180 



Instructions for Closing- Settlement Cases 



No general instructions have been issued hitherto for closing settlement cases. 

 Where favorable action is taken, the case should be closed by the District Forester 

 on the date he receives notice from the Commissioner of the General Land Office of 

 the restoration of the land to entry and by the supervisor when he receives such 

 notice from the District Forester. Where adverse action is taken for any specific 

 legal reason apart from the character of the land, the case should be closed by the 

 District Forester on the date he rejects the application and by the supervisor on the 

 date he receives notice of the rejection. AVhen an application is rejected because of 

 the character of the land, the District Forester and supervisor should each prepare a 

 follow-up card and close the case sixty days after the rejection, unless pending cor- 

 respondence arising from the rejection prevents closing the case then, in which event 

 the follow-up card will be set ahead, pending final action. Papers in the folders of 

 closed cases may be transferred, when necessary, to the folders of new or supple- 

 mental applications, leaving an appropriate memorandum in the closed folder. All 

 District Foresters and supervisors should at once close and transfer from their cur- 

 rent files all those settlement cases which the above instructions require to be closed. 



Amount of Acreage in Special-Use Permits 



A number of "special-use permits have been received by the District Foresters 

 which do not specify the acreage or mileage involved. It is necessary to specify 

 this in every case. Under the District organization a report of the number of special- 

 use permits issued and the total acreage or mileage covered is required to be made 

 from each District office. 



Description of Land in Reports or Bequests- 

 All reports or requests to the General Land Office transmitted by District For- 

 esters should in every instance give a careful description of the land involved, by 

 section, township, and range, together with the names of the claimants, in order 

 that the cases may be identified in that office. The Forester has been informed by 

 the Commissioner of the General Land Office of several cases of neglect to give 

 description. The importance of giving these data should be noted. 



Dates for Supervisors' Reports Advanced 



The Use Book, page 195, " Distribution of Ranger Service," provides that super- 

 visors should send, on November 1, an annual report to the District Forester showing 

 the total number of days devoted by the ranger force on each Forest to each class of 

 work during the preceding fiscal year. The Manual of Procedure, page 81, provides 

 that the District Forester shall send to the Forester, on December 1, an annual report 

 on the distribution of rangers' services. It is found that this report should reach the 

 Forester at an earlier date. The date set in The Use Book is therefore changed to 

 September 1 and that in the Manual to October 1. 



Papers to Accompany Applications for Special-Use Permits 



The Manual of Procedure provides that in applications for Class A special-use 

 permits the supervisor shall transmit to the District Forester his recommendations, 

 accompanied by other reports and papers, including the report of the District engi- 

 neer. In order that satisfactory arrangements may be made for the engineering 

 examination, it is desirable that the supervisor notify the District Forester immedi- 

 ately when an application for a Class A permit is received by him. 



The Statistical Atlas to Appear This Month 



The 1907 volume of the Statistical Atlas will be issued during February. It 

 will consist of 30 pages of maps, diagrams, and tables selected from the standard size 

 manuscript volume which is part of the record of the Forest Service. It will 

 be printed in 14 colors. The size of the bound volume is 10 by 12 inches. It will be 



