FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 18, 2010 Contact: Laura Smith
(208) 983-1950
Grangeville, ID–The Nez Perce National Forest would like to invite the public to comment on the new information presented in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use (DRAMVU) travel planning project.
Public meetings to present the SDEIS information will be held on October 26th in Grangeville at the Nez Perce Forest Supervisors Office and on November 9th in Elk City at the Red River Ranger District office; from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
The purpose of this comment period is to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the new information presented in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement prior to a decision being made by the responsible official. After reviewing comments on the Draft EIS it was determined to be necessary to take a more in depth look at: parking, access to dispersed camping, road and trail designations in wildlife habitat and the forest plan. In addition, two project-specific forest plan amendments are proposed, one for wildlife and one for Wall Creek municipal watershed. Since this new information has not been made available for public review or comment, this supplement was prepared to provide the opportunity for public review and comment, and so that the responsible official, Rick Brazell, may consider this information when he makes the decision that will be documented in the Record of Decision.
This Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and project details, including maps, are available on the Nez Perce National Forest website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/nezperce under NEPA projects, Nez Perce National Forest Travel Management Plan; or at the Supervisors Office, 104 Airport Road, Grangeville, Idaho 83530. Copies are also available at: local libraries, Salmon River Ranger District in White Bird, Red River Ranger District in Elk City and Moose Creek Ranger District in Kooskia, Idaho.
Written, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments concerning this supplement will be accepted for 45 calendar days following the publication date of the legal notice in the Lewiston Morning Tribune. This publication date is expected to be October 22, 2010. Comments must be received by 4:30 pm, on the close of the comment period.
Please submit written comments to Rick Brazell, Forest Supervisor, Nez Perce National Forest, at 104 Airport Road, Grangeville, ID 83530. Facsimile comments may be submitted to (208) 983-4099. The office business hours for those submitting hand-delivered comments are: 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Oral comments must be provided at the Nez Perce Forest Supervisor’s office during normal business hours via telephone (208) 983-1950 or in person, or at an official agency function (i.e. public meeting) which is designed to elicit public comments. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), and Word (.doc) with the DRAMVU project in the subject line to [email protected]. Comments must have an identifiable name attached or verification of identity will be required. A scanned signature may serve as verification on electronic comments.
Only those who submit timely and substantive comments will be accepted as appellants after the decision is made. For appeal eligibility each individual or representative from each organization submitting substantive comments in response to this solicitation must either sign the comments or verify identity upon request. Further information on appeal eligibility can be found at 36 CFR 215.6.
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