PART 200—ORGANIZATION, FUNCTIONS, AND PROCEDURES Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 7 U.S.C. 6706; 16 U.S.C. 472, 521, 1603, and 2101 et seq. Subpart A—Organization § 200.1 Central organization. (a) Central office. (b) Chief of the Forest Service. (c) Deputy Chiefs. (1) Programs and legislation. (2) National Forest System. 155 Proclaimed or designated National Forests 20 National Grasslands 51 Purchase Units 8 Land Utilization Projects 20 Research and Experimental Areas 33 Other Areas The first four classifications listed above are administered as 121 Forest Service Administrative Units, each headed by a Forest Supervisor. National Recreation Areas, National Forest Wildernesses, and Primitive Areas are included in the above land classifications. (3) Research. (4) State and private forestry. (5) Administration. [41 FR 24350, June 16, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 32230, June 24, 1977; 43 FR 27190, June 23, 1978; 44 FR 5660, Jan. 29, 1979; 62 FR 33366, June 19, 1997] § 200.2 Field organization. The field organization of the Forest Service consists of regions, stations, and areas as described below: (a) Regions of the National Forest System. (1) National Forests. (2) Ranger districts. (b) Forest and rangeland research coordination. (c) State and private forestry cooperation. (d) International Institute of Tropical Forestry. (e) Field addresses. National Forests by Region State in which forest is located National forest administration unit Headquarters location of forest supervisor Region 1, Northern Region (Regional Forester, Federal Bldg., P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, MT 59807): Idaho Clearwater Orofino. Idaho Panhandle National Forests (Kaniksu-Coeur 'dAlene-St. Joe Coeur d'Alene. Nezperce Grangeville. Montana Beaverhead Dillon. Bitterroot Hamilton. Custer Billings. Deerlodge Butte. Flathead Kalispell. Gallatin Bozeman. Helena Helena. Kootenai Libby. Lewis and Clark Great Falls. Lolo Missoula. Region 2, Rocky Mountain Region (Regional Forester, 740 Simms Street, P. O. Box 25127, Lakewood, CO 80225): Colorado Arapaho-Roosevelt Fort Collins. Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre and Gunnison Delta. Pike-San Isabel Pueblo. San Juan-Rio Grande Monte Vista. White River Glenwood Springs. Nebraska Nebraska (Samuel R. McKelvie) Chadron. South Dakota Black Hills Custer. Wyoming Bighorn Sheridan. Medicine Bow-Routt Laramie. Shoshone Cody. Region 3, Southwestern Region (Regional Forester, Federal Bldg., 517 Gold Ave. SW., Albuquerque, NM 87102): Arizona Apache-Sitgreaves Springerville. Coconino Flagstaff. Coronado Tucson. Kaibab Williams. Prescott Prescott. Tonto Phoenix. New Mexico Carson Taos. Cibola Albuquerque. Gila Silver City. Lincoln Alamogordo. Santa Fe Santa Fe. Region 4, Intermountain Region (Regional Forester, 324 25th St., Ogden, UT 84401): Idaho Boise Boise. Caribou (Cache-Idaho portion) Pocatello. Challis Challis. Payette McCall. Salmon Salmon. Sawtooth Twin Falls. Targhee St. Anthony. Nevada Humboldt Elko. Toiyabe, except the Lake Tahoe basin management unit Sparks. Utah Ashley Vernal. Dixie Cedar City. Fishlake Richfield. Manti-La Sal Price. Uinta Provo. Wasatch (Cache-Utah portion) Salt Lake City. Wyoming Bridger-Teton Jackson. Region 5, Pacific Southwest Region (Regional Forester, 630 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94111): California Angeles Arcadia. Cleveland San Diego. Eldorado, except the Lake Tahoe basin management unit Placerville. Inyo Bishop. Klamath Yreka. Lassen Susanville. Los Padres Goleta. Mendocino Willows. Modoc Alturas. Plumas Quincy. San Bernardino San Bernardino. Sequoia Porterville. Shasta-Trinity Redding. Sierra Fresno. Six Rivers Eureka. Stanislaus (Calaveras Bigtree) Sonora. Tahoe, except the Lake Tahoe basin management unit Nevada City. Lake Tahoe basin management unit (portions of Toiyabe, Eldorado, and Tahoe National Forests) South Lake Tahoe (headed by an administrator). Region 6, Pacific Northwest Region (Regional Forester, 333 S.W. 1st Avenue, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208): Oregon Deschutes Bend Fremont Lakeview. Malheur John Day. Mount Hood Gresham. Ochoco Prineville. Rogue River Medford. Siskiyou Grants Pass. Siuslaw Corvallis. Umatilla Pendleton. Umpqua Roseburg. Wallowa-Whitman Baker. Willamette Eugene. Winema Klamath Falls. Washington Colville Colville. Gifford Pinchot Vancouver. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Mountain Terrace. Okanogan Okanogan. Olympic Olympia. Wenatchee Wenatchee. Region 8, Southern Region (Regional Forester, 1720 Peachtree Rd. NW., Atlanta, GA 30367): Alabama National forests in Alabama (William B. Bankhead, Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee) Montgomery. Arkansas Ouachita Hot Springs. Ozark-St. Francis Russellville. Florida National forests in Florida (Apalachicola, Ocala, Osceola) Tallahassee. Georgia Chattahoochee-Oconee Gainesville. Kentucky Daniel Boone Winchester. Louisiana Kisatchie Pineville. Mississippi National Forests in Mississippi (Bienville, Delta, De Soto, Holly Springs, Homochitto, Tombigbee) Jackson. North Carolina National forests in North Carolina (Croatan, Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie) Asheville. Puerto Rico Caribbean Rio Piedras, PR. South Carolina Francis Marion and Sumter Columbia. Tennessee Cherokee Cleveland. Texas National forests in Texas (Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, Sam Houston) Lufkin. Virginia George Washington-Jefferson Roanoke. Region 9, Eastern Region (Regional Forester, 310 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203): Illinois Shawnee Harrisburg. Indiana and Ohio Wayne-Hoosier Bedford, IN. Michigan Hiawatha Escanaba. Huron-Manistee Cadillac. Ottawa Ironwood. Minnesota Chippewa Cass Lake. Superior Duluth. Missouri Mark Twain Rolla. New Hampshire and Maine White Mountain Laconia, NH. Pennsylvania Allegheny Warren. Vermont Green Mountain Rutland. West Virginia Monongahela Elkins. Wisconsin Chequamegon Park Falls. Nicolet Rhinelander. Region 10, Alaska Region (Regional Forester, Federal Office Bldg., P.O. Box 21628, Juneau, AK 99802-1628): Alaska Chugach Anchorage. Tongass: Chatham area Sitka. Ketchikan area Ketchikan. Sitkine area Petersburg. Forest and Range Experiment Stations, Laboratories, and Institutes Name of Unit and Headquarters of Director North Central Research Station—1995 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. Northeastern Research Station—100 Matsonford Road, 5 Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 200, P.O. Box 6775, Radnor, PA 19087-4585. Pacific Northwest Research Station—333 S.W. 1st Avenue, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208-3890. Pacific Southwest Research Station—800 Buchanan Street, West Building, Albany, CA 94710-0011. Rocky Mountain Research Station—240 West Prospect Street, Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098. Southern Research Station—200 Weaver Boulevard, P.O. Box 2680, Asheville, NC 28802. Laboratory Forest Products Laboratory—One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, WI 53705-2398. Institute International Institute of Tropical Forestry—Call Box 25000, UPR Experimental Station Grounds, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00928-2500. State and Private Forestry Area Office Director, Northeastern Area—100 Matsonford Road, P.O. Box 6775, Radnor, PA 19087-4585. Note: In Regions 1 through 8 and 10, State and Private Forestry activities are directed from Regional headquarters. [41 FR 24350, June 16, 1976, as amended at 42 FR 32230, June 24, 1977; 42 FR 40438, Aug. 10, 1977; 43 FR 27190, June 23, 1978; 44 FR 5660, Jan. 29, 1979; 62 FR 33366, 33367, June 19, 1997] Subpart B—Functions and Procedures § 200.3 Forest Service functions. (a) Legislative authority. (b) Work of the Forest Service. (1) Leadership in forestry. (2) National Forest System administration. (ii) The National Forest System comprises about 188 million acres of land in the National Forests, National Grasslands, and other areas which have been transferred to the Forest Service for administration. On these public lands: (A) Forestry methods are applied in growing and harvesting timber, (B) Forage is scientifically managed for the use of domestic livestock whose numbers are kept in balance with the carrying capacity of the range, (C) Wildlife habitat and species are managed, (D) Watersheds are managed to safeguard the water supply and stabilize streamflow, (E) Recreation resources are managed for public enjoyment and benefit, (F) Many forms of land and resource use are granted under permit or lease, and (G) Physical and resource improvements needed to develop, protect, and use all resources are built and maintained. (3) Cooperative forestry. (4) Forest research. (i) Forest and range management, including the five basic resources of timber, forest soil and water, range forage, wildlife and fish habitat, and forest recreation, (ii) Forest protection from fire, insects, and disease, (iii) Forest products and engineering, and (iv) Forest resource economics including forest survey, forest economics, and forest products marketing. [44 FR 37505, June 27, 1979] § 200.4 Administrative issuances. (a) The regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture governing the protection and administration of National Forest System lands and other programs of the Forest Service are set forth in Chapter 2 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) Administrative policy, procedure, and guidance to Forest Service employees for the conduct of Forest Service activities are issued as directives, or through correspondence, by the office of the Chief of the Forest Service and by the field officers listed in § 200.2. (1) Directives are issued through the Forest Service Directive System, which is comprised of the Forest Service Manual and related Forest Service Handbooks. The Directive System codifies the agency's policy, practice, and procedure affecting more than one unit and the delegations of continuing authority and assignment of continuing responsibilities; serves as the primary administrative basis for the internal management and control of all programs; and is the primary source of administrative direction to Forest Service employees. (2) In contrast to direction issued through the Directive System, guidance issued to one or more organizational units through letters and memoranda relate to decisions or interpretations on specific activities, cases, or incidents or to other matters of agency business, especially those matters of short-term duration or immediate interest. (c) Forest Service Directive System issuances are published under delegated authority as follows: (1) The Forest Service Manual and Forest Service Handbook issuances to all Forest Service units are published by the Office of the Chief. (2) Forest Service Manual and Forest Service Handbook issuances may be supplemented as needed for field office use by a Regional Forester, a Regional Special Agent in Charge of Law Enforcement and Investigations, a Research Station Director, the International Institute for Tropical Forestry Director, the Area Director, or a Forest Supervisor. (d) Guidance issued through letters and memoranda must be issued in accordance with signing authorities delegated through issuances to the Forest Service Directive System. (e) An alphabetical index of the contents of the Forest Service Manual and related Forest Service Handbooks is published in Forest Service Handbook 1109.12, Directive System Handbook. The index contains a listing of all Series, Titles, and Chapters in the Forest Service Manual and a listing of all Forest Service Handbooks in the Directive System. (f) Forest Service Handbook 6209.11, Records Management Handbook, outlines and indexes the filing system for all correspondence and other records. (g) Forms and reports used by the agency are listed in, and instructions for their use are issued throughout, the Forest Service Directive System and are collated in Forest Service Handbook 1309.14, Information Requirements Handbook. [62 FR 33367, June 19, 1997, as amended at 74 FR 19143, Apr. 28, 2009] § 200.5 Indexes. Publication of the indexes described in § 200.4 is deemed both unnecessary and impractical because of the large volume of material involved. However, copies of the indexes are available for public review in the Forest Service headquarters office in Washington, DC, and at field offices listed under § 200.2(d). The Forest Service will provide copies of any index upon request at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication. [40 FR 12790, Mar. 21, 1975. Redesignated at 62 FR 13540, Mar. 21, 1997] § 200.6 Information available; inspection, copying, and charges. (a) In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 7 CFR 1.2, the Forest Service shall make available for public inspection and copying all published or unpublished directives, forms, records, and final opinions, including concurring or dissenting opinions and orders made in the adjudication of cases. Charges for information requested from the Forest Service are set out in paragraph (d) of this section and vary according to the type of information requested. (b) Information made available pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section may be obtained at the Office of the Chief, or the office of any Regional Forester, Research Station Director, Area Director, Institute Director, Forest Supervisor, or District Ranger. The addresses of these offices are set forth in §§ 200.1 and 200.2. Forest Service personnel at these offices will assist members of the public seeking Forest Service records. However, Research Station and Institute Directors and District Rangers may not have all volumes of the Forest Service Manual and Handbooks. When the information requested is not available at a given location, the personnel where the request is received will direct the requester to another office where the information may be obtained. (c) Inspection and copying availability is as follows: (1) Facilities for inspection and copying are available at the offices listed in §§ 200.1 and 200.2, during established office hours for the particular location, usually 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copying facilities may not be available at all Forest Service offices. (2) Requesters for information may make copies of available information without charge if they elect to bring their own copy equipment to the appropriate offices listed in §§ 200.1 and 200.2. (3) Requesters should make prior arrangements for using agency copying facilities or for bringing in copying equipment and, in the later case, should get advance approval from the office. (d) Any request for information pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act must be submitted in accordance with §§ 200.7 and 200.8. The Forest Service charges a fee for copies of records not generally made available to the public but released pursuant to a FOIA request in accordance with a schedule of fees established by the Department of Agriculture at 7 CFR Part 1, Subpart A, Appendix A. These fees do not apply to information that is generally and routinely made available to the public upon request, such as recreational brochures, pamphlets, maps, and technical guides as well as agency directive issuances. Separate charges for such general information are established in the agency's Directive System (§ 200.4). For example, some pamphlets and small segments of the Forest Service Manual and Handbook may be provided at no cost, but maps of the National Forest System and larger sections of the Manual and Handbook are available for a charge. Current charges are explained at the time the request is made. [62 FR 13540, Mar. 21, 1997] § 200.7 Request for records. Requests for records and the processing of those records are governed by the rules at 7 CFR 1.6. Agency officials are authorized to receive and act on requests for records as follows: (a) The Regional Forester, Regional Special Agent in charge, Research Station Director, Area Director, and Institute Director at the field locations and addresses listed in § 200.2; the Director of Law Enforcement and Investigations, other Staff Directors, or other officials whom the Chief may authorize, located in the Washington Office, are authorized to receive requests for such records, to make determinations regarding whether records exist, and to grant or deny requests for records exempt from disclosure under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552(b). (b) Each of the officials listed in paragraph (a) of this section also is authorized to take the following actions: (1) Extend the 10-day administrative deadline for reply pursuant to 7 CFR 1.14; (2) Make discretionary releases pursuant to 7 CFR 1.17(b) of records exempt from mandatory disclosure; (3) Deny records pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b); and (4) Make determinations regarding the charges of fees pursuant to 7 CFR 1.8(a). [62 FR 33368, June 19, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 53811, Oct. 7, 1998] § 200.8 Appeals. (a) Appeals from denials of requests submitted under § 200.7 shall be submitted in accordance with U.S. Department of Agriculture rules at 7 CFR part 1, subpart A, and the appendix to subpart A to the Chief, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Auditors Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, S.W., P.O. Box 96090, Washington, DC 20090-6090. (b) The Chief, or other official to whom such authority is delegated, shall determine whether to grant or deny the appeal and make all necessary determinations relating to an extension of the 20-day administrative deadline for reply, discretionary release of records exempt from mandatory disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), and charging the appropriate fees, pursuant to U.S. Department of Agriculture rules at 7 CFR part 1, subpart A, and the appendix to subpart A. (c) The Forest Service Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Officer must review all proposed responses to appeals prior to signature. [63 FR 53812, Oct. 7, 1998, as amended at 63 FR 60049, Nov. 6, 1998] § 200.12 Land status and title records. (a) Land Status Records System. (1) Components. (i) A current and accurate Land Status Atlas for each National Forest, National Grassland, and other proclaimed or designated administrative unit, which shall graphically portray on maps keyed to a tabular summary the following categories of information: (A) Jurisdiction of and condition of title to lands administered as part of the National Forest System. (B) All encumbrances on National Forest System lands. (C) All partial interests administered by the Forest Service on other lands. (D) All use restrictions, withdrawals, and special designated areas on National Forest System lands. (E) The acreage of National Forest System lands, including riparian lands. (ii) A master Land Status File, from which the agency data for the Atlas is derived and which includes the following: (A) Discrete title files of each landownership adjustment. (B) The original authorizing documents establishing or adjusting National Forest System lands and interests therein. (C) Withdrawals, use restrictions, and special designated areas on National Forest System lands. (D) Other information as deemed necessary. (iii) Such reporting systems as are needed to provide title or status reports. (2) Display of Information. (b) Availability. [56 FR 29181, June 26, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 2987, Jan. 20, 1994]