The San Francisco call., 1908-08-23
SERVICE
PLANS DISTRICTS
Headquarters to Be Maintained
in San Francisco and Other
Western Cities
Staff of Fifty Men in Each Office
to Facilitate Public
Service

WASHINGTON. Aug. 22.-Plans for
the forest service field headquarters.
which are soon 10 be established in
the west, are being rapidly worked
out in detail. Each headquarters will
be modelled after the washington
office In all. there will be six dis
trict headquarters, one located at each
OF the present inspection district head
quarters, Portland, San Francisco, Al
buquerque, Salt Lake, Denver and Mis-
soula, Montana. or some other points
equally well or better located for the
purpose.
At the head of each office there will
be district forester and an assistant
district forester. Under these will be
experts in. charge of the various lines
of work. A chief of grazing will have
charge of range matters A chief
Of products will handle the pre-
servatiye treatment of timber and
strength tests and study market
conditions. A chief of lands will
look after such matters as land ex-
aminations.
EXAMINATION OF CLAIMS
The Office of lands deals with aues-
tions involving the validity of claims
asserted under the public land laws
applications for special use of the re-
sources of the national forests; changes
in boundaries of forests. and the ex-
animation of lands applied for under
the act Of June II, 1906, for agricul-
tural settlement
The forest service itself however
never passes on the titles That
is entirely matter for the general
land ofhce to decide In the case OF
applications for homesteads under the
act of June IL, 1905. the forest serv-
ice is called upon to decide whether
the land is in fact more valuable for
agriculture than for timber. and If il
is, to recommend its listing as open to
entry and patent In the case of
claims. the service ascertains whether
any facts exist which seem to show
that the claim is not a legal one. in
order that national forest land may
not be unlawfully taken UP. But it
rests always with the land Office of
the interior department to decide
whether the title should or should not
be granted. The branch of lands in the
district forest service organization
does not mean any new assumption of
land business.
a chief of silviculture, who win have
charge Of timber sales. planting. and
silyical experiments, and a chief OF
operation The latter will supervise
the personnel Of the forests; the per-
manent Improvement work, through
an englneeR In CHARGE the accounts
of the district, including receipts, dis
bursements. and bookkeeping, which
will be directly supervised by an ex-
pert accountant; and the routine busi-
ness of the district.
ONLY SPECIALISTS EMPLOYED
In each of the lines of work the
management will be in the hands of a
man who is a specialist and who has
had thorough experience in the west
and in Washington. The foresters
and clerks at each district headquar-
ters will number about so.
The establishment of these field dis
tricts Will bring the service into more
immediate touch With the public 1t is
merely the completion of the move
ment, started some time ago. to have
the forests administered as far as
possible by men actually on the
ground.
The change viii not affect the in
vestigative work Of the service. which
viii center, as hitherto. in Washington.
Mr.. Pinchot is expected soon TO name
the men who will fli the various po-
sitions.