CAREERS IN FORESTRY 15 
responsibility for the development and maintenance of the fire-control 
organization and other State forestry work in a designated part of the State. 
The work of the State district forester corresponds generally to that of a 
national district ranger except that usually he deals cooperatively with 
private forest landowners rather than supervising work on lands under his 
own direct charge. About one-twelfth of the State and private forest land 
needing fire protection was still not covered by organized protection in 
1960, and the protective work on some of the areas covered was inadequate 
to meet critical fire conditions. Extension and intensification of cooperative 
fire protection to a degree commensurate with the needs would call for 
employment of many additional trained men in State forestry work. 
Extension Foresters 
Forestry extension work is another field in which professional foresters 
find employment in the States in the capacity of extension foresters. ‘These 
men are associated with the Federal-State cooperative extension program, 
which emphasizes the use of technical information and practices in the 
growing and management of timber as a crop on the farm. Every effort 
is made to build up the forestry knowledge of woodland owners so that they 
will have sufficient know-how for carrying on work in this field as they do 
with other crops. This is accomplished by providing owners with practical 
forestry information, and by conducting tours to forestry research units and 
successful operations of individual owners. 
Service Foresters 
At present 46 State forestry departments are working with the Forest 
Service in providing technical assistance to owners of private forests and 
to small sawmill operators and other processors of primary forest products. 
The Cooperative Forest Management Act of 1950, which replaced earlier 
legislation under which the work started, is the basis for this cooperative 
program. In 1960, technical assistance in woodland management was 
given to approximately 82,000 small owners and 8,100 forest products 
operators. 
Both farm and nonfarm owners of small forests are now given help in 
making simple plans for the management of their woodlands; in marking 
the trees in need of cutting; in measuring these trees and estimating their 
volume; in determining the proper cutting and logging methods to use in 
the harvesting operation; and in marketing the harvested products. In 
addition, many owners are advised on planting, thinning, and pruning 
operations, as well as on the protection of their forests from fire, insects, 
and disease. The local forester who handles this cooperative forest-man- 
agement project work is called the service forester. In some localities, 
however, he is referred to as the farm forester, county forester, or district 
forester. 
Community Forests 
A new field of employment for trained foresters is opening up through the 
development of community public forests by counties, municipalities, school 
districts, and other local government units or public institutions. Some of 
the town forests in New England were the earliest public forests in the 
