Woodsy Owl (Who?) Debuts – Sept. 15, 1971

Everybody knows who Smokey Bear is. The beloved forest fire prevention bear with the ranger hat, jeans and shovel has been around since the mid-1940s.

But have you ever heard of Woodsy Owl? 

If you’re a Baby Boomer, you probably have. Like Smokey, Woodsy is an advertising mascot for the United States Forest Service. But instead of fighting fire, Woodsy combatted pollution. His message was “Give a Hoot – don’t pollute!"

Unlike Smokey, Woodsy wasn’t seen on posters all over our National Parks. The chubby little owl with the archer’s cap was more likely to be spotted on public service announcements that ran during children’s TV programs. A well-designed costumed version of him was created to allow him to interact with kids in the commercials and at public events, making him ‘real.’

And Woodsy was first introduced to the public fifty years ago this month. Here’s the photo and explanatory caption that ran in the Journal on September 16, 1971.

Woodsy was well-represented in his own advertising campaign, which included autographed photos, posters, stickers, small trash bags that hung from cigarette lighters (what are those?) in cars, and even comic books.

Alas, today Woodsy has been redesigned – and everything that was cute and clever about him has been updated to make him more relevant (and less fun and appealing).

He’s no longer chubby and proportioned like a real owl. Today, his body is trim and athletic. 

Woodsy’s lost his hooter (whistle) that hung around his neck too, probably because the powers that be were afraid that kids might imitate him and accidentally swallow the whistle.

Worst of all, Woodsy’s lost his slogan. Gone is “Give a hoot, don’t pollute.” The new, less pun-y slogan is “Lend a Hand, Care for the Land.”

It’s enough to make you cough up an owl pellet.

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Woodland Catalog sells both licensed Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl merchandise (with a portion of its sales returned to the USDA Forest Service for the nationwide wildfire prevention campaign). Click here to visit the company website where you can shop or request a free printed catalog.

Best of all, the company sells original, chubby Woodsy Owl stuff (like below) along with the newer items.

Yikes, Woodsy has that whistle in his mouth.