Beginning in 1899, Toumey briefly held a position with the U.S. Forest Service in charge of the cooperative work of tree planting.
[1] When Henry Solon Graves left Yale to become chief of the U.S. Forest Service in 1910, Toumey became Dean.
By his scientific research he added to the prestige of the institution and aided in making it a center for advanced graduate study.
He also donated his personal collection of 2,500 species of American trees and shrubs to the school's forest herbarium.
[3] The Watersmeet Nursery, in Michigan's Ottawa National Forest, was renamed to honor Toumey following his death.