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NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HISTORIANS AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS TO ADVISE
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FOREST SERVICE HISTORY
MISSOULA, MT--The National Museum of Forest Service History (Museum) Board of Directors
announced the establishment of its formal Advisory Panel of Historians and Social Scientists.
The group of fourteen nationally recognized authors, researchers and academics will advise in
the development and programming of the National Conservation Legacy and Education Center,
which will be constructed in Missoula, Montana.
“These respected scholars will help ground the Center’s interpretive program with their diverse
perspectives, depth of knowledge and quality of research,” said Gray Reynolds, Museum
president. “The public will benefit greatly from their involvement, which will shed new light on the
themes presented through the Center’s exhibits, traveling exhibits, online presence and
educational initiatives.”
The advisory panel includes award-winning authors and lecturers whose specialties range from
U.S. environmental history, natural resource and public land policy, the history of the American
West, tourism in the upper Midwest, the creation of eastern National Forests, Native American
history and the history of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. The fourteen
advisory panel members are:
Thomas Glen Alexander, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University
Richmond Clow, Ph.D., Professor of Native American Studies, University of Montana, College
of Arts and Sciences
Mark T. Fiege, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Colorado State University
John Freemuth, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Cecil D. Andrus Center for Public Policy and Professor
of Political Science, Boise State University
Anthony Godfrey, Ph.D., President, U.S. West Research, Inc.
Sara Gregg, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of History, The University of Kansas
Joseph Jones, Ph.D., Independent Research Historian, Houston, Texas
Nancy Langston, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and Nelson
Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Char Miller, Ph.D., Director of Environmental Analysis Program; and W. M. Keck Professor,
Pomona College.
Susan Schrepfer, Ph.D., Professor of History, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Aaron Shapiro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History, Auburn University
Paul Sutter, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, University of Colorado, Boulder
Museum Board member Patricia Limerick, the Faculty Director and Chair of the Board, Center
of the American West and Professor of History at the University of Colorado, will chair the panel.
Lincoln Bramwell, Chief Historian, U.S. Forest Service, will join the panel as an ex officio
member.
The advisory panel of historians and social scientists will:
1. Review the historical themes and messages presented in the National Conservation Legacy
and Education Center, its website and traveling exhibits to ensure they present an accurate and
balanced historical view,
2. Serve as a forum to discuss and review the history of the Forest Service from a professional
humanities perspective,
3. Identify potential projects or studies that might be appropriate for the Museum to undertake or
support to refine the understanding of the history of the U.S. Forest Service and its cooperators,
4. Offer recommendations to the leadership and board of the Museum to ensure the
organization’s interpretive mission is fulfilled,
5. Communicate to the history and social science professions and to respective humanities and
academic organizations the body of work being done by the Museum at the National
Conservation Legacy and Education Center.
The Museum Board, volunteers, staff and partners have just completed three years of site
preparation, building design and exhibit planning for the 30,000 square-foot national repository,
exhibit and event space and conservation education center. As a showcase for combined
collections of more than 40,000 objects, the Center will encourage visitors to explore the
cultural, ecological, economic, political, and social history of the lands and people that have
defined the nation and given meaning to the term conservation. Through its website and
traveling exhibits, it will reach the larger public, and serve as a portal for researchers to access
online collections of historical resources.
Providing conservation education and illuminating the historical context for conservation in the
U.S. are key components of the Center’s mission. Decision-makers, future leaders, agency
employees and the general public will benefit from understanding the people, organizations, and
societal trends behind the development of conservation policy as carried out by the U.S. Forest
Service. The Center will focus attention on the insights gained from the past to inspire future
conservation efforts and innovations.
“The history of the US Forest Service is the very history of conservation. We look forward to
working with our new advisory panel members to transform the stories, the research and the
collections into a comprehensive Center that provides a forum for education and meaningful
debate about conservation,” said Dave Stack, executive director.
View panelist biographies.
Download the news release.
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