Bernhard Fernow

Bernhard Fernow

Bernhard Eduard Graf von Fernow (January 7, 1851 – February 6, 1923) was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 – 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the establishment of the United States Forest Service in 1905. Pinchot was the first Chief Forester of the USFS. Fernow's philosophy toward forest management may be traced to Cotta's preface to Anweisung zum Waldbau (Instruction in Silviculture) or Linnaeus' ideas on the "economy of nature." He has been called the "father of professional forestry in the United States."