Sedona AZ (December 12, 2013) – The Coconino National Forest has prepared a Draft Revised Land Management Plan and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The public is asked to review and comment on the documents. Comments received will be used to finalize the plan.

The final CNF land management plan will replace the current plan, approved in 1987, and provide management direction for the forest for the next 10 to 15 years.

The documents are available for review on the web at http://go.usa.gov/jHnY.

The documents are also available for review at the Forest Supervisor’s Office and Ranger District Offices:

• Forest Supervisor’s Office – Flagstaff Ranger District, 1824 S. Thompson Street 5075 N. Highway 89, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (928) 527-3600 and (928) 5270866
• Mogollon Rim Ranger District Red Rock Ranger District, 8738 Ranger Road 8375 State Route 179, Happy Jack, AZ 86024 (928) 477-2255 and (928) 203-7500 

If you require a CD or hard copy of the draft revised plan or DEIS, or need additional information about either document, please contact Vernon Keller, Acting Forest Planner, at (928) 527-3415 .

How to comment?

We anticipate that the Environmental Protection Agency will publish the Notice of Availability (NOA) for the DEIS in the Federal Register on Friday, December 20, 2013. The publication date of the NOA in the Federal Register is the exclusive means for calculating the 90-day comment period for a proposed action documented in a DEIS. Electronic, written, fax, hand-delivered, and oral comments concerning this action will be accepted.

We encourage you to provide your comments by going to the project’s website and using the “Comment on Project” link on the right hand side of the page. Electronic comments may also be emailed to coconino_national_forest_plan_revision_team@fs.fed.us.

Draft revised CNF land management plan will replace the current plan, approved in 1987, and provide management direction for the forest for the next 10 to 15 years

Comments can be included directly in the body of the e-mail message or as an attachment in Word document format (.doc, .docx), portable document format (.pdf), rich text format (.rtf), text (.txt), or hypertext markup language (.html).

If you would like to submit your comments in hard copy format, then they must be sent or hand-delivered to:

The office business hours for those submitting hand-delivered written comments are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Oral comments must be provided at the Supervisor’s Office or Ranger District Offices during normal business hours via telephone or in person.

Comments should be provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer’s concerns and contentions. The submission of timely and specific comments can affect a reviewer’s ability to participate in subsequent administrative review or judicial review.

Coconino County wilderness

Please note that comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record for this project. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the respondent with standing to participate in subsequent administrative review or judicial review.

Once the comment period is over, we will review and respond to comments received and prepare the final Coconino National Forest Land Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement. We expect to have these completed in summer 2015.

For additional information, contact our office at (928) 527-3600 or attend a public meeting in January or February of 2014 in Flagstaff, Sedona, or Blue Ridge. Additional information on the public meetings can be found on our website http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/coconino/home.

Sincerely,

For the best in Arizona news and views, read www.SedonaEye.com daily!