Richard E. McArdle (February 25, 1899 – October 4, 1983) served as the eighth Chief of the United States Forest Service (USFS) of the Department of Agriculture, from July 1, 1952 to March 17, 1962.

[1] A year later he returned to the Forest Service to become Director of the Rocky Mountain Experiment Station at Fort Collins, Colorado.

During his time as Chief, the Forest Service was assigned the management of seven million acres of western plains lands, which they organized as national grasslands.

On January 11, 1961, McArdle received the President's Gold Medal Award for distinguished federal civilian service.

Following retirement from the Forest Service, McArdle then spent two years as executive director of the National Institute of Public Affairs.