Editing Smokey Bear (section)

=== Recent History ===
In 1984, Smokey Bear was honored with a U.S. postage stamp for his 40th anniversary, illustrated by Rudy Wendelin. The stamp featured an image of a cub clinging to a burned tree. That same year, the U.S. Forest Service began transferring materials from the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign to the National Agricultural Library for preservation, including posters, artwork, recordings, and memorabilia. The collection is accessible online and at the library in Beltsville, Maryland.

For his 50th anniversary, a TV commercial showed woodland animals surprising Smokey with a birthday cake. Mistakenly thinking the candles were a fire hazard, Smokey destroyed the cake with his shovel. Posters commemorating the event featured a cake with extinguished candles and the slogan, "Make Smokey's Birthday Wish Come True."

In 2004, the Senate passed a resolution recognizing Smokey's 60th anniversary, requesting the President to issue a proclamation encouraging Americans to celebrate the occasion. Author Richard Earle praised the campaign's longevity, noting Smokey's enduring strength as a symbol of wildfire prevention.

"Smokey Bear Days" began in 2004 to honor the anniversary of finding the living Smokey Bear after the Capitan Gap fire. Marianne Gould from the Smokey Bear Ranger District, Eddie Tudor from the Smokey Bear Museum, and Neal Jones from a local Ruidoso radio station helped create the event, which takes place annually on the first weekend of May in Capitan, New Mexico. The celebration includes concerts, chainsaw carving contests, a firefighter competition, food, vendors, and a parade, promoting both wildfire prevention and environmental conservation.

Between 2008 and 2011, CGI-rendered Smokey Bear public service announcements (PSAs) were released. In 2010, a PSA encouraged young adults to "Get Your Smokey On" by urging them to intervene when witnessing unsafe fire practices. In 2011, the campaign launched its first mobile app to help educate users about campfire safety and provide real-time information about wildfires across the U.S.

In 2012, Smokey Bear's 68th birthday was celebrated at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where NASA, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Texas Forest Service teamed up for the event. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and the Expedition 31 crew selected a Smokey Bear plush doll as their mascot for their trip to the International Space Station, where Smokey celebrated his birthday in space, orbiting about 250 miles above Earth.

In 2014, Smokey Bear's 70th birthday was celebrated with a series of birthday-themed PSAs across various media platforms, continuing the "Smokey Bear Hug" campaign. This campaign showed Smokey giving hugs to people practicing wildfire prevention, and audiences were encouraged to post their own #SmokeyBearHug online. That year, Smokey also partnered with Disney's Planes.

In 2016, the "Rise from the Ashes" campaign was introduced, featuring art by Bill Fink, who used wildfire ashes as a medium to depict the damage caused by wildfires and raise awareness of less-known wildfire causes. New artwork and videos were released in 2017 by artists like Brian Edward Miller, Evan Hecox, Janna Mattia, and Victoria Ying, portraying Smokey in their distinct styles.

For Smokey Bear's 75th birthday in 2019, the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C. opened an outdoor exhibit featuring posters, photographs, and a 6-foot statue of Smokey's cartoon persona. New commercials and events were held nationwide, and the National Agricultural Library showcased related materials. Oregon also released a Smokey Bear license plate in August 2019, benefiting Keep Oregon Green.