In the administration of national forests the aim is to manage them in
such a way as to make their resources of largest service to the local
communities, the State, and the Nation. This is accomplished by
promoting the highest social and economic uses of the forests consistent
with the proper use of lands. Such an objective is definitely pointed
toward the maximum sustained yield from all resources.
The national forests are under the administration of the Forest Service,
U. S. Department of Agriculture. Each forest is under the charge of a
forest supervisor. Headquarters of the Shoshone is in Cody, Wyo. Every
forest is divided into districts, each of which is under the supervision
of a district ranger, who has control of all its activities. His
responsibilities include protection of the resources against fire and
other enemies, the supervision of timber sales, and the grazing of large
numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses; the management of wildlife
resources; looking after different permitted uses, such as pastures,
summer homes, resorts, power developments; maintaining forest
improvements, including ranger station buildings, lookout stations,
telephone lines, roads, trails, and range improvements; and providing
protection and furnishing information to the thousands of people who
come every year to enjoy vacations in the forest.
The Shoshone National Forest is divided into four ranger districts, as
follows: The Clarks Fork, the Wapiti, the South Fork, and Greybull. The
Greybull is the smallest ranger district, with approximately 300,000
acres. The Clarks Fork is the largest, with about 529,000 acres under
the jurisdiction of the district ranger.