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51 Chapter 5: Our Forests—Past, Present, and Future

Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909. During that time, the forest reserves in the United States went from roughly 40 million acres to nearly 195 million acres. Today, the US Forest Service oversees 193 million acres of national forest and grasslands, and 36 million acres of wilderness area, national scenic areas, national monument areas, and volcanic monument areas. Roosevelt’s vision is still in place.

The Conservationist President Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for the creation of: • 4 national game preserves • 5 national parks

• 18 national monuments • 24 reclamation projects • 51 federal bird reservations • 150 national forests

President Roosevelt on a hunting trip in Colorado, 1905.