PART V.-PROTECTION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS--Continued. PART VI.-COOPERATION, DIFFUSION OF INFORMATION, ETC.: Assistance to private owners of timberland.... Technical advice.. Investigations of forest products.. Cooperation with companies, organizations, and individuals. Publications.. National Forests, location, date, and area, January 31, 1913. Page. 75 75 75 76 76 76 77 77 77 77 77 77 78 78 78 78 79 79 79 79 79 80 81 81 81 82 82 82 83 83 83 84 84 84 FOREWORD. National Forests are open to all persons for all lawful purposes. The timber, water, pasture, and other resources are for the use of the people, and the minerals are open to exploitation just as on unreserved public land. This manual tells how these resources may be obtained under reasonable conditions without delay. Persons who wish to make any use of the resources of a National Forest for which a permit is required should consult the nearest Forest officer. Twenty-five per cent of all receipts from National Forests are given to the counties in which they lie, to be used for schools and roads. An additional 10 per cent is expended by the Secretary of Agriculture upon roads and trails constructed primarily for the benefit of settlers within the Forests. Regulations are printed in this type. 11 THE USE BOOK. PART I.-ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. RELATION OF FOREST OFFICERS TO THE PUBLIC. Supervisors, rangers, and other Forest officers carry out the administrative policy prescribed for the National Forests by Congress, as embodied in the regulations made by the Secretary of Agriculture. As officers of the Government it is their duty to enforce these regulations without fear or favor. Forest officers are also agents of the people, with whom they come into close relations, both officially and as neighbors and fellow citizens. They must answer all inquiries fully and cheerfully and be prompt, active, and courteous in the conduct of Forest business. It is their duty to assist the public in making use of the resources of the Forests. They aim to prevent misunderstanding and violation of Forest regulations by timely and tactful advice rather than to follow up violations by the exercise of their authority. It is essential that Forest officers should win the respect and confidence of those with whom they come in contact. The Forest Service will not tolerate discourtesy or inefficiency in any of its members. Even the best, however, can not always give satisfactory service under adverse conditions. Forest officers can always render more and better service where they receive straightforward and friendly treatment. It is therefore within the power of Forest users to aid greatly in the efficient performance of the public business by according to Forest officers the same frankness, consideration, and courtesy which the Forest officers are expected to show them. If there is just cause for complaint regarding the conduct of any Forest officer, the matter should be taken up in writing either with the immediate superior of the officer complained against or with the Forester at Washington, D. C. PURPOSE AND LOCATION OF NATIONAL FORESTS. The National Forests are large tracts of land, mainly mountainous and timbered, set apart to insure a perpetual supply of timber for home industries, to prevent destruction of the forest cover which regulates the flow of streams, and to protect forest and range from monopoly or abuse, to the injury of local residents and the public generally. The first Forest was created by President Harrison in 1891, under the name of the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve. Later forest reservations were called forest reserves, until in 1905 Congress changed the official designation to National Forests. Congress has said that National Forests may be set aside from public lands covered wholly or in part with timber or undergrowth, whether of merchantable value or not. Some National Forests are heavily timbered and are set aside mainly for the value of the timber; others are located in thinly wooded regions mainly to protect and conserve the water supply, without which the country would be uninhabitable. The National Forests are located chiefly in the Western States. In all there are 163 Forests, comprising a gross area of 187,000.000 acres, of which about 11,000,000 acres are alienated land held by States and individuals. Their names and areas are shown in a table in the back of this book. Mountain lands are now being purchased, under the provisions of the Weeks law, from private owners in the Appalachian and White Mountain regions of the East. Eventually these will become National Forests. |