Earl W. Tinker
(1890-1957)
Inducted October 12, 1989
Plaque Engraving:
Served as first regional forester, Region 9 of the United States Forest Service supervising land acquisition and timber management. His achievements in forestry during the difficult years of the depression were the foundation stones leading the mid west region from an acquired custodial stage to the direction of sound forest multiple use. Under his supervision, millions of acres of national forests were added to the Lake States region and programs were established to manage and maintain those forests. The national forests of Region 9 are an eternal monument to his wise and visionary leadership.
More about Earl W. Tinker:
Earl W. Tinker graduated from Michigan State University, School of Forestry in 1913, and received his master’s degree from Yale University in 1915.
He entered the U.S. Forest Service in July of 1915, as forest assistant on the Black Hills National Forest.
In 1926, he became chief of the Branch of lands in the Regional Office at Denver, Colorado, and foresaw the possibility and need to establish a separate region in the lake States.
Under Tinker’s leadership, the North Central region inaugurated one of the largest tree planting programs on record. More than half of the 814,000 acres of successful forest plantations in the nation have since been established in the North Central region. Tinker’s interest in fostering greater cooperation between the U.S. Forest Service and private forest owners and farmers led to his appointment as assistant chief of the U.S. Forest Service in Washington in 1936. His duties included administration of the Clarke-McNary Law providing governmental cooperation with states and individuals, in supplying forest trees at cost, and in fire control.
In 1939, E.W. Tinker resigned to become executive secretary of the American Pulp and Paper Association. “Earl Tinker’s resignation is a loss to the Forest Service,” Chief F.A. Silcox said, “but with his new affiliations, he will be in a position where he can continue to help conserve the Nation’s forest resources through wise use of them.”
