[6] However, Schenck's contributions were rarely recognized in histories of forestry, in part, because he was German during an era when the United States fought two wars against Germany.

[3] The Schenck family became wealthy as goldsmiths in Darmstadt in the 17th century, rising to prominence and filling many local government positions.

[3] After he received his Ph.D., Schenck was recommended by Brandis for a job in the United States working for George W. Vanderbilt in North Carolina.

[3] George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina, included some 120,000 acres (49,000 ha) of mountain land.

[12] Based on the recommendation of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Vanderbilt had decided during the early 1890s that he wanted his forests managed using the best scientific principles of forestry.

[12][7]: 30  Schenck's first project was in the virgin growth Big Creek area where water was used to transport felled trees because there were few roads.

"[7]: 35  He returned exhausted farms into productive forests, set up firebreaks, established road systems, and created logging and lumbering operations.

[7]: 70–71  In 1903, Vanderbilt cut Schenck's departmental budget by some fifty percent and told him to borrow the rest from local banks.

[7]: 71  Although he did not earn enough to bail out Biltmore, Schenck impressed Vanderbilt with his commitment to forestry conservation and a profitable operation.

[7]: 71  In 1905 and 1906, when the financial situation looked better, Schenck borrowed from banks, trying to show that his forestry operation could support itself without patronage.

[14]: 74  This property included part of Schenck's long-term "masterpiece", the Biltmore Forest School, which he had always said needed time to see a profit.

[7]: 78  However, William Howard Taft was elected president in 1908 and announced in 1909 his desire to make lumber free to all Americans through the National Forest program.

[3]: 77  However, since their relationship was already tainted, Vanderbilt used this incident and his annoyance over the private hunting contract to ask Schenck to resign on April 24, 1909.

[2] Schenck operated the school in his spare time on Vanderbilt's lands from 1898 to 1909, turning out many of the leading American foresters of the era.

"[7]: 59  Schenck viewed forestry as a science, balancing forest conservation and economic needs to create a sustainable system.

[2] He continued the school through 1913, traveling with his students and operating from Germany and forest locations in several states in America.

[16] As a consultant, Schenck helped create the forestry school curriculum at Sewanee: The University of the South.

After World War I, he was a guest speaker at universities in the United States and also led forestry tours in France, Germany, and Switzerland for American and English students.

[9] After World War II, Schenck assisted United States officials with relief and forestry programs in Germany.

[1] When World War I began, he joined the German army as a quartermaster and served as a lieutenant on the Eastern front.

[1] To feed starving German children, Schenck worked with the American Society of Friends (aka Quakers).

[1] Schenck felt betrayed by the German government and withdrew from political work, trying to survive on a small pension.

"[22] During World War II, Schenck stayed in Lindenfels and taught local boys when the schools closed.

[7]: 52 However, Schenck's name was rarely included in histories of forestry, in part, because he was German during an era when the United States fought two wars against Germany.

"[7]: 54  Because Pinchot was in charge of the U.S. Forest Service, his vision dominated and shaped forestry in the United States.