Elers Koch (1880–1954) grew up on the Montana frontier in the late 1800s. After earning a master’s degree in forestry from Yale University in 1903, he joined the USDA Bureau of Forestry. In addition to being a major innovator in forest management, Koch was a skilled mountaineer, an outspoken wilderness advocate, and a successful novelist. Char Miller is the W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College and is a fellow of the Forest History Society. John Maclean is a prize-winning author of five books on wildland fire, including The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57.

“A classic in western forestry. Having a new edition is a gift. For those of us who live in or love visiting the northern Rockies region of the West, this volume is even more welcome, as it provides glimpses into a landscape long past and an important historical moment as the U.S. Forest Service was first getting its footing. Char Miller is equally adept at zeroing in on Koch’s life story and context and widening out to follow the evolution of conservation ideas over a century.”-Adam M. Sowards, professor of history at the University of Idaho  “Koch has an easy style, and his memoir offers an intriguing vantage point for seeing the early decades of the Forest Service. There is much here about work in the outdoors; of snowshoeing, rock-climbing, and range riding; of fires, grazing, and timber sales; and of the impact of such larger events as the First World War, the Great Depression, and the New Deal on the Forest Service.”-Mark Harvey, professor of history at North Dakota State University

• List of IllustrationsForeword by John N. MacleanIntroduction by Char MillerChapter 1 - Montana BoyChapter 2 - Gifford Pinchot's Young MenChapter 3 - Forest Supervisor: 1907 – 1918Chapter 4 - Forest FiresChapter 5 - The Lochsa River FireChapter 6 - The Moose Creek StoryChapter 7 - SnowshoesChapter 8 - Mountain ClimbingChapter 9 - Growing TreesChapter 10 - Ranger StoriesChapter 11 - The Forest Service and the New DealChapter 12 - The Passing of the Lolo TrailAcknowledgementsNotesIndex

Elers Koch (1880–1954) grew up on the Montana frontier in the late 1800s. After earning a master’s degree in forestry from Yale University in 1903, he joined the USDA Bureau of Forestry. In addition to being a major innovator in forest management, Koch was a skilled mountaineer, an outspoken wilderness advocate, and a successful novelist. Char Miller is the W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College and is a fellow of the Forest History Society. John Maclean is a prize-winning author of five books on wildland fire, including The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57.

“A classic in western forestry. Having a new edition is a gift. For those of us who live in or love visiting the northern Rockies region of the West, this volume is even more welcome, as it provides glimpses into a landscape long past and an important historical moment as the U.S. Forest Service was first getting its footing. Char Miller is equally adept at zeroing in on Koch’s life story and context and widening out to follow the evolution of conservation ideas over a century.”-Adam M. Sowards, professor of history at the University of Idaho  “Koch has an easy style, and his memoir offers an intriguing vantage point for seeing the early decades of the Forest Service. There is much here about work in the outdoors; of snowshoeing, rock-climbing, and range riding; of fires, grazing, and timber sales; and of the impact of such larger events as the First World War, the Great Depression, and the New Deal on the Forest Service.”-Mark Harvey, professor of history at North Dakota State University

• List of IllustrationsForeword by John N. MacleanIntroduction by Char MillerChapter 1 - Montana BoyChapter 2 - Gifford Pinchot's Young MenChapter 3 - Forest Supervisor: 1907 – 1918Chapter 4 - Forest FiresChapter 5 - The Lochsa River FireChapter 6 - The Moose Creek StoryChapter 7 - SnowshoesChapter 8 - Mountain ClimbingChapter 9 - Growing TreesChapter 10 - Ranger StoriesChapter 11 - The Forest Service and the New DealChapter 12 - The Passing of the Lolo TrailAcknowledgementsNotesIndex

Elers Koch (1880–1954) grew up on the Montana frontier in the late 1800s. After earning a master’s degree in forestry from Yale University in 1903, he joined the USDA Bureau of Forestry. In addition to being a major innovator in forest management, Koch was a skilled mountaineer, an outspoken wilderness advocate, and a successful novelist. Char Miller is the W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College and is a fellow of the Forest History Society. John Maclean is a prize-winning author of five books on wildland fire, including The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder, and the Agony of Engine 57.

“A classic in western forestry. Having a new edition is a gift. For those of us who live in or love visiting the northern Rockies region of the West, this volume is even more welcome, as it provides glimpses into a landscape long past and an important historical moment as the U.S. Forest Service was first getting its footing. Char Miller is equally adept at zeroing in on Koch’s life story and context and widening out to follow the evolution of conservation ideas over a century.”-Adam M. Sowards, professor of history at the University of Idaho  “Koch has an easy style, and his memoir offers an intriguing vantage point for seeing the early decades of the Forest Service. There is much here about work in the outdoors; of snowshoeing, rock-climbing, and range riding; of fires, grazing, and timber sales; and of the impact of such larger events as the First World War, the Great Depression, and the New Deal on the Forest Service.”-Mark Harvey, professor of history at North Dakota State University

• List of IllustrationsForeword by John N. MacleanIntroduction by Char MillerChapter 1 - Montana BoyChapter 2 - Gifford Pinchot's Young MenChapter 3 - Forest Supervisor: 1907 – 1918Chapter 4 - Forest FiresChapter 5 - The Lochsa River FireChapter 6 - The Moose Creek StoryChapter 7 - SnowshoesChapter 8 - Mountain ClimbingChapter 9 - Growing TreesChapter 10 - Ranger StoriesChapter 11 - The Forest Service and the New DealChapter 12 - The Passing of the Lolo TrailAcknowledgementsNotesIndex