April 18, 2011

6:30 pm

News From The

White Mountain National Forest

For Immediate Release: April 9, 2011
Contact:  Rebecca Peterman (603) 466-2713

White Mountain National Forest Hosts Weeks Acts Display and Extends Gorham Hours

Gorham, NH- The USDA Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest Androscoggin Ranger District is presenting an evening program to introduce visitors to the Weeks Act on Thursday, April 28 at 6:30pm.  In addition to the narrated slide show, visitors are invited to ask questions and view an interpretive display created by Plymouth State University.  This commemorates the 100 year anniversary of this landmark piece of conservation legislation which paved the way for the formation of the White Mountain National Forest.

In the decades prior to 1911, unregulated logging by private timber companies in the White Mountains resulted in a damaged landscape susceptible to fire and had drastically affected the cleanliness and availability of water needed for major downstream businesses in industrial centers such as Manchester, NH and Lowell, MA.  The Weeks Act, named in honor of Massachusetts Congressman John Weeks, was passed in 1911 and allowed for the purchase of former private timber lands in the Eastern U.S. to be managed by the U.S. Forest Service. This evening program is part of a coordinated regional effort celebrating the Weeks Act Centennial and honoring the tradition of conservation and partnerships exemplified by the act.

The Weeks Act Display can be viewed at the Androscoggin Ranger District during regular business hours now until May 5. The District Visitors Center is now open on Saturdays.  Regular business hours are Monday through Saturday from 8:00am until 4:30pm.

The White Mountain National Forest Androscoggin Ranger District is located on Route 16, 3 miles south of Gorham, New Hampshire. More information about the White Mountain National Forest can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/white or by calling (603) 466-2713.