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1908 Oregon Historical Document Archive: Forest Service Range Dispute File Featuring Gifford Pinchot Correspondence
**SUMMARY:**Up for sale is an incredibly well-preserved, 100% authentic 7-document legal and political file from the summer of 1908. Discovered together in an attorney\'s estate in Baker City, Oregon, this collection represents a pristine micro-history of the early American conservation movement, documenting a contentious public lands grazing dispute.
Please note: The Gifford Pinchot signature on the official Forest Service decision letter is a period office file copy/facsimile signature, reflecting its nature as an authentic, intact lawyer\'s case file. U.S. Senator Jonathan Bourne Jr.\'s signatures are original hand-signed ink.
**HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:**In June 1908, prominent Baker City attorney J.N. Hart petitioned U.S. Senator Jonathan Bourne Jr. on behalf of local ranchers, the Brasfield Brothers, who were denied permits to graze 2,500 head of sheep on the Wallowa and Baker City National Forests.
Senator Bourne escalated the issue to Washington D.C. This archive contains the official two-page Forest Service refusal issued under Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot, defending his landmark conservation philosophy. The text explicitly details that the Blue Mountains and Wallowa ranges are dangerously \"overcrowded\" with sheep and mandates strict federal limits to prevent ecological destruction—a core pillar of early 20th-century Forest Service policy under President Theodore Roosevelt.
**WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS ARCHIVE (7 Total Pages):**1. June 13, 1908: Attorney J.N. Hart’s original 1-page office carbon petition to Senator Bourne detailing the Brasfield brothers\' 2,500-sheep operation and grievances against local Forest Supervisor Henry Ireland.2. June 18, 1908: Original U.S. Senate (Committee on Fisheries) letter to Hart, signed by Bruce Kester (Secretary to Senator Bourne), acknowledging the petition while Bourne was away in Chicago.3. June 22, 1908: Original U.S. Senate letter on official stationery, hand-signed in ink by U.S. Senator J. BOURNE JR., promising to take the matter up with the federal forester.4. June 29, 1908 (Page 1 & 2): The official U.S. Dept of Agriculture Forest Service decision letter outlining the ecological crisis and overgrazing on the Wallowa range, featuring the period office facsimile signature of Chief Forester GIFFORD PINCHOT enforcing the grazing ban.5. July 2, 1908: Original U.S. Senate letter hand-signed in ink by Senator J. BOURNE JR. delivering the final bad news to Attorney Hart and backing the Forest Service decision. 6. July 7, 1908: Attorney Hart’s original office carbon reply to Senator Bourne, graciously accepting the final ruling and closing out the case.
**CONDITION:**All documents are in excellent, legible antique condition. Paper is stable with expected age-toning and folding creases from period mailing. No heavy foxing, major tears, or ink fading. (Please review high-resolution images for exact condition details).
#8
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