For a century and a quarter, we have centered our scholarship and practice around the sustainability of forests and livelihoods. In 1900, The Yale Forest School was established with gifts from Gifford Pinchot and the Pinchot family. Today, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment celebrates 125 years of developing approaches to the practice of forestry, generating knowledge about forests, and promoting the values they bring to humanity.
Our history (link is external) is rooted in the birth of the American conservation movement, as the national forest system and the national parks materialized. Yale faculty and its graduates played a key role in developing not just The Yale Forest School but also Western forestry in the United States. At the same time, the Society of American Foresters (link is external) formed to provide a space for comradery for foresters, share practices, and disseminate knowledge, with Pinchot and Yale forestry faculty at its helm. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt created the USDA Forest Service and named Gifford Pinchot its first chief overseeing the national forest system.
Now, as The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, we reflect on this history, how forestry as changed, and where we may see the practice and profession headed. Since our founding, we have survived—and rebuilt—after a major hurricane and a major fire at Yale-Myers Forest, the School has welcomed international students, graduated the program’s first female students in 1969, and undergone three name changes. We have established several centers and programs at the School that have been advancing community-based forestry and decision-making in forests in New Haven to the tropics over the past few decades.
We have trained thousands of forest managers and stewards. As the oldest forestry school in the nation, we appreciate our deep traditions while keeping our eyes open to all that is to come, including the many possible futures for forests and communities.
Celebrate and Learn with Us
Within the Yale School of the Environment, we are excited to kick off this anniversary with forest-focused history and events:
- The Yale Forest Forum is hosting a three-part speaker series on forest history to understand where we have been and where we are going in collaboration with the Forest History Society. Registration is open for the spring 2025 series, “A History of People, Forests, and Forestry,” which explores traditional forestry practices around the world prior to industrialization.
- Our faculty and staff are playing key roles in developing the 9th American Forest Congress (link is external). This is the ninth installment of a tradition of Congresses dating back to 1882 that have led to major outcomes in forest conservation and management, such as the creation of the USDA Forest Service and advancing the leadership of women within the forestry community.
- In October, we will collaborate with our longtime partner, the Society of American Foresters, in celebrating our shared 125th anniversary at the annual SAF Convention (link is external) in Hartford, Connecticut. We are planning talks, gatherings, and field trips to honor our shared histories and the people who are envisioning the forestry of the future. The Yale School of the Environment’s alumni Reunion Weekend will occur as the convention ends.
We invite you to join us this year. For the official anniversary announcement and schedule of events, please visit YSE’s website (link is external). Additionally, follow TFS and YSE on social media to celebrate with us:
- The Forest School Instagram (link is external)
- The Forest School LinkedIn (link is external)
- Yale School of the Environment Instagram (link is external)
- Yale School of the Environment LinkedIn (link is external)
