Mountainair Ranger District - Travel Management

Mountainair, NM – March 25, 2009 – The Cibola National Forest is hosting three public open houses to discuss the Proposed Action for motorized travel designations on the Mountainair Ranger District under the USDA Forest Service Travel Management Rule. Forest and District staff will be on hand to answer questions. Maps and comment forms will be provided.

The open houses will be held at the following times and locations:

For further information or if you need assistance with accessibility for the open houses, email mountainair_travel_management@fs.fed.us.

The Cibola National Forest is committed to involving the public in a collaborative process as it implements the Travel Management Rule. During public involvement activities in January and February our focus has been to gather information on the motorized uses and concerns regarding motorized use on the Mountainair Ranger District, and share information about the Travel Management Process.

The District hosted numerous public involvement activities to aid in the development of the Proposed Action. This included three community meetings in Mountainair, Corona, and Belen; meetings with tribes and Land Grants; and a meeting with Forest Service-invited representatives of special interest groups that included Wilderness organizations, hikers, mountain bikers, and recreationists whom the Forest Service Inter-Disciplinary (ID) Team felt were not represented during the three community meetings. This early round of meetings has helped the District to understand recreational uses on the District as well as areas of concern.

The ID Team logged all comments received and is currently hard at work drafting a Proposed Action of motorized designations. We want to thank everyone who participated; this will provide the decision-makers with important information when developing a system for motorized use on the Mountainair Ranger District.

Scoping
The Scoping period for this process has begun. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) begins with Scoping – a process to determine the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts of the project to consider. Scoping includes an initial period when interested citizens can review the Proposed Action and provide comments, concerns, and suggestions to determine the scope of the project. The Scoping Period is very important. The comments received will help to generate Alternatives to the Proposed Action that will be considered by the Forest Supervisor in making the decision. Any Alternatives will be analyzed in an Environmental Assessment. The end product of the designation process will be the publication of a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) showing a system of routes designated for motorized use. The use of motorized vehicles will not be allowed outside of the designated system after the MVUM is issued.

Please contact the Project Leader, Roxanne Turley, Cibola National Forest Supervisor's Office at (505) 346-3900 or email mountainair_travel_management@fs.fed.us for any questions on the Mountainair Ranger District's Travel Management process or to be added to the mailing list.

Background

The USDA Forest Service issued the Travel Management Rule in November, 2005. The Rule provides a framework under which designation of roads, trails, and areas suitable for motorized use are made at the local level. The Cibola National Forest is committed to involving the public collaboratively as we continue with the Travel Management process on the Mountainair Ranger District.

For further information, please contact Roxanne Turley, Travel Management Team Leader, Cibola National Forest, Supervisor's Office at (505) 346-3900 or email mountainair_travel_management@fs.fed.us.