Jack Troyer, a regional forester, said that the service was spending "a lot of money" in administering recreational use of forests.

He sent this data to regional foresters, and urged them to set aside areas for wilderness; all of them responded negatively.

Sales of all-terrain vehicles have risen tenfold, to 51 million, since 1972, said Jack Troyer, a regional forester.

Some holdovers - like Dale Bosworth, the new Forest Service chief, who was a regional forester in Montana - have not drawn environmentalists' fire.

Within the Forest Service, authority is assumed to lie with the regional foresters, but may be re-delegated to forest supervisors for single site agreements.

"We don't see any relief in sight," said John Lowe, the regional forester for the Pacific Northwest.

Station directors, like regional foresters, report to the Chief.

Each encompassing a broad geographic area, and headed by a regional forester who reports directly to the Chief.

Forest supervisors are line officers and report to regional foresters.

"It's not appropriate to speculate," said Rick Cables, a regional forester for Forest Service.