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Flagging Our History
Alaska Region's Flag Has Proud History
Frank J. Harmon, circa 1980

The Forest Service was one of relatively few federal bureaus to have its own flag. Its display was rather scattered and sporadic, mostly in the Northwest, and it went out of general use even there about fifty years ago. However, it was flown until very recently on a few ranger boats along the Alaskan coast, where it was first used early in 1909.

The flag features a pyramidal white evergreen tree inside a white shield, similar to the traditional badge bur without any lettering, and a circle of thirteen white stars surrounding the shield. The background flag color is dark navy blue, and the white insignia are sewn onto both sides of the blue fabric. A green background was desired, bur in the early period there was no dye that would not fade in outdoors use. The fabrics originally used were all cotton or all wool bunting.

The earliest interest in a flag to identify the Forest Service was for field parties at temporary sites, and for travel by motor launch for routine trips on the coastal waters of mountainous southeast Alaska, where there were no roads (and still are only a few). In Alaska, its use persisted for seventy years; the last flag was checked out by a field office in 1979.

Chief Gifford Pinchot first suggested an agency flag to his staff early in 1904, for timber survey parties. No action was taken until five years later when approval was requested for William A. Langille to fly a boat flag he had designed, on his 60-foot boat, which had been authorized in 1906.
Over the last two decades a variety of Forest Service flags-of many sizes and materials-has been collected by historical societies throughout the West. Use of the little navy blue flag may have been sporadic and confined to certain areas.

However, in Alaska, where this national symbol was born, the flag was an important symbol of stewardship for the Tongass National Forest.

SourDough Notes, Issue 482, August 2002 (Tongass Centennial Special Edition)

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