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Smokey Says poster by Albert Staehle, 1945
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Smokey Bear, the iconic symbol of wildfire prevention, turns 79 years old today!
Smokey was created during World War II to publicize the need to protect a critical resource: wood. Although the U.S. Forest Service had been fighting wildfires for many years, to educate the American public and combat the increase in human-caused forest fires, the Forest Service established the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) program in 1942. In 1944, the CFFP adopted Smokey as its symbol of fire prevention. Three years into the campaign, the Wartime Advertising Council created Smokey Bear’s famous slogan “Only you can prevent forest fires.” The slogan was updated in 2001 to "Only you can prevent wildfires" in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in areas other than forests.
Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, is your primary source for Smokey Bear's life history. The collection includes posters, memorabilia, sports program, photographs, films, and more!
The use of Smokey Bear images requires the approval of the U.S. Forest Service and must be associated with a message of fire prevention. For permission, contact sm.fs.sblicense@usda.gov
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