Luxe Beat Magazine DECEMBER 2014 | Page 138

Asa Packer Home Photo Maralyn D. Hill Although the epithet “Robber Baron” was freely tossed around in the late 1800s and early 20th century, I never heard it aimed at Asa Packer. Gifford Pinchot The father of Gifford Pinchot had acquired enough wealth in New York City to allow retiring, at least for summers, to Milford, Pennsylvania. There, he built a mansion reflecting extensive French influence. His oldest son, Gifford, was born in 1865. View from Asa Packer’s home. Photo: Maralyn D. Hill The older Pinchot was very concerned about large scale forest destruction and resulting soil erosion throughout the U.S., a practice sometimes called indiscriminate “clear cutting.” He instilled this concern in his son, born in 1865. From then on, Gifford 138 Pinchot worked tirelessly to promote scientific forestry and conservation of natural resources. One technique may be known as “thinning,” by which older trees are cut to make way for younger trees to thrive. Pinchot always stressed that a reasonably long time horizon in forestry management was more profitable than seemingly mindless cutting for the sake of cutting In 1905, under sponsorship of President Theodore Roosevelt, he became head of the new United States Forest Service. Although part of the Department of the Interior, this new federal agency grew in size to control more than 170 million acres. Logging by private companies would be permitted, but on a strictly controlled fee basis that would preserve overall forest size. The so called thinning approach would be followed. Pinchot thus did not advocate an eternal “state of nature”, untouched by human hands. This evidently led to debates with John Muir, another naturalist, who evidently did not ALL PHOTOS BY LEAH WALKER. The Asa Packer mansion in the town of Jim Thorpe is considered an outstanding example of Victorian architecture. It is faithfully preserved, both inside and outside, and is considered one of the outstanding sites in the Poconos.