New Documentary Explores Carl Schenck's Role is Saving America's Forests

Biltmore Forest School's class of 1905 in what is now Pisgah National Forest. Image courtesy of Forest History Society, Durham, N.C.

On Friday, June 17, 2016, the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh hosts a free screening of a new documentary America's First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment. The film, which debuted on national public television in April, is the first in-depth look at the work of legendary forester and educator Carl Schenck who is credited with a pivotal role in saving America's forests during the Industrial Revolution. 

Schenck, a German forester who managed over 100,000 acres of woodlands at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, established the first forestry school in the United States, an act which helped the Pisgah National Forest become the first national forest established from private land. The educator, forester, and lumberman helped found the conservation movement in the U.S., and is known for his memoir Cradle of Forestry in America.

In the late 1800s when U.S. forests were in danger of being completely clear-cut, Schenck introduced innovative techniques to manage the woodlands around the newly constructed Biltmore Estate. By restoring the forest using the "new" science of forestry, he employed experiments that provided a blueprint for how to save the nation's forests. 

The free screening of America's First Forest on  June 17 begins at 7 p.m., will be followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session. The panel discussion will feature James G. Lewis, executive producer of America's First Forest, historian, and editor of Forest History Today; Brian Haines, public information officer of N.C. Forest Service; and Joann Meyer-Cox, CF/CFA and owner of Meyer-Cox Forestry Consultants, LLC. Science comedian Brian Mallow will serve as moderator. Local forestry education and outreach groups will be on hand to answer questions before the screening, beginning at 6:30 p.m. 

For additional information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.