The Administration of National Forests 



377 



a local enterprise and community asset. 



The ranger does all this within the 

 framework of national, regional, and 

 forest objectives. He is checked closely 

 against policies and regulations and 

 must conform, but because it is a 

 fundamental national policy that the 

 forest take its place locally as a con- 

 tributor to community prosperity, the 

 Chief of the Forest Service insures that 

 the ranger's authority is protected and 

 that no one above him sabotages his 

 planning or action. In other words, he 

 has his job and is protected in it; his 

 authority has limits, however. But the 

 ranger not only makes plans; he is a 

 distinctive part of the organization be- 

 cause he also puts the plans into effect. 



The district ranger is responsible 

 only to his forest supervisor. He may 

 meet the functional chiefs, in his dis- 

 trict or in their offices, and discuss his 

 plans and theirs, but he receives orders 

 only from his immediate superior, the 

 forest supervisor. 



EFFECTIVE RANGER district adminis- 

 tration is based on two key points. First 

 is sufficient delegation of authority to 

 the district ranger so that his protection 

 and management duties, including 

 dealings with local settlers and com- 

 munities, may be handled with effec- 

 tiveness and dispatch. To that end, the 

 ranger is authorized, for example, to 

 make any number of timber sales of 

 from some 50,000 to 100,000 board 

 feet to each purchaser, subject only to 

 the timber-management plan for the 

 district. He also may employ lookouts 

 and other members of his seasonal pro- 

 tection and improvement crews, sub- 

 ject only to over-all requirements, and 

 otherwise handle the more pressing 

 business on his district without con- 

 stantly referring matters to his super- 

 visor for prior approval. 



The ranger district approaches the 

 ultimate in territorial form of or- 

 ganization. That is the second rather 

 distinctive feature of ranger-district 

 administration. 



Under the set-up, all the various re- 

 sponsibilities and types of work to be 



done within his territory his district 

 are under the control of one man, 

 the district ranger. That has been 

 found to be more effective than the 

 functional method of administration, 

 under which there is a specialist 

 reporting directly to the forest super- 

 visor to handle each major func- 

 tional activity a specialist for timber 

 management, a specialist for range 

 management, other specialists for rec- 

 reation management, forest protection, 

 construction and maintenance work, 

 and so on. 



Such functionalization might mean 

 that more expert attention is given to 

 each activity. But with supplementary 

 help from functional specialists on the 

 supervisor's and the regional forester's 

 staffs, adequately expert attention to 

 all activities is provided in ranger-dis- 

 trict work through the territorial form 

 of administration. In addition, better 

 integration of all activities is possible 

 with less waste of time in travel, be- 

 cause one trip can accomplish several 

 purposes. And of controlling impor- 

 tance is the fact that the local settlers 

 and other users deal with only one for- 

 est officer instead of several. 



On districts where the work is heavy, 

 the ranger has one or more yearlong 

 assistants. During the field season, fire- 

 control assistants, improvement fore- 

 men, log sealers, and other aides as 

 needed are employed to supplement 

 the regular force. All are under the 

 direct control of the district ranger. 



The large volume of business and 

 the technical work involved in the 

 management of a ranger district on a 

 multiple-use basis calls for technical 

 competence, experience, and man- 

 agerial ability. Accordingly, rangers 

 are usually chosen from among junior 

 foresters and range examiners who are 

 graduates of a recognized college or 

 university, have passed a professional 

 examination, and. have demonstrated 

 their ability in technical work and as 

 an assistant ranger. The rangers pro- 

 vide the pool of trained and tested men 

 from which supervisors and others in 

 higher positions are usually chosen. 



