In August 1910, men trained in turpentine collecting arrived in Flagstaff at the behest of US Forest Service (USFS) engineer Harold S. Betts. The men were from the southeastern US which had been long considered America’s turpentine capitol. Betts wanted to test the ponderosa pines of northern Arizona for turpentine-producing capabilities and the Coconino National Forest managers hoped this endeavor might create local jobs. As the men adjusted to the high elevation and colder temperatures, they learned interesting comparisons between Florida and Arizona turpentine investigations.
They lived in tents at the two-year-old USFS Fort Valley Experimental Forest (FVEF), then called the Coconino Experiment Station, about 10 miles from Flagstaff. The rustic Station campus had few amenities, one being a raised water tower under which showers were taken. Infrequent trips to the village of Flagstaff were by wagons hitched to slow-moving mules via a one-lane-dirt Fort Valley Road. The lone permanent staff member was Station director G.A. Pearson whose assignment was to initiate experiments to understand how the ponderosa pine regenerates. Periodically, additional forestry scientists were onsite to learn silviculture (the study of trees) methods as FVEF was the first USFS forest research facility in the nation.
Susan Olberding is a longtime Flagstaff resident and is the volunteer FVEF historian. She has published five books and numerous articles on Northern Arizona history.
The NPS/USFS Roving Rangers volunteer through a unique agreement between the Flagstaff Area National Monuments and the Coconino National Forest to provide Interpretive Ranger walks and talks in the Flagstaff area each summer.
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