FOREST EESEKVE MANUAL. 27 



the Creation and Administration of Public Forest Eeserves, 

 which may be obtained by applying to the forest supervisor 

 or to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 



DUTIES OF FOREST OFFICERS. 



The work of forest officers, supervisors, and rangers may 

 be enumerated as follows: 



1. Protective duty, guarding against fire and trespass, fight- 

 ing fires and stopping trespass, as well as assisting the State 

 authorities in the protection of game. 



2. Care and propagation of the forest by a judicious man- 

 agement of timber sales and cases of "free use" of timber, 

 and actual propagation by seeding and planting. 



3. Special work in attending to grazing, to the supervision 

 of the construction of roads and other improvements, and in 

 examining into and reporting upon the numerous claims and 

 applications for special privileges, etc. 



4. Permanent improvements carried out by the reserve 

 force, such as making surveys of land and timber, and the 

 construction of trails, cabins, bridges, and other improve- 

 ments. 



Protective Duty. 



1. PREVENTING AND FIGHTING FIRES. 



It is expected that every ranger and other forest officer is 

 constantly on the lookout for fires. 



Fire notices. — An ample supply of fire-warning posters will 

 be furnished at all times, and it is imperative that the reserves 

 be thoroughly "posted" with these useful notices. The fact 

 that, in a few rare cases, malicious persons destroy them, is 

 no excuse for neglecting this important preventive effort. 

 In many cases the warning can be combined with some useful 

 information, such as a signboard to indicate the trail or dis- 

 tance to nearby or important points, to indicate the reserve 

 line, limits of districts, or excluded parts in grazing ranges, 

 etc. The destruction of the notices is willful trespass. 



Qamp fires. — Forest officers should inform transients and 

 others concerning the rules and regulations governing camp 

 and other fires. This should be done cheerfully and politely; 

 and an officer who is unable to talk with persons who, from 

 ignorance concerning the rules, or from lack of experience in 



