Woodsy Owl

A red owl with large eyes holding a whistle is wearing a green hat and pants with a black belt. Background is white and text is black. There is a thin red line out the outside of the button

This button features Woodsy Owl, a character used by the United States Forest Service. While Woodsy's current motto is "Lend a hand - care for the land!" his original motto was "Give a hoot! - don't pollute!". Woodsy was used widely throughout the 1970s, and in 1974 Congress even passed an act to protect the image of the character (public Law 93-318). While not as old as Smokie the Bear, he is an icon environmental icon none the less.

Over the years many have claimed to have created Woodsy, but still today there is no definite creator through most evidence points to a man named Harold Bell around the first Earth Day celebration in 1970.