Title
Consideration of Submission of Public Comment to Santa Fe National Forest Draft Land Management Plan
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve submission of comments to the Santa Fe Forest Draft Land Management Plan is a form substantially similar to the draft response in Attachment A.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council take the recommended action.
Body
The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) has been revising its 1987 Land Management Plan to better address current issues and incorporate modern science. Since the plan revision process began, the SFNF has engaged over 3,200 people in roughly 250 public meetings and has collaborated with 13 cooperating agencies, 24 Federally Recognized Tribes, and 4 Tribal Councils. These engagements, along with input from SFNF resource specialists and the best available science, have formed the draft revised Land Management Plan and have shaped the desired conditions, objectives, guidelines, standards, and management approaches within the document. Additionally, a complete analysis of the proposed draft Plan and alternatives to the draft Plan are included in a three volume draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The USFS published a Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register which officially began a 90-day comment period on these documents. This comment period is scheduled to close on November 7, 2019. Following the official release of these documents, the SFNF plans to hold numerous public meetings around the Forest to answer questions about the documents and resources, and help interested parties to develop substantive comments for submission during the 90-day comment window. Please refer to the Santa Fe NF planning website for more information (www.fs.usda.gov/goto/santafeforestplan <http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/santafeforestplan>).
Council discussed at a previous meeting if County comments should be drafted during the comment period and decided that the County should submit comments.
The draft comment letter (Attachment A) was developed by staff and also incorporates comments received from individual Councilors.
Alternatives
Council could choose to modify the letter or not submit the letter.
Fiscal and Staff Impact
There is minimal staff and fiscal impact associated with submitting the comments.
Attachments
A - Draft comments to the SFNF Draft Land Management Plan