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Division of Forestry 

 University of California 



THE USE BOOK. 



PART IADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 

 RELATION OF FOREST OFFICERS TO THE PUBLIC. 



Supervisors, rangers, and other Forest officers carry out the administrative 

 policy prescribed for the National Forests by Congress, as embodied in tha regu- 

 lations made by the Secretary of Agriculture. As officers of the Government 

 it is their duty to enforce these regulations without fear or favor. 



Forest officers are also agents of the people, with whom they come into close 

 relations, both officially and as neighbors and fellow citizens. They must an- 

 swer all inquiries fully and cheerfully and be prompt, active, and courteous in 

 the conduct of Forest business. It is their duty to assist the public in making 

 use of the resources of the Forests. They aim to prevent misunderstanding 

 ;ind violation of Forest regulations by timely and tactful advice rather than 

 to follow up violations by the exercise of their authority. 



It is essential that Forest officers should win the respect and confidence of 

 those with whom they come in contact. The Forest Service will not tolerate 

 discourtesy or inefficiency in any of its members. Even the best, however, 

 can not always give satisfactory service under adverse conditions. Forest 

 officers can .always render more and better service where they receive straight- 

 forward and friendly treatment. It is therefore within the power of Forest 

 - to aid greatly in the efficient performance of the public business by 

 af-cording to Forest officers the same frankness, consideration, and courtesy 

 which the Forest officers are expected to show them. 



If there is just cause for complaint regarding the conduct of any Forest 

 officer, the matter should be taken up in writing either with the immediate su- 

 perior of the officer complained against or with the Forester at Washington, 

 D. C. 



PURPOSE AND LOCATION OF NATIONAL FORESTS. 



The National Forests are large tracts of land, mainly mountainous and tim- 

 bered, set apart to insure a perpetual supply of timber for home industries, to 

 prevent destruction of the forest cover which regulates the flow of streams, 

 and to protect forest and range from monopoly or abuse, to the injury of local 

 residents and the public generally. The first Forest was created by President 

 Harrison in 1S91, under the name of the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve. 

 Later forest reservations were called forest reserves, until in 1905 Congress 

 changed the official designation to National Forests. 



Congress has said that National Forests may be set aside from public lands 

 covered wholly or in part with timber or undergrowth, whether of merchantable 

 value or not. Some National Forests are heavily timbered and are set aside 

 mainly for the value of the timber; others are located in thinly wooded regions 

 mainly to protect and conserve the water supply, without which the country 

 would be uninhabitable. 



The National Forests are located chiefly in the Western States. In all there 

 are 163 Forests, comprising a gross area of 187,000,000 acres, of which about 

 11,000,000 acres are alienated land held by States and individuals. Their names 

 and areas are shown in a table in the back of this book. 



Mountain lands are now being purchased, under the provisions of the Weeks 

 law, from private owners in the Appalachian and White Mountain regions of 

 the East, Eventually these will become National Forests. 



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