CAREERS IN FORESTRY 23 



The protection of the National Forests from fire is of fundamental 

 importance. Without adequate protection, all other efforts to increase 

 the productivity of the forests might be nullified. Continuous effort 

 has therefore been directed toward this objective. 



The continually increasing use of the forests by the public has in- 

 tensified the fire problem and created an immense amount of office 

 and field work. The large volume of business involved in the man- 

 agement of forest and forage and in the multiple use of land calls for 

 constant and painstaking supervision. 



All the different lines of work in a National Forest are handled by 

 the regular administrative force under the immediate direction of the 

 Supervisor. Since the very beginning, an effort has been made to 

 apply the best forestry practicable under existing conditions, so the 

 more technical phases of the work have accordingly been handled as 

 far as possible by the men with technical education — men who have 

 entered the Forest Service as junior foresters and range conservation- 

 ists. These men have had to perform such duties as mapping and 

 estimating the timber on the forest, marking the trees to be removed 

 in timber sales, raising stock at nurseries for field planting, reforesting 

 treeless areas by planting, and looking after the varied phases of flood 

 control and range management. The rangers also do this kind of 

 work in addition to their regular protection and administrative duties. 



The second step in the development of the National Forests has been 

 the preparation of detailed plans for the administration and use of the 

 resources of each forest. Such plans require sound technical training 

 for their preparation and execution. Their perfection will be achieved 

 only through the painstaking work of years, but already the results of 

 better management clearly justify their application. 



Forest Research 



Forest research offers an opportunity within the Forest Service for 

 constructive work having a high public-service value. No other phase 

 of forestry offers a more attractive career for men having the creative 

 impulse. 



Research conducted by the Forest Service includes four main fields 

 of work: Forest and range management, forest products, forest re- 

 sources, and forest protection. Primary objectives of these research 

 activities are to lay the scientific foundation for such management of 

 forest and range lands as will help to insure (1) supplies of timber and 

 forage suitable in quality and ample in quantity for national needs; 

 (2) effective utilization of wood and other forest products and reduc- 

 tion of waste; (3) regulation of streamflow; prevention of erosion; fur- 

 therance of public health and outdoor recreation; maintenance offish, 

 game, and other wildlife, scenic benefits, etc.; and (4) protection of 

 timber crops and scenic and recreational assets from fire, insects, and 

 disease. 



Research is carried on at 8 regional Forest and Range Experiment 

 Stations, the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., the Insti- 

 tute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico, the Institute of Northern 

 Forestry in Juneau, Alaska, and at about 80 research project locations. 

 More than 1,000 technical men are engaged in this work, and addi- 

 tional temporary assistants are employed in some phases of it when 

 needed. The majority of the technical men and women are forestry 



