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FOREST SERVICE MANUAL
MISSOULA, MONTANA
FSM 7100 - ENGINEERING OPERATIONS
R-1 Supplement No. 7100-91-1
Effective December 6, 1991
POSTING NOTICE: Supplements are numbered consecutively by title and calendar year. Post
by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this supplement. Retain this
transmittal as the first page of this document. The last supplement to FSM 7100 was 96 dated
07/12/90.
Document Name
Superseded New
(Number of Pages)
7170
-
3
Digest:
7170.3 - Adds general policy for management of minerals materials.
7170.4 - Adds responsibility for Regional geotechnical and materials engineering. Replaces
material removed in error by R-1 Supplement No. 95 to FSM 7100, dated 02/13/90.
JOHN M. HUGHES
Acting Regional Forester
R-1 Supplement 7100-91-1
Effective 12/06/91
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FSM 7100 - ENGINEERING OPERATIONS
R-1 SUPPLEMENT 7100-91-1
EFFECTIVE 12/06/91
CHAPTER 7170 - GEOTECHNICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING
7170.3 - Policy. General policy for management of minerals materials, including in-service use
of aggregate for construction projects, is in FSM 2850. Work related to aggregate source
investigations, inventory, development plans, and operating plans shall be coordinated between
the appropriate Engineering and Minerals staff.
7170.4 - Responsibility.
1. Regional Forester. The Regional Forester, through the Director of Engineering, shall:
a. Provide direction for the Regional geotechnical and materials engineering program
through policy, guidelines, coordination, liaison, and review.
b. Provide professional consultation, advice, and assistance in specialized areas such as
soils engineering, engineering geology, pavement design, construction materials testing, and
aggregate source development.
c. Coordinate Regional drilling program as specified in shared service agreements
between the Director of Engineering and Supervisors of the host Forests.
d. Provide technical support services and backup capability in materials testing which
cannot effectively or efficiently be accomplished at the Forest level. Examples of testing
performed at the Regional Office are: asphalt and base stabilization mix designs, modulus of
resilience, asphalt specification checks, triaxial shear, and geotextile specification checks.
e. Identify and evaluate new technology for Regional use. Perform, either in-house or
through outside organizations, special investigations or evaluations of products, materials, and
procedures.
f. Provide technical training and disseminate technical information as necessary.
2. Forest Supervisors. Forest Supervisors are responsible for incorporating necessary
geotechnical and materials engineering into project work. Professional skills and technical
services will be provided in the most effective and economical manner, whether in-house,
through shared services with other Forests, Regional Office assistance, or private contracts.
Examples of work with Forest responsibilities are:
a. Professional geotechnical and materials engineering and engineering geologic services
for field reconnaissance; investigations; analysis; and design associated with road location, slope
R-1 Supplement 7100-91-1
Effective 12/06/91
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stability, aggregate sources, and road base and surfacing. Heavy workload Forests will normally
have their own staff.
b. Materials testing - Forest materials testing laboratories, where justified by workload,
will normally run routine tests such as aggregate quality tests (Los Angeles Abrasion and
Durability Index), soil classification (sieve analysis, liquid limit, and plastic limit), CBR's for
base and surfacing thickness design, and necessary support for field construction control testing
(compaction tests and rock crusher quality assurance).
c. Subsurface investigations - including drilling, sampling, geophysics, test pits, and
subsurface instrumentation. Forests will plan and execute the appropriate procedures to gather
subsurface information for determining quality and quantity of material in proposed aggregate
sources, designing structure foundations, and preventing or correcting landslides.
d. Perform special investigations or evaluations of Forest geotechnical and materials
engineering problems.