Kaibab National Forest

Tusayan, Ariz. —The Kaibab National Forest will host two open house meetings for the public next week to provide information on the environmental assessment for the Tusayan Ranger District Travel Management Project.

The first open house is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Flagstaff at the Coconino Community College Board Room, Lone Tree Campus, from 5 to 7 p.m. The second open house is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 15, in Tusayan at the Tusayan Ranger Station from 5 to 7 p.m.

The open house sessions will provide an opportunity to review information contained in the EA and view large-scale maps of the proposed transportation system for the Tusayan Ranger District.

The public comment period for the Tusayan Ranger District Travel Management Project EA ends Jan. 30. Comments must be submitted to Forest Supervisor, Kaibab National Forest, 800 S. Sixth Street, Williams, AZ 86046, 928-635-8200, fax 928-635-8208, and may be hand delivered weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. at the address above. Electronic comments may be emailed to: comments-southwestern-kaibab@fs.fed.us.

The EA discloses the direct, indirect and cumulative environmental impacts that would result from the proposed action and two alternatives. The proposed action includes removal of about 163 miles of roads for public motorized travel from the existing open forest road system. If implemented, the proposed action would result in the total miles of roads on the Tusayan Ranger District open to motor vehicle travel going from 709 miles to 546 miles. About 6 miles of currently unauthorized routes would be added to the designated forest road system.

The proposed action also includes provisions to allow opportunities for motorized access to dispersed camping and motorized access by hunters to travel up to one mile cross-country in order to retrieve a legally-downed and tagged elk.

The EA relates only to the Tusayan Ranger District. The Kaibab National Forest chose a district-by-district approach to its travel management planning. Separate planning processes are taking place on the forest’s Williams and North Kaibab districts.

The EA and its accompanying documents are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/travelmanagement/documents.php.