FOREST IMPROVEMENTS 1 71 



G. GENERAL PLAN OF IMPROVEMENTS. 



In every forest property there is need for roads, trails and tele- 

 phones, and in many cases for other improvements to make the 

 forest accessible and enable various kinds of work to be done with 

 expedition and economy. It is chiefly Silviculture, Protection, and 

 Utilization which make necessary these improvements and plans for 

 them must take into consideration these three most important 

 objects. In addition to these greater improvements necessary in the 

 raising and removal of timber, or the principal crop, there is also 

 need of suitable housing of men, of special means to assist in pro- 

 tection, such as look-out stations, stores of supplies and tools ; and 

 on many of the large forest properties, both East and West, im- 

 provements are needed to facilitate various lines of secondary 

 utilization, such as grazing, utilization of resin, tanbark, seeds, 

 maple sap. etc. 



Housing of men, and animals, most of the special provisions 

 for protection and utilization are matters of detail plan and belong 

 more in the sphere of forest administration than that of regulation. 

 In a new country and on very large properties, however, the import- 

 ance of a general policy concerning improvements is sufficient to 

 necessitate its embodiment in every complete working plan. 



a. Roads in all forest properties serve three functions: they 

 make the forest accessible, and enable transportation of material and 

 timber into and out of the forest. They connect different parts of 

 the forest itself and facilitate work, especially protection. They 

 enable general travel through or across the forest. The relative 

 importance of these three functions varies with locality and top- 

 ography. In the Lakes Region or the South, a forest of one town- 

 ship, located between settlements, makes the function of general 

 travel nearly as important as that of facilitating logging and other 

 work. In parts of the Rockies, Sierra and Cascades, topography 

 determines the location of every important road, and comparatively 

 few roads can serve more than the one purpose of getting in and out 

 of the forest. Between these extremes, many intermediate situa- 

 tions occur. 



i. The plan and development of the road-system is usually 

 dominated by utilization, and the removal of timber sets definite 



