Regional Office

There are three levels of national forest offices in Region 5

Ranger District

District Office.

The district ranger and his or her staff may be your first point of contact with the Forest Service. Each district has a staff of 10 to 100 people. Many on-the-ground activities occur on the ranger districts, including trail construction and maintenance, operation of campgrounds, and management of vegetation and wildlife habitat.

National Forest

Supervisor's Office

There are 18 national forests and one grassland in California. Each forest is composed of several ranger districts. The person in charge of a national forest is called the forest supervisor. The district rangers from the districts within a forest work for the forest supervisor. The headquarters of a national forest is called the supervisor's office. This level coordinates activities between districts, allocates the budget, and provides technical support to each district.

Region

Regional Office

There are 9 regions in the US Forest Service, numbered 1 through 10 (Region 7 was eliminated some years ago). The regions are broad geographic areas, usually including several States. The person in charge is called the regional forester. Forest supervisors of the national forests within a region report to the regional forester. The regional office staff coordinates activities between national forests, monitors activities on national forests to ensure quality operations, provides guidance for forest plans, and allocates budgets to the forests.