The White River Timber Land Reserve was set aside by President Benjamin Harrison in 1891 as a bold step toward protecting forests on the American frontier, becoming the second oldest national forest in the United States. In the 1800s, western lands were wide open and rapidly divided into ranches, railroads, sawmills, and cities, while grazing and timber harvesting went unregulated and forest fires burned uncontrolled. Alarmed citizens rallied public support to protect western resources, and the Forest Service was established to manage and protect public land with timber through a century-long tradition of providing a continuing flow of natural resource goods and services to meet the needs of the nation.