Herbert Kaufman's Forest Ranger Thirty Years Later: From Simplicity and Homogeneity to Complexity and Diversity

Abstract

How has the world of the forest ranger and public administration changed over the past three decades? Using Herbert Kaufman's classic study, The Forest Ranger, as a base point for their discussion, Tipple and Wellman focus on contextual changes that have transformed the U.S. Forest Service and the world of the ranger. The relatively closed system of the 1950s has been opened through environmental legislation and increased public involvement. Earlier emphasis on efficiency and economy is now offset by a stress on representativeness and responsiveness. The authors see parallel developments in the public administration field in general, and they discuss the implications of these changes for practitioners, educators, and scholars.