PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS. 105 



Any community which desires to take advantage of 

 this offer should communicate with the forest officer 

 in charge through the proper official. 



The supervisor will transmit the request to the Forester in a 

 report covering the following points: 



Location and length. 



Advantages to be gained and necessity of construction. 



Number and class of residents benefited. 



Exactly what the local residents or county will contribute toward 

 its construction and maintenance in money, labor, tools, powder, 

 or construction material. 



Cost to the Forest Service in money, labor, or timber. 



Definite recommendations as to what action should be taken by 

 the Forest Service. 



There is urgent need of more and better trails on most of the 

 forest reserves. They are of capital importance, because they are 

 not only the best insurance against fire, but the means by which 

 the reserves can be seen and used. 



It is entirely practicable to make a good trail at low cost, even 

 on rough ground, but the man who makes it must know how. A 

 general system or scheme of trails for the whole reserve should 

 first be carefully thought out and decided upon, and those of the 

 greatest immediate importance for protection and patrol should be 

 built first. Trails needed in haste may be made good enough for 

 ordinary saddle-horse or pack-train travel at once, w r ith a view to 

 improvement and permanence later on. 



The most important part of trail work, and that for which the 

 supervisor will be held directly responsible, is the preliminary lo- 

 cation of the line and grade. Construction work should not com- 

 mence until he is satisfied that the best possible route has been 

 selected. 



The maximum grade of all forest reserve trails should be 20 per 

 cent, unless the expense of keeping within this limit is absolutely 

 prohibitive. When it is found necessary to build switch-backs, 

 the turns should be level and wide enough to give plenty of room 

 for a loaded pack animal. 



Loirs, snags, brush, or limbs that require turn-outs on a traveled 

 trail will be considered as marks of inefficiency on the part of the 



