NATIONAL FOfcEST MANUAL FREE USE. 69 



The administration of free use will be conducted mainly by the 

 supervisors and rangers, subject to the general policy, 

 Administration. restrictions, and instructions herein outlined, or 

 prescribed by the district forester. It is the duty of Forest officers to 

 cheerfully furnish assistance to applicants, to act promptly upon all 

 applications, and in general to follow as liberal a policy in the matter 

 of free use as the interests of the National Forest and the proper per- 

 formance of their work will allow. Although simple methods and 

 the exercise of judgment are encouraged, there should be no tendency 

 to underrate the importance of the free-use business. 



Every effort will be made to improve the Forest and to reduce the 

 cost of the administration of free use and yet give Forest users prompt 

 attention. Utilization of all trees cut, as complete as in sales, as well 

 as careful disposal of refuse, must be required. Officers in charge of 

 cutting will be held responsible for seeing that no unnecessary damage 

 is done to reproduction, young growth, or standing timber. There 

 should be no failure on the part of the Forest officer to make all points 

 clear to applicants before permits are granted. 



When numerous applications for free use are expected, Forest 

 officers will notify the public, in any convenient manner, that they 

 will be at designated places on certain days, prepared to transact free 

 use and other National Forest business. 



Wherever possible the work of handling the free-use business will 

 be reduced by designating temporary permit areas, 

 preferably in dead timber. These will be mapped 

 and reported to the supervisor, who, if he approves, will authorize the 

 ranger to mark or specify the timber which should be removed and to 

 designate the boundaries. Great care should be exercised in estab- 

 lishing such areas, and their boundaries must be clearly designated. 

 After issuing a permit, the Forest officer may send the permittee to 

 this area, thus avoiding the necessity of a visit to the timber with 

 each applicant before cutting. Each applicant, who will be held 

 responsible for his cutting on the area, will be required to clear up 

 the debris resulting from his own cutting. 



Forest officers will designate the timber to be cut in the simplest 

 Markin anc ^ mos ^ economical way practicable. Living timber 



will be marked in accordance with the principles out- 

 lined under timber sales, and the detailed instructions for marking 

 issued by the district forester or supervisor. In the case of dead 

 timber, an area may be blazed or defined by natural boundaries, and 

 the class of trees to be taken specified. 



The scaling or measuring of free-use material may be omitted when 

 it would require long special trips or engage consid- 

 erable of the ranger's time that could be more 

 economically employed on other work. A sufficient check should be 

 maintained by the ranger to be certain that the regulations governing 

 free use are complied with. 



Supervisors and deputy supervisors will investigate the conduct of 

 free-use business, both in the field and in the ranger's records, as often 

 as possible, to see that the cutting is in accordance with silvicultural 

 requirements, that utilization is complete, that the public is properly 

 served, that the cases are closed promptly on expiration, and that 

 the free-use policy for the Forest is being followed. 



