Lyle Ford Watts was born on November 18, 1890, at his family's farm in Lincoln Township, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

In the fall of 1942 Watts was called to Washington, D.C., as a special assistant to Secretary of Agriculture Claude Wickard for wartime farm labor activities.

He has a sound grasp of a program designed to meet the requirements of this emergency as well as the long range needs of the Nation in conserving and developing its forest lands.

About 2,000 employees left the Forest Service to enter the armed forces during World War II.

Watts was nonetheless able to maintain the Agency's efficiency while also performing numerous special war jobs.

After the war many of the American GIs returned to go back to college, with the growing fields of forestry and engineering taking many candidates through to graduation.