6209.14,20 Page 1 of 9 FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK WASHINGTON FSH 6209.14 - MAIL MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK Amendment No. 6209.14-94-1 Effective August 3, 1994 POSTING NOTICE. Amendments are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this amendment. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document. The last amendment to this Handbook was Amendment 6209.14-92-1. This amendment supersedes Amendment 6209.14-92-1 to 6209.14,20. Superseded New Document Name (Number of Pages) 6209.14,20 7 8 Digest: 24.2 - Revises direction for using abbreviations and acronyms for routing mail to be consistent with direction change in FSH 6209.11, section 23. JACK WARD THOMAS Chief FSH 6209.14 - MAIL MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK WO AMENDMENT 6209.14-94-1 EFFECTIVE 8/3/94 CHAPTER 20 - INCOMING MAIL OPERATIONS 21 - OFFICIAL MAIL. 21.1 - Guidelines for Determining Official Mail. Unit Mail Handlers may inspect what appears to be personal mail to determine if it is official or not. The following are basic guidelines for determining whether or not questionable documents of this nature are permissible items for official mail. 21.11 - Permissible Items. 1. Retirement announcements and notices of births, deaths, and funeral arrangements. These may be sent in the internal mail or by electronic mail only. 2. Combined Federal Campaign and other fund-raising campaigns which have official sanction; blood bank, health unit services, and preventive medical programs (such as immunization services) that have official approval; and official agency newsletters to retirees. 3. The following materials for an individual transferring to a new official duty station: training material purchased by the Government; notes, studies, reports, and other job-related non- record material; and awards for contributions to charitable campaigns and/or performance awards. 4. Material and newsletters from employee welfare organizations, credit unions, professional societies with members in the Department, and other sanctioned Forest Service employee activities (sec. 24.4). These materials may be routed through the internal mail system (which includes Forest pouch mail and messenger service). No postage may be applied to individual pieces. The penalty indicia and other Forest Service paid mail systems may not be used. 21.12 - Nonpermissible Items. 1. Personal mail received at the employee's work station. If personal mail continues to be received for the same individuals, return this mail and notify the individual in writing through official channels (sec. 03). 2. Newsletters regarding employee labor union activity and non-professional groups or societies. 3. Commercial solicitations, training announcements, and advertisements sent to individual employees rather than to Government offices. 4. Materials which directly or indirectly attack or adversely reflect on the integrity or character of Members of Congress, the judiciary, the President, members of the President's Cabinet, or any other Government official in a similarly responsible position. 5. Materials containing expressions of a derogatory or abusive character concerning any employee of the Department. 6. Materials which directly or indirectly condemn or criticize the policies of any Government Department or Agency. 22 - DELIVERY PROVISIONS. 1. Post Office Boxes. Units that require more than the basic free delivery service should consider arranging for post office boxes from the U.S. Postal Service. Units pay their box rent during the first quarter of the fiscal year rather than in advance (U.S. Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual, sec. 951.272b). When another agency sorts mail for Forest Service units, analyze the potential cost savings derived from box rental. Commercial carriers do not deliver to postal boxes. Use dual addresses with separate lines identifying streets and the post office box numbers, as necessary. The U.S. Postal Service delivers mail to the line immediately above the city, state and Zoning Improvement Plan (ZIP) code. 2. Caller Service. Units that receive too much mail for the largest box available in the postal facility can arrange caller service. Pay fees in advance for no less than 6 months and no more than 12 consecutive months. Renewals are made during the last month of the current period. 23 - MESSENGER SERVICE. Interoffice messenger service includes the routing of mail generated from external and internal sources. Tailor messenger routes, stops, and schedules to meet the unique structure of the unit, working relationships of the staffs, and the physical design of the building(s). 23.04 - Responsibility. 23.04a - Unit Mail Manager. It is the responsibility of the Unit Mail Manager to consider the number and timing of pickups and deliveries provided by the Postal Service in order to determine the number of trips and the timing of the routing schedule. 23.04b - Unit Mail Handlers. Unit Mail Handlers are responsible for: 1. Handling any misaddressed mail, unofficial mail, mail that should be purged from mailing lists, and other related problems after deliveries have been completed. 2. Opening all mail addressed to the head of the organization by title only and determining the appropriate recipient. (Sec. 24.2 has direction on routing mail.) 23.1 - Restricted Mail. This mail receives limited handling and distribution within the agency. It is delivered directly to the addressee (FSH 6209.12, Correspondence Handbook, sec. 21). 24 - INCOMING MAIL. Mailroom personnel should route, without opening, as much mail as possible. Some examples are as follows: 1. Mail marked for a staff unit, project, or special activity. 2. Restricted mail marked "For Official Use Only," or mail with a security classification marking. 3. Official mail marked for personal attention of an individual. 4. Mail addressed to the fiscal agent, contracting officer, purchasing agent, or other position titles. An important exception to this rule is mail addressed to the head of the organization by title only, such as "Regional Forester." This mail should be opened in the mailroom to determine the appropriate recipient. 24.1 - Sorting. The purpose of the sorting operation in large offices is to separate volumes of mail into categories that require different amounts of processing. The bulk of incoming mail can be processed with two sorts. 1. First Sort. The first sort removes a large number of pieces that can be routed unopened. All other mail is set aside for second sort. 2. Second Sort. Mail in this category may require several processing steps, including opening, removing the contents, and determining the routing code (sec. 24.2), which requires reading a portion or scanning the entire document. Put aside advertisements and personal mail until time is available to purge and resolve. 24.2 - Routing. The file code on Forest Service correspondence serves as a routing guide on most internal correspondence. Route mail by the primary, secondary, or tertiary file code when the code is sufficient to ensure the document is routed to the intended staff. However, when the file code alone is not sufficient to route the mail to the intended staff, use the routing code (ex. 01). The routing code for electronic mail should also be placed in parenthesis on the subject line of the electronic message transmitting the correspondence. Units may use staff abbreviations or acronyms for routing mail within the respective units only. Exhibit 01 is the routing code guide for the Washington Office and lists the routing codes and the respective responsible staffs or offices. Exhibit 02 list the organizational units, abbreviations, and electronic mail addresses for the Washington Office. 24.2 - Exhibit 01 Washington Office Staff Routing Code Guide Routing Code Staff Routing Code Staff 1000.................Chief 2000................NFS 1010.................IST 2060................Rge 1020.................* 2070................WF&RP 1100.................IST 2100................* 1200.................PM 2150................FPM 1300 & 1310..........* 2200................Rge 1320.................S&PF 2300................RH&WR 1330.................EM 2400................TM 1340.................* 2500................WS&A 1350.................PAO 2600................WL&F 1360.................* 2700 (except 2720)..L 1370 & 1380..........IST 2720................* 1390.................IST 2800................M&GM 3000................S&PF 1400(except 1450-70).FAS 3100................F&AM 1450.................* 3200 & 3300.........CF 1460.................S&PF 3400................FPM 1470.................R 3500 & 3600.........CF 1500.................P&L 3700................S&PF 1510.................LA 3900................S&PF 1520.................RH&WR 4000................R 1530.................* 4100................FMR 1540.................* 4200 & 4300.........FER 1550.................IF 4400................FFASR 1560.................* 4500................FIDR 1570 & 1580..........* 4700................FPHR 1590.................F&AM 4800................FIERR 1600 & 1610......... PAO 4900................FER 1620 (except Woodsy, Env 5100................F&AM Ed. & Env. Programs) PAO 5300................LEI 1620 (Woodsy, Env. Ed., 5400 & 5500.........L & Env. Programs only)S&PF 5700................F&AM 1630 - 1650..........PAO 6000................ADMIN 1670.................IST 6100................PM 1680 & 1690..........PAO 6200................IST 1700.................CR 6300................P&P 1800.................HRP 6400................P&P 1900.................LMP 6500 (except 6520)..FAS 1910.................RPA 6520................PD&B 1920.................LMP 6600................IST 1930.................PD&B 6700................PM 1950.................EC 7100, 7300-7700.....E 1960 & 1970..........PA 8000................IF 1990.................* * When using this code for the subject of correspondence (file code), another code from this list must be used to indicate proper staff routing. 24.2 - Exhibit 02 Washington Office Organizational Units, Established Abbreviations, and Electronic Mail Addresses. Staff Office DG Address Abbreviation Chief's Office Chief C Chief:W01C Law Enforcement and Investigations LEI LEI:W01B Public Affairs Office PAO PAO:W01B Administration Deputy Chief, Administration ADM ADM:W01C Civil Rights CR CR:W01B Excellence in Financial Management EFM EFM:W01B Fiscal & Accounting Services F&AS FAS:W01B Human Resource Programs HRP HRP:W01B Information Systems & Technology IS&T IS&T:W01B Personnel Management PM PM:W01B Procurement & Property P&P PP:W01B International Forestry Deputy Chief, International IF IF:W01C Forestry International Forestry Operations IFO IFO:W01C International Forestry Policy & IFPP IFPP:W01C Planning National Forest System Deputy Chief, National Forest System NFS NFS:W01C Engineering E ENG:W01A Land Management Planning LMP LMP:W01C Lands L LANDS:W01A Minerals & Geology Management M&GM MG:W01C Range Management Rge RGE:W01C Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness RH&WR RN:W01C Resources Timber Management TM TM:W01C Watershed & Air Management WS&A WSA:W01A Wildlife, Fish & Rare Plants WF&RP WLF:W01A Programs and Legislation Deputy Chief P&L PL:W01C Environmental Coordination EC EC:W01C Legislative Affairs LA LA:W01C Policy Analysis PA PA:W01C Program Development & Budget PD&B PDB:W01C Resources Program & Assessment RPA RPA:W01C 24.2 - Exhibit 02--Continued Staff Office DG Address Abbreviation Research Deputy Chief, Research R RES:W01C Forest Environment Research FER FER:W01C Forest Fire & Atmospheric Sciences Research FFASR FFASR:W01C Forest Insect & Disease Research FIDR FIDR:W01C Forest Inventory, Economics, & Recreation Research FIERR FIERR:W01C Forest Management Research FMR FMR:W01C Forest Products & Harvesting Research FPHR FPHR:W01C State & Private Forestry Deputy Chief, State & Private Forestry S&PF SPF:W01C Cooperative Forestry CF CF:W01C Fire & Aviation Management F&AM FIRE:W01C Forest Pest Management FPM FPM:W01C 24.3 - Commercial Solicitation. Do not deliver training brochures, sales catalogs, and other commercial solicitations to individuals. Send one copy of the training brochure to the training branch of the unit's personal office for distribution if needed. Send one copy of sales catalogs to the procurement unit. Some examples are commercial firms' advertisements mailed to any number of individuals; solicitations from insurance companies; or training brochures to all office employees. If commercial solicitation of this nature becomes a problem due to the disclosure of employee business addresses, forewarn senders that the material will not be delivered because it violates General Services Administration building regulations (Federal Property Management Regulations, FSH 6409.31 - FPMR 101-20.308 and 101- 20.309). 24.4 - Routing of Employee Association Mail. Organizations, such as Department of Agriculture credit unions, professional societies, employees' social organizations, retiree associations, and other officially sanctioned activities may use the internal mail system or electronic transmission to route information to employees. Include flyers as a part of the pouch mail system but do not place postage on individual pieces. 24.5 - Misaddressed Mail. Set aside mail delivered by the Postal Service with incorrect addresses until slow periods. Attach Postal Service Form 3547, Notice to Mailer of Correction, to each mail piece prior to routing. The receiving staff unit fills out the card and mails it to the originator. 25 - FORWARDING MAIL. Do not forward official mail addressed to an individual who has transferred to a new duty station unless it is clearly official mail marked "personal" (that is, to be opened only by the addressee). Most official mail is usually intended for the person in the position, not the individual.