Fashioning a Public Forest for New Hampshire – Creating the Future

Years before it was fashionable, Concord-native Joseph B. Walker called for the creation of “public forests” in the White Mountains. He was well-respected and articulate, yet his passionate pleas were met with loud arguments. Was it constitutional to purchase private lands for public conservation? Was the value of forests so important to society that a private forest should become a public one? What about the impact it would have on the economy? A few heard and heeded his voice. They organized to save the forests and hired Philip Ayres to present their case to NH, New England, and the nation. Marcia Schmidt Blaine, Professor of History and head of Government Relations at PSU, will explore the long-term efforts it took to develop the White Mountain National Forest.