The Forest Service has opened the public comments period for the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Proposed Amendment to the Land Management Plans which will affect all four of the Southern California National Forests; Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino.
From the press release:
“The environmental impact statement analyzes the proposal to modify the existing land use zones allocations in selected inventoried roadless areas to include more back country non-motorized and recommended wilderness areas. It also analyzes the proposal to modify the land management plan monitoring framework. The statement evaluates alternatives for both topics, including an alternative that would recommend most of the study area as wilderness.”
The Amendment is part of a Settlement Agreement approved back in January 2011 in the cases: California Resources Agency, et al vs. United States Department of Agriculture; and Center for Biological Diversity, et al vs. United States Department of Agriculture.
The comments period opened February 15, and will continue for 90 days (nice of them to issue press release 18 days into the comments period, right?). All four of the national forests will be hosting multiple open houses during the comment period. There will be presentations, maps, and Forest Service staff available to answer questions.
From the press release, the open house schedule is:
- March 26, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Angeles National Forest Headquarters, 701 North Santa Anita Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006
- March 26, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Alpine Community Center, 1830 Alpine Blvd, Alpine, CA 91901 (Hosted by the Cleveland National Forest)
- March 27, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Palomar Ranger District Office, 1634 Black Canyon Road, Ramona, CA 92065
- March 28, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Santa Clara Mojave Rivers Ranger District Office, 33708 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA 93510
- March 28, 2013, 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM, San Bernardino National Forest Headquarters, 602 S. Tippecanoe Ave., San Bernardino, CA 92408
- April 9, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Mt. Pinos Ranger District office, 34580 Lockwood Valley Road, Frazier Park, CA 93225
- April 10, 2013, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Southern California Edison, 103 David Love Place, Goleta, CA 93117 (Hosted by Los Padres National Forest)
The comment period closes on Thursday, May 16th, 2013. Your input must be in before that date.
You can email your comments to: socal_nf_lmp_amendment@fs.fed.us
You can post your comments through the project webpage HERE.
You can send written comments to:
Cleveland National Forest
10845 Rancho Bernardo Road Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92127-2107
ATTN: LMP Amendment
If you have any questions, and for further information, you can reach the Project Manager Bob Hawkins at: socal_nf_lmp_amendment@fs.fed.us
You can view the Press Release HERE.
You can visit the project website HERE.