GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. AND PROTECTION. 17 



The committee will discuss matters which relate to the administration of 

 the National Forests and to work of the Forest Service and will make definite 

 recommendations, but decisions will rest with the District Forester. Copies of 

 the minutes of the committee meetings will be sent to the Forester, to each 

 District Forester, and to the Director of the Madison Laboratory. Copies may 

 also be sent to the supervisors of the district in which the meeting is held. 

 The discussions are informal and confidential, and a large part of their value 

 depends upon keeping them so. The minutes will not be taken as instructions 

 and supervisors will therefore be careful not to draw hasty conclusions from 

 the record of these discussions, where it may seem that unnecessary criticism 

 has passed. 



DUTIES OF SERVICE AND DISTRICT OFFICERS AND SUPERVISORS 

 WHEN IN THE FIELD. 



Washington Officers. 



Administrative officers of the Washington office, when in the field, will not 

 issue instructions to officers upon the National Forests, except in cases of grave 

 emergency. In such cases the District Forester concerned will be informed 

 immediately, in writing, by the administrative officer, of the character of such 

 instructions, and to whom they were given. 



When on duty in a district, members of the Washington office will act either 

 as inspectors, within their respective fields, reporting directly to the Forester, 

 or as executive officers under the direction of the District Forester, in accord- 

 ance with the instructions from the Forester. 



District Officers. 



The District Foresters and assistant district foresters, and district officers 

 designated by them, are authorized, within their respective fields, to give in- 

 structions to officers upon the National Forests within their districts. Other 

 subordinate officers of the district office when on National Forests will, by 

 assignment, act as inspectors within their respective fields, reporting directly 

 to their chief, or as executive officers reporting directly to the supervisor. 



Instructions Issued in the Field. 



When a district officer issues instructions to a supervisor he should prepare 

 a written memorandum of them to go into the forest supervisor's file. Orders 

 to rangers and other field officers should be given only in emergency cases, 

 and when such orders are found necessary they should be communicated, by 

 the officer issuing them, to the supervisor as soon as possible. Copies of these 

 memoranda should be sent to the District Forester whenever the action initiated 

 by them requires further action in the district office or is needed for information. 



When a district officer is in doubt concerning instructions to be given, espe- 

 cially when it concerns matters outside of the officer's special line of work, he 

 will report the circumstances in detail to the District Forester. 



Reports on controversies or complaints, which are settled on the ground by 

 the district officer, will be filed for reference in the district office and a copy 

 sent to the supervisor. 



Inspectors. 



Members of the Washington and district offices, when on National Forests 

 under assignments as inspectors, will give no orders. 



Authority of Supervisors. 



The supervisor has full authority over all Forest officers detailed to the 

 Forest of which he is in charge and may make such assignments and delegate 

 such authority as he may consider necessary, provided such assignments or 

 delegations of authority are not specifically prohibited. 



FIELD EQUIPMENT AND EXPENSES OF FOREST OFFICERS. 



Equipment. 



Forest officers or employees assigned to field duty may be required to furnish 

 thomselves with the necessary means of transportation, with the requisite 

 equipment. They may also be required to furnish themselves with necessary 

 camp equipment. The supervisor will determine what equipment each officer 

 on his Forest must provide. The District Forester will determine what field 

 equipment the members of the district office and the supervisors must provide. 



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