Margaret Stoughton Abell: the first female forester of the U.S. Forest Service comes to the Appalachian Experiment Station.

Abstract

In 1930, Margaret Cordelia Stoughton became the first woman with a forestry degree to be hired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a forester (Kline 2021). During this time, a female forester in America was a novelty and the media reminded readers of that fact at every opportunity in national newspapers and college magazines. After her assignment to the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station (AFES), Margaret’s work—conducting research, publishing papers, and taking photographs—alongside other scientists was instrumental in the research conducted at the AFES. Herein, we trace her public life and scientific accomplishments during her tenure with the AFES.

Parent Publication

• Celebrating 100 years of forest science: an abridged history of the Southern Research Station

Citation

McNab, W. Henry; O’Shields, Julia K. 2023. Margaret Stoughton Abell: the first female forester of the U.S. Forest Service comes to the Appalachian Experiment Station. In: Bragg, Don C., ed. Celebrating 100 years of forest science: an abridged history of the Southern Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-272. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 259-265.