DeWitt Nelson was a prominent member of the United States Forest Service and was involved in the management of natural resources in California. He was born and raised in Iowa and later graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry in 1925. After graduating he worked for the United States Forest Service from 1925 to 1944 where he served as the supervisor of Trinity, Shasta, Tahoe, and San Bernardino National Forests. Nelson later became the State Forester for California starting in 1944 before becoming the Director for the State Department of Natural Resources in 1953. During this time he worked on the Forest Practice Act and was on the Timber Maturity Board where he dealt with timber taxes. In 1961 Nelson became the director of the State Department of Conservation where he worked with Governors Warren, Knight and Brown, Sr. He left government work in 1966 and became a visiting professor of forestry at Iowa State University, University of California Berkeley and Oregon State University before becoming the professor in charge of the Resource Development for Outdoor Recreation curriculum at Iowa State. He retired in 1971 at the age of 70. In this interview, Nelson discusses his time in the United States Forest Service, navigating forestry politics, developing various recreational activities for the parks, sources of conflicts, legislative efforts, working with California governors, and his teaching career. This oral history also contains addendums written by Nelson regarding several topics discussed throughout the interviews. This interview is part of a group of interviews documenting forest history in the United States.