THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA 



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birds feed and have their home. The melting snow and rain seep 

 through the forest floor and provide an unfailing supply of water 

 for streams and lakes — the home of game fish. When fire sweeps 

 through the forest and the trees and brush cover are destroyed, game 

 animals are either driven out or killed, the streams dry up, the fish 

 disappear, and the beauty spots of nature are turned into deso- 

 late wastes. 



ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL FORESTS 



The Federal " forest reserves " in California were transferred to 

 the Department of Agriculture and became " national forests " in 

 1905. They have, therefore, been under administration as national 

 forests for more than 20 years. With the change in name came an 

 altered conception of what the forests should be. By and large, their 



FOREST RANGER 



The forest ranger is the custodian and manager of the Government' 



in the national forests 



ind people's interests 



development has been the outcome of the viewpoint which sought 

 usefulness of the resources for all the people in place of " reservation " 

 solely for the future. The national forests have thus become a per- 

 manent public undertaking, their purposes understood and Indorsed. 



The unit of national forest administration is the ranger district, 

 in charge of a district ranger. He is the local representative of the 

 Forest Service whose duty it is to protect the forest from lire, regu- 

 late and supervise the grazing of stock and the sale of timber, and 

 oversee the building of trails, telephone lines, and all other improve- 

 ments necessary for the use and protection of his district. Briefly, 

 the forest ranger is the custodian and manager on the ground of the 

 Government's and the people's interests. 



A certain number of ranger districts form a national forest, the 

 boundaries of which are determined largely by topographic features. 

 A forest supervisor, who is the business ami resource manager and 

 executive of this larger unit, is in charge, with ample authority and 



