Robert H. Torheim was a former regional forester in Region 6 of Portland, Oregon for the United States Forest Service. Torheim was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, in a semi-rural area where he was training in woodsmanship before he was drafted during WWII. After the war, Torheim re-enrolled in the University of Washington and worked seasonally with the Forest Service until he graduated in 1948. In the 1950s and 60s, he worked on timber management, land-use planning, and dealt with increasing specialization and complexity within the Forest Service. During the 1970s, the Service focused more on land management and planning such as the Lolo National Forest Plan and the National Forest Management Act. In this interview Torheim discusses his early years and education, custodial role of the Forest Service, land-use planning in the 50s, William O. Douglas, public involvement, forest plans and the RPA, plan and program decisions in the field, budgeting and allocation process, managerial methods and changes, changes in the organization of the Service and development of land management policy, experimentation in the field, adoption of new methods by Washington office, civil rights and equal opportunity and the role of technicians in the workforce. This interview is part of a group of interviews documenting U.S. Forest Service management.