NEWS NOTES FROM DISTRICT 1, FOREST SERVICE 



By J. F. Preston 



During the past winter a Ranger Conference was held at the 

 Priest River Experiment Station. Twelve rangers were selected 

 and assigned to the station for the purpose of giving them some 

 additional training. Members of the District Office gave special 

 lectures and in addition the rangers were required to do sufficient 

 improvement work to justify the expenses of their assignment. 

 The need for better trained rangers is very urgent and this is 

 one method the District has adopted in order to raise the general 

 standard of the ranger personnel. This conference at Govern- 

 ment expense is in addition to the short courses for rangers given 

 at the various Forest Schools and is not intended to interfere with 

 these courses in any way. In fact, the purpose of the conference 

 is accomplished if the men who attend will have an added desire 

 to take a more pretentious course of training. The conference 

 this year was very successful. 



District Forester Silcox is developing what he calls an admini- 

 strative plan for a Ranger District. This plan outlines in a 

 simple way qualitative and quantitative standards of work and 

 shows graphically the location of the work in the District with 

 respect to the ranger's headquarters. This is along the line of 

 scientific management and is another step in the effort to raise 

 the general standard of ranger personnel. When it is remembered 

 that 80 per cent of the Forest Service appropriation is spent for 

 salaries, the importance of such efforts cannot be over-estimated. 



The office of Operation has inaugurated a rather comprehensive 

 scheme for employing forestry students for short-term work dur- 

 ing the summer, such as guards, surveyors, reconnaissance men, 

 etc. The office is following in a general way the principles out- 

 lined by Mrs. Katherine Blackford. The form of application 

 which is required is rather formidable in appearance, but the 

 results so far attained amply justify the methods. The big ob- 

 jection to forestry students in the past has been the number of 

 rather low quality men which have been obtained, not so much 

 due to the men themselves as to the fact that they have not been 

 fitted to the particular job for which they are best suited. The 



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