[3] The Forestry Commission was established in 1919 to expand Britain's forests and woodland, which had been severely depleted during the First World War.

Britain had only 5% of its original forest cover left and the government at that time wanted to create a strategic resource of timber.

[7] The low cost of land, and the need to increase timber production meant that by 1939 the Forestry Commission was the largest landowner in Britain.

[19] The 1970s also saw the publication of a Treasury report which stated "afforestation ... and replanting fell far short of achieving the official 10% return on investment" with concerns over the long term profitability of timber production.

[7] The early 1980s recession forced the Forestry Commission to expand its sales beyond Britain, exports quickly reached 500,000 tonnes of timber per year.

[21][22] Meanwhile, the Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) Act 1985 had imposed a duty on the Forestry Commissioners to endeavour to achieve a "reasonable balance" the interests of timber production and conservation.

[23] The Great Storm of 1987 caused significant damage to forests under the control of the Commission, though most of the downed trees were recovered and eventually sold.

[12] Devolution meant the Forestry Commission had to report to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly as well as the national Government.

[31] The same newspaper also quoted Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, as saying it was an "unforgivable act of environmental vandalism".

[32] In February 2011, after a sustained campaign of protest by groups such as the Ramblers, Save Our Woods and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its current plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill.

[36] Due to austerity policies enacted in the UK from 2010 the Forestry Commission, like many government bodies, suffered a considerable cut in its budget to meet its running costs, despite buoyant timber production, recreation usage and revenue.

This has created a wide variation in salaries for employees doing the same job and has reduced wage competitiveness, compared to some forestry employers.

[3] Integral to the Acland Report of 1916, which led to the setting up of the Forestry Commission immediately after the war, was the wider social concern.

[39] Large areas of upland Britain, it pointed out, were 'waste' and depopulated, and trees would not only increase their productiveness but 'demanded a higher rural population' than sheep rearing.

In 1946 the incoming Director General wrote of the employment created and the help of the commission towards a solution of 'one of the baffling social problems of our time... to draw men and their families "back to the land" and to make the attraction permanent', especially through the smallholdings policy.

As first chairman of the commission he was able to put into practice all over Britain this 'long cherished dream' of repopulating hill country, thanks to his good contacts in government.

Money for the scheme was provided first by Philip Snowden, Chancellor in the first Labour government, and then by his successor in Baldwin's Conservative administration, Winston Churchill.

Originally 150 days' work was provided in the forests, but "in practice, of course, these smallholdings attracted the cream of our men whom we were glad to employ on full time..."[42] Existing and often derelict agricultural dwellings were adapted and new ones built to a small number of basic designs.

The scheme "was never a directly economic proposition, but in the pre-war days when motor traffic was lacking and it was much more important than today to have a solid caucus of skilled woodmen [sic] living in the forests, the indirect benefits were inestimable.

But expanding programmes of afforestation, new methods of fire protection, and above all the greatly increased volume of utilisation work that results as soon as the young woods reach the thinning stage, have made it essential, in most of the larger forests, to concentrate the building of new houses in villages or small community groups.

[47] The gradual sale of housing to incomers became a flood in 1978-9 (under Labour), and the Thatcher administration then encouraged surviving tenants to buy with generous discounts.

[59] Until the introduction of the Countryside Act 1968, the main purpose of the Forestry Commission was to maximise timber sales.

[61] The commission works with various associations involved in rambling, cycling and horse riding to promote the use of its land for recreation.

A notable example is the 7stanes project in southern Scotland, where seven purpose-built areas of man-made mountain bike trails have been laid; the accessible extensions provide recreational facilities for disabled cyclists.

[63] Early plantations were criticised for their lack of diversity, however the Forestry Commission has been steadily improving the value of its woodlands for wildlife.

[68] The Commission was originally given land with poor soil quality, usually in highland areas; conifers were used because they can grow well in such difficult conditions.

[69] By the 1960s these trees were almost fully grown, and the Forestry Commission received a large number of complaints that their blanket forests were an eyesore.

[71] Forest management is a long-term business, with plans frequently extending for a minimum of twenty-five or thirty years into the future.