The Edwin F., Lila, and Lyle Smith Scholarship

From August 1st to November 15th of each year, the Amador–El Dorado Forest Forum accepts applications for the Edwin F., Lila, and Lyle Smith Memorial Forestry Scholarship.  A decision on the applicants and payment of the award will be made in January of each year.

The scholarship will be granted to one or more students who have graduated from either an Amador or El Dorado County high school and are attending an accredited college full time, with at least 12 units per quarter or semester. The course of study must result in the award of a Bachelor of Science or equivalent degree with a major in Forestry, and the student must be in the final two years of college when the scholarship is awarded.

Interested students who meet the minimum qualifications should email the following items to Mary Lory at mklory@aol.com:

*  Letter of Application
*  Resume
*  Transcripts of all colleges attended, showing proof of status as an upper division student
*  Proof that the applicant is in his/her last or next to last year of college
*  Two letters of recommendation, only one of which can be from a teacher
*  High school diploma from a school in either Amador or El Dorado County

About the Smith Family:

In about 1905, Edwin F. Smith (1890-1973) was told by his father of new Forest Rangers who were setting up the first National Forests in California. In the summers of 1909 and 1910, he obtained a Temporary Guard position and rode a family horse to the Tahoe National Forest. Despite living on a remote cattle/chicken ranch, Ed was able to get some education. He took the test and was appointed in 1911 to Assistant Ranger in the Lassen National Forest. He was assigned to the Butte Meadows Ranger Station, northeast of Chico. His work was interrupted by the US Army in France from 1917-1919. He returned to work in Truckee, CA, on the Tahoe National Forest from 1919-1920. He met and married Lila E. Oliver (1899-1994). He became a Supervisor of the El Dorado National Forest in Placerville, CA, from 1920 to 1950. After 41 years of Forest Service, he continued working in his forests doing lumber estimates for lumber companies. The Smiths highly encouraged education and hard work in young people, especially their family.

Two children were born and they graduated from El Dorado High School. Barbara (1920-1999) also graduated from University of California, Berkeley. Lyle (1922-1997) graduated from Oregon State College in Forestry in 1944. During those college summers, he got his first Forest Service work. After graduation, Lyle got temporary Forest Service positions as Fire Control Assistant and Extension Forester. Included was six weeks as a Snow Ranger in 1945-46 in Snow Basin, Utah. In 1947, he started a career position with the US Forest Service, Toiyabe National Forest. In 1948, he received training in the Cache National Forest, Logan Canyon, UT. Until 1966, he held various Ranger and Forest Service positions in California and Nevada. He lived or worked in Carson, Bridgeport, Minden and Reno. From 1966 to 1970, he was assigned to the Uinta Forest, Provo, UT. He finished his career in 1977 in Ogden, UT. He returned to Minden. In retirement after 34 years total with the Forest Service, he continued to speak out on various forest and land issues.