James C. Rettie was born in Fossil, Oregon and was educated at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon and Yale University. Beginning in the 1930s, he was a career economist with the Federal government, specializing in economic research and programming in water and power development, forest and land economics, taxation, resources utilization, and river basin development. He was United States director of the North Pacific Planning Project, 1942-1944. From 1942-1951, he was chief of the Forest Utilization Service, and then chief of the Division of Forest Economics, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. From 1952-1962, he was a Forest Service economist in the Division of Program Planning, Washington, D.C. From 1962 he was senior economist on the Resources Program Staff, Department of the Interior. Rettie died in 1969.
From the description of James Cardno Rettie papers, 1924-1969. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 52097205
