6" MISC. PUBLICATION 11, U. S. 1»KPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



not be put into eifoct. T\w forest should be broken up into lo(rical 

 nnits of nianuiri'nient in each of whieli the situation is sullieiently 

 simple to permit a reasonably aeeurate analysis and appraisal and 

 the drawinjr np of specific provisions for mana<rement. 



The workinir circle is the mana^^ement plan unit; it is a major ter- 

 ritorial division of a forest in ■which the conditions alfectin<f the care 

 and use of the timber crop are so interrelated that the area can and 

 should be mana<red as a whole and uiuler a sin»j;le plan, and usually 

 thou«rh not imaiiably under sustained yield. 



SIZE AND BOUNDARIES 



Workin<r circles may vary in size from a few tho\isand acres to 

 .«;everal hundred thousand acres. The area and the location of 

 boundaries will be <j:overned by many factors, amon<r which may 

 be mentioned: The objects and the intensity of mana^a>ment, the 

 (juantity and character of output desired, the topo<rraphy, the lay- 

 out of transportation systems, the sphere of influence of near-by 

 industries or communities from an utilization or market standpoint, 

 and, to a lesser extent, the composition of the stand as to types, 

 ajjre classes, and sometimes species. 



Since most of these factors in a mountain country are stron<^dy 

 affectetl by topo<rraphy, it frequently though not always happens 

 that a Avorking circle is a natural topographic area, such as the 

 watershed of a river or large stream, or a group of such areas. There 

 is some tendency in the national forests to include too extensive an 

 area in a Avorking circle. While no hard and fast rule can be cited, 

 it is good practice to keep the area as small as the attainment of the 

 objects of management and the exigencies of practical)le logging will 

 permit. The smaller the management-plan unit, the greater the 

 chanfc for uniformity of conditions, the easier it is to aj)i)raise the 

 situation correctly, and the more practicable it is to apply the 

 pi-escriptions of management. 



It is not necessary that a working circle ( onsi.st of a consolidated 

 ten-itory within an unbroken bountlary. It may be made up of 

 several watersheds or blocks of foiest land separated from each other 

 by bodies of private land, land outside of national forest boundaries, 

 oi- nontimbei'ed lands, but in all such cases there should be something 

 in common that estai)lishes an interde|)endeuce between the scatti-retl 

 areas, as for instance, a common shijjping or marketing point or a 

 common transportatiim system. 



Whether or not the bomidaries are drawn to exclude bodies of land 

 in other ownerships within the topographic area constituting the 

 working circle will depend ujion the i-elative area of such lands, upon 

 the degree and stability of cooj^eration which is in ellect or assured, 

 uj)on whether or not the timber on these lands is to be taken into 

 account in figuring the yield, and, foi- a national forest woi-king 

 cii-cle, upon the policy of the (iovernment as to ac(]uiring title to 

 them under the general exchange act .or otherwise. As a general 

 thing the ]n-esence of intermingled alienation^ in a working circle 

 should not affect the location of its boundaries. The effort should be 

 to have all owners join in carrying out a common jilan. 



The boundaries of woi'king circles should, as far as possible, be 

 well-defined topographic features. They need not coincide with 



