Johnny Horizon was a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

used by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1970s primarily for its anti-

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...

campaign. First used in 1968, and resembling a cigaretteless

Marlboro Man The Marlboro Man is a figure that was used in tobacco advertising campaigns for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. ...

, Johnny Horizon reached his greatest use in the years leading up to the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

celebration, with the ''Johnny Horizon '76 Program''. September 15, 1974 to October 15, 1974 was proclaimed ''Johnny Horizon '76 Clean Up America Month, 1974'' by President

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

.Gerald R. Ford: Proclamation 4315 - Johnny Horizon '76 Clean Up America Month, 1974
/ref> Like the better known

Smokey Bear Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service. In the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history, the Ad Council, the United St ...

and

Woodsy Owl Woodsy Owl is a national symbol and advertising character for the United States Forest Service with the aim of motivating children to form healthy, lasting relationships with nature. Harold Bell of Western Publishing (and the producer of the ...

characters of the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, use of the Johnny Horizon mascot was protected under Federal law (18 U.S.C. 714) beginning in 1970 until his protection was repealed in 1982. The character is no longer used by the Bureau. In 1971, a Johnny Horizon Environmental Test Kit was licensed by the

U. S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

and produced by

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

. It included four air pollution tests and six water pollution tests for young environmental scientists. The Johnny Horizon Environmental Test Kit was marketed to both boys and girls.

References

External links

"Forgotten Characters from Forest History: Johnny Horizon"
''Peeling Back the Bark'', the

Forest History Society The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history."Forest History Society." Echo Project. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://echo.gmu. ...

. Mascots introduced in 1968 1982 disestablishments in the United States Environment of the United States History of environmentalism Public service announcement characters American mascots Male characters in advertising United States Department of the Interior 1968 establishments in the United States {{mascot-stub