In 1917, Waugh was hired by the U.S. Forest Service as a consultant for the recreational development of national forests. Over a five-month period, he visited forests across the country and evaluated their facilities, both private and public, including camp and picnic grounds, summer resorts, and other aspects of forest recreation. Most importantly, he compared the value of forest recreation to that of the urban realm, estimating that forest recreation was worth $7.5 million annually, roughly equal to the value of urban recreation. He published his findings in "Recreation Uses in the National Forests," which was the first comprehensive study of national forest recreational use.