| | Santa Fe National Forest to Prepare Motorized Travel Management Plan
Jul 17, 2008[Federal Register: July 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 138)]
[Notices]
[Page 41028-41030]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jy08-31]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico, Motorized Travel Management Plan
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Santa Fe National Forest (Forest) will prepare an environmental impact statement to designate a system of roads, trails, and areas open to motorized travel by class of vehicle and time of year, in accordance with the Agency's 2005 Travel Management Rule. As part of the proposal, the Forest will also address the use of motor vehicles for dispersed camping and big game retrieval. Once a decision is made about which roads, trails, and areas will be open to motorized use, motorized travel off the designated system will be prohibited. The designated roads, trails, and areas will be published on a motor
vehicle use map, which will serve as the primary tool for compliance and enforcement.
This notice summarizes the proposal, opportunities for public participation, decisions to be made, and estimated dates for publication of documents associated with the project.
DATES: Comments about the proposal should be submitted within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The Forest expects to publish the draft environmental impact statement in June 2009 and the final environmental impact statement in September 2009. For public meeting dates, refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Julie Bain, Project Leader, Santa Fe National Forest Travel Management Planning, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505. Fax comments to (505) 438-7834. Send electronic comments to comments-southwestern-santafe@fs.fed.us with ``Travel Management'' in the subject line. Electronic attachments must be in one of the following formats: .doc, .rtf, .txt, or .pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Process Information: Julie Bain, Project Leader, Santa Fe National Forest, at (505) 438-7829 or sftravelmgt@fs.fed.us.
Technical Information: Diane Taliaferro, Recreation Program Manager, Santa Fe National Forest, at (505) 438-7823 or sftravelmgt@fs.fed.us.
The proposed action, maps, and other pertinent information about this project can be found on the Forest's Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/travelmgt/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: People use motor vehicles to access the Santa Fe National Forest for a number of activities, such as hiking, horseback riding, hunting, camping, sightseeing, viewing wildlife, fishing, and collecting firewood or other forest products. People also use vehicles for administrative and commercial activities such as logging, grazing management, and utility maintenance.
The Forest Service has identified four major threats to the national forests and grasslands: (1) The risk of catastrophic fire, (2) the loss of open space, (3) invasive species, and (4) unmanaged recreation, including the effects of unmanaged off-highway vehicles (OHVs). In response to the latter, on November 9, 2005 the Forest Service published final travel management regulations governing OHVs and other motor vehicles on national forests and grasslands.
The Travel Management Rule requires that national forests designate a system of roads, trails, and areas open for motor vehicle use by class of vehicle, and if appropriate, by time of year. The designated roads, trails, and areas will be published on a motor vehicle use map for the public's use. After routes and areas are designated and the motor vehicle use map published, motor vehicle use not in accordance with these designations will be prohibited. The Travel Management Rule also addresses the use of vehicles to access campsites and retrieve big game.
Proposed Action: The full text and maps of the proposed action are located on the Forest's Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/travelmgt/index.htmlFR Doc. E8-16374 Filed 7-16-08; 8:45 am] 08/20/08 - Santa Fe NF TMP Meeting - Albuquerque 08/19/08 - Santa Fe NF TMP Meeting - Rio Rancho 08/18/08 - Santa Fe NF TMP Meeting - Española 08/14/08 - Santa Fe NF TMP Meeting - Los Alamos 08/12/08 - Santa Fe NF TMP Meeting - Santa Fe Santa Fe National Forest Begins Travel Management Planning - FR notice [details] Santa Fe National Forest Travel Management Planning [details] Santa Fe National Forest | ▼Advertisement▼
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