Ohio forest management developed through a series of milestones beginning in 1885, when the Ohio General Assembly established the State Forestry Bureau. In 1915, the General Assembly appropriated $10,000 to purchase Waterloo State Forest in Athens County and Dean State Forest in Lawrence County, beginning Ohio's state forest system. Ohio's first fire tower was erected in 1922 on Copperhead Hill in Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County, and 39 fire towers were eventually erected, with the last constructed in 1970. Civilian Conservation Corps crews participated in forest fire suppression and built fire towers and a large forest fire control telephone network. In 1942, the Division of Forestry began using Civil Air Patrol aircraft for fire detection, making Ohio one of the first states to use aircraft regularly for that purpose. In 1949, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources was formed, with the Division of Forestry as one of its seven charter divisions. Extreme drought from 1952 to 1954 contributed to some of Ohio's worst fire seasons on record, and Division of Forestry staff, local fire departments, Parks and Wildlife employees, and the Ohio National Guard all assisted in fighting fires. In the spring of 1969, 1,803 forest fires burned nearly 13,000 acres, while the last of Ohio's 39 fire towers was contracted for construction and three fire stations were completed. In 1978, changing land use and advances in aerial fire detection led to the end of fire tower use, with Green Ridge Tower in Pike State Forest the last to be manned. In 1986, the Division of Forestry sent its first inter-agency fire crew to assist Western wildfires, working on the Ace Creek fire in Washington state, and Ohio crews and fire engines have continued to assist there since. In 1988, legislation repealed burning permits and established the current 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. burn ban during fire season months. By 2000, prescribed fire had become a widespread forest management tool in Ohio, benefiting forest health, wildlife habitat, and timber production. In 2005, a Smokey Bear specialty license plate became available for passenger vehicles, the first and still the only registered vehicle Smokey Bear plate in the country, with part of the proceeds supporting wildfire prevention and education through the Division of Forestry. In 2016, the Armintrout Firetower was moved from Pike County to the state fairgrounds in Columbus, where its restored structure is used to educate the public about Ohio's history of forest protection.