Forestry and WWII
by John Schwartzer
After the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, many forestry employees entered the armed services. Remaining staff focused on efforts to help fill the massive need for wood products for war. With labor shortages, new woods workers had to be trained. The federal Timber Production War Project (TPWP) was initiated to accomplish this task.
The TPWP (or TEEPEEWEEPEE as it was called by the Forest Service) activated “farm foresters” to connect small private mills and forest landowners with military markets. Private and public lands were harvested approaching levels not seen since the late 1800s timber boom. Timber sales were increased on the state forests on a diameter-limit basis because of the limited forestry staff for more complex harvesting methods.
In 1944 it was reported, “Increased timber cutting continues, necessitated by war needs. Pennsylvania continues to lead the northeastern states in lumber production.” From 1942 until the end of the war in 1945, harvests from state forests yielded more than 100 million board feet of timber. Pulpwood was considered a strategic material. This acute need spawned the slogan, “This is not a paper war, but paper will win it!” Besides the need for large amounts of paper from wood pulp, the troops also needed nitrocellulose, a wood product that became lacquers, plastics, and smokeless powder for explosives.
CCC camps, arising in response to the Great Depression, helped support the WWII effort.
High wages offered at defense plants in the cities caused labor shortages for woods work, so prisoners of war were employed to harvest wood in 1944. At least five of the shuttered CCC camps in Pennsylvania were reopened to house and train conscientious objectors and POWs to harvest wood. Branch Camp 6 in Buchanan State Forest is one example. The army provided guards and interpreters, and paper and timber mills hired POWs at prevailing rates –mostly paid to the Army of course.
A stone fireplace still stands at the site of CCC camp S-52 (Branch Camp 6, Sideling Hill Division).
The war took a toll on Pennsylvania forests by requiring large harvests of wood, but it contributed some useful advances in forestry. For example, in 1944 wartime aerial photography techniques were adapted to tabulate the forest area of the state by county and township. Federal/state cooperative agreements provided increased resources for fire protection. The farm foresters were an inspiration for DCNR service foresters as we now know them.
If you know a veteran, please thank them for their sacrifices so that we may enjoy our Pennsylvania forests and let us not forget those at home who also supported the war effort.
Sources
1895 ~ 1995 The Legacy of Penn’s Woods A history of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Exploring the Abandoned German POW Camp in Buchanan State Forest
The Land We Cared For…A History of the Forest Service’s Eastern Region (Chapter 9) (npshistory.com)
