to more information and photographs.
Women's voices have long been part of the call for forest preservation and an ecological and moral approach to land management, but they have been overshadowed by those made by Henry D. Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh and Aldo Leopold. Beginning a century before Leopold published his essay, women were initiating calls for including ethical and cultural aspects of environmental management—two cornerstones of forest management today.
Women's achievements through the years
In the agency's early years, the largest group of women were those who did unpaid work simply because they were married to rangers. The podcast series "What Did We Get Ourselves Into" explores their stories.
Forest Service directories, newsletters and retirement announcements reveal that women have been critical agency employees since 1905.
In the early years of the Forest Service, most women were secretaries and clerks. Edna Crocker was the assistant to seven chiefs during her 46 years of service. In the early 20th century, Julia Shinn, wife of the Sierra National Forest forest supervisor, became a paid clerk. She was so well-respected for her administrative skills that rangers and supervisors throughout the region often looked to her for advice. Women like Crocker and Shinn were critical to the agency's success, providing continuity across the regions and training the rotating male staff on the ins and outs of the agency.
Women worked at all levels of the agency: as librarians, statisticians, authors, editors, bibliographers, artists, staff directors and law clerks. Women like Hallie Daggett, Margaret March-Mount, Edith Mosher and Dr. Eloise Gerry left rich legacies that continue to inspire women today.
Centering women’s voices
The HerStory Oral History Project is a collection of oral histories that highlight the contributions and impacts of women throughout the Forest Service. HerStory seeks to center women’s voices, allowing them to tell their own stories through an online collection of interviews, audio clips and biographies available through the National Forest Service Library. Women have been an integral part of the Forest Service since its inception; these stories celebrate their legacy.
Forest Service women who made history
Helen Dowe
Her daily commute to summer work involved ascending the mountain from her cabin and climbing a 150-foot ladder to reach the lookout cab.
Eleanor "Ellie" Towns
"I look forward to the challenges of sustainably managing these resources consistent with law ... that serve the public interest.”
Margaret March-Mount
“While we spend billions for bombs, let us encourage the children to invest pennies for pines. Bombs explode, pines grow.”
Dr. Eloise Gerry
"I must admit the Forest Service did not want a woman, but as it happened there wasn’t any man willing to come and do the work.”
Gloria Brown
“If you think you’re doing something by yourself, I’ll be the first one to tell you: no, you didn’t. You didn’t get there by yourself.”
Edith Mosher
Edith Mosher left her position as a schoolteacher in Michigan to embark on a federal career to influence environmental instruction on public lands.
Revisit the past
Where we are today
Today, the Forest Service supports women’s voices at all levels of the agency, including from our diverse workforce made up of Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and other communities of color; the LGBTQIA+ community; the disability community and veterans.
Learn more about our current agency-wide inclusion efforts:
