MANA(}p]MENT PLANS THE NATIONAL FORESTS 11 



4. OTHER INFORMATION 



Any plan for the management of the timber resources that is not in 

 entire coordination with the plans and policies for the various other 

 uses of the land in that region is incomplete. The land-acquisition 

 policy often has an important bearing on the handling of the timber 

 in a given working circle. The use of the range for grazing is in 

 many regions of great economic importance, and though it may some- 

 times conflict with the forester's plans for handling the timber, 

 usually the two uses can be so coordinated as to make them both 

 possible. In some regions the public has come to make very general 

 and in some cases rather intensive use of forest areas, particularly the 

 national forests, for recreation, including touring, camping, hunting, 

 fishing, summer homes, etc. Such a use is a legitimate one and should 

 be anticipated and taken into account in plans for timber manage- 

 ment. The protection of city watersheds and of large catchment 

 basins depended upon by irrigation districts for water supply is 

 another use that must in many cases be fitted into the plan. 



While management plans usually do not cover the field of protec- 

 tion in any detail, it is of paramount importance that in drawing up 

 provisions for management, the protection of timber crops, both 

 present and future, against insects, tree diseases, and fire should be 

 kept constantly in the foreground in order that no opportunity for 

 furthering the safety of the stands may be overlooked. Data should 

 be gathered on the relationship of age classes, silvicultural systems, 

 and logging methods, and on the liability of losses from insects, 

 disease, fire, and storms. 



5. MAPS 



Of course, every forest manager wants a good topographic map 

 of the territory in his charge, and as his work gets more intensive 

 the need for an accurate map of this kind increases. At the start, 

 however, large areas can be put under successful management with- 

 out other than simple, inexpensive maps. A map showing owner- 

 ship, drainage, outstanding topographic features, such as divides, 

 transporation facilities, utilization plants, and towns and settlements, 

 will usually serve as a satisfactory base on which to enter type lines 

 and compartment and block boundaries and to show in bold relief the 

 areas to be cut over during the period covered by the cutting budget. 

 The scale of the map should be in proportion to the amount of detail 

 to be shown ; 1 inch to the mile will do for large working circles with 

 very simple plans ; 2 inches to the mile will better fit conditions in a 

 smaller working circle or one in which there are more details to be 

 shown; an intensive plan or a very complex situation may require a 

 scale of 4 inches to the mile, or even larger. Often all of the data 

 necessary can be shown on one map. Only in the more complex 

 situations w^ill separate type maps and ownership maps be necessary. 



OBJECTS OF MANAGEMENT 



A decision as to objectives is essential at an early stage in the 

 preparation of the plan. After the information concerning the area 

 to be put under management has been gathered and digested, the next 

 step is to formulate and set down the purposes of management — 



