Records of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources

Instruction in forestry was first taught at the Colorado Agricultural College (CAC) in 1881 with lectures focused on conservation and use of forest products. In 1907, a short course in forestry for National Forest Service rangers was added and in 1909 a major in forestry was created. In 1914, the college was able to purchase 1,600 acres of forested land to support instruction. Pingree Park, now the Colorado State University Mountain Campus, was established as a summer camp for forestry students and is located about 50 miles west of Fort Collins. In 1915, the Department of Forestry, within the Division of Agriculture, was established and the Colorado General Assembly made the professor of forestry at CAC also the state forester. Burton O. Longyear was the first to hold this dual appointment.

In 1938 the Division of Forestry was created, with J. Lee Deen as the first Dean of the Division. The Division was renamed Forestry and Range Conservation in 1941 and was organized into three departments; forest management and utilization, forest recreation and wildlife, and range and pasture management. Instruction in fisheries and watershed management was added in the 1950s and 1960s. The Division was renamed the School of Forestry and Range Management in 1951, College of Forestry and Range Management in 1957, College of Forestry and Natural Resources in 1966, and the College of Natural Resources in 1991 until 2005. Currently, the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University offers majors in five departments: ecosystem science and sustainability; fish, wildlife, and conservation biology; forest and rangeland stewardship; geosciences; and human dimensions of natural resources.