American Forest Congress 389 



the following year at the end of each grazing season, 

 and is determined by the report of the supervisor in 

 connection with the effects of the former year's graz- 

 ing. 



In addition to the privilege of securing timber from, 

 and grazing upon forest reserves which may be called 

 general privileges, the General Land Office is called 

 upon to pass upon numerous applications for special 

 privileges, such as rights of way for irrigating ditches, 

 railways, roads, the establishment of hotels, the erec- 

 tion of saw mills and the like within forest reserve 

 boundaries. In all such applications the primary 

 question to be determined is whether the exercise of 

 such privilege will injure in any manner the forest or 

 forest cover, or interfere with the proper administra- 

 tion of the reserve. If this question is answered in 

 the negative, then it is to be determined whether the 

 privilege sought will be for the welfare of the public 

 or beneficial to the exercise of some right which the 

 applicant may have already acquired, either before or 

 after the creation of the reserve, and if so, the privi- 

 lege is usually granted. The investigation necessary 

 to secure this information is obtained by the supervis- 

 ors under the direction of the General Land Office, 

 and upon their reports action is based. 



During the winter season when patrol duty is not 

 necessary, a large number of the rangers are fur- 

 loughed, leaving the supervisors and a few of the high 

 grade rangers to care for the reserves, and to form 

 a nucleus for the increase of the service during the 

 following summer. These are employed in construct- 

 ing trails so that the various portions of the reserve 

 may be more easily reached, and fire breaks to aid in 

 the control of forest fires. Twenty-one hundred and 

 eighty-eight miles of traik and roads have been con- 



