Klamath National Forest

Recreation Projects & Plans - Travel Management Project

OHV Recreation Homepage

DEIS DOCUMENTS - 05/09
NOTICE OF INTENT MAPS - 10/08
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE
PROPOSED ACTION TABLES - 10/08
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - 10/08
NEWSLETTER
NEWS RELEASE - 10/08
BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL FILES

The Klamath National Forest is currently in the midst of the Motor Vehicle Route Designation Process.  This includes: completing an inventory of all roads, trails, and areas used by motor vehicles: evaluation of the routes in relation to resource conflicts: environmental analysis of alternative route systems; and finally, designation of routes/areas open or closed for motor vehicle use.  A Memorandum of Intent between the Forest Service (Region 5), the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission and the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division of the California State Parks and Recreation established a strategy to guide the designation process and sets a schedule for completion.

CURRENT STATUS

The Klamath National Forest has completed a Motorized Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). This project was formerly titled Klamath National Forest Motorized Route Designation EIS in the Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an EIS published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2008. The Forest proposes a prohibition of cross country travel on the Forest to conform to the 2005 national Travel Management Rule, and proposes to add approximately 92 miles of currently unauthorized routes to the transportation system. The proposed action does allow for cross country travel in two designated areas totaling 65 acres. The DEIS will disclose the impacts associated with prohibiting cross-country motorized travel (except snowmobiles) off designated roads, trails and areas. It will also disclose impacts associated with changes in vehicle class and season of use to the transportation system. The DEIS and maps of all the alternatives are posted on the Klamath National Forest website and are also available for viewing at U.S. Forest Services offices in Yreka, Happy Camp, Macdoel, Fort Jones, Orleans, and local libraries in Siskiyou County, California and in Ashland, Oregon. Please call the libraries for information on hours, and to ensure that maps have arrived. The public may also review maps and discuss the alternatives analyzed in the DEIS for motorized travel with Forest resource specialists at open houses that are scheduled as follows:

• June 11, Goosenest Ranger District, U.S. Highway 97, Macdoel
• June 17, Yreka Community Center, 801 N. Oregon Street, Yreka
• June 18, Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District, U.S. Highway 96, Happy Camp
• June 23, Salmon/Scott River Ranger District, Siskiyou County Highway 3, Ft. Jones

All open houses are scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Comments on the proposed action shall be accepted for 45 days following the date of publication of a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register pursuant to 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. The expected date for publication of the NOA is June 5, 2009. Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments during the comment period, which will end on July 20, 2009. It is the responsibility of all individuals and organizations to ensure that their comments are received in a timely manner.

Comments on the DEIS should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the merits of the alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3).

Comments may be sent to: Forest Supervisor Patricia Grantham, ATTN: Travel Management DEIS, Klamath National Forest, 1312 Fairlane Rd., Yreka, CA 96097, (530) 842-6131.

Comments may be also submitted via FAX to (530) 841-4571 or by hand delivery to the address shown above during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

Electronic comments, in the acceptable formats [plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf) or Word (.doc)], may be submitted to: comments-pacificsouthwest-klamath@fs.fed.us. Please put "Travel Management" in the subject line.

Only those who submit timely comments will have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR 215. Comments and evidence of timely submission must meet the specific content requirements of 36 CFR 215.6. Individuals and organizations wishing to be eligible to appeal must provide the following:

(i) Name and address.

(ii) Title of the proposed action.

(iii) Specific comments (sec. 215.2) on the proposed action, along with supporting reasons that the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision.

(iv) Signature or other verification of identity upon request; identification of the individual or organization who authored the comment(s) is necessary for appeal eligibility.

(A) For appeals listing multiple organizations or multiple individuals, a signature or other means of verification must be provided for the individual authorized to represent each organization and for each individual in the case of multiple names, to meet appeal eligibility requirements.

(B) Those using electronic means may submit a scanned signature. Otherwise another means of verifying the identity of the individual or organizational representative may be necessary for electronically submitted comments or comments received by telephone.

(v) Individual members of an organization must submit their own comments to meet the requirements of appeal eligibility; comments received on behalf of an organization are considered as those of the organization only.

(vi) Oral comments must be provided at the Responsible Official's office during normal business hours via telephone or in person, or if during non-business hours, must be at an official agency function (such as a public meeting) which is designed to elicit public comment.

The names and addresses of those who comment are part of the public record for this project, and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who only submit anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR 215.

For more information, or to request a copy of the Klamath National Forest Motorized Travel Management DEIS, please contact Jan Ford, project leader, at (530) 841-4483.

USDA Forest Service - Klamath National Forest
Last Modified: Friday, 28 August 2009 at 06:32:03 EDT