Travel Management Rule Implementation Gila National Forest February 4, 2013 GNF 20130204 Grant Co...

1

GNF 20130204 Grant Co Presentation

Travel Management Rule Implementation

Gila National Forest

February 4, 2013


2What is the Travel Management Rule?

Establishes a system of roads, trails, and areas designated for motorized use.

Intent of the rule is to:Sustain natural resource valuesEnhance opportunities for motorized usesProvide opportunities for non-motorized uses


3

Need for Change

The growth and increasing signs of impact have prompted the Forest Service to take a closer look at its management of off-highway vehicle use and continue to provide opportunities yet protect the land and resources.

The Chief of the Forest Service identified this issue as one of four primary concerns to the health of National Forests


4

The purpose of the Executive Order 11644 (amended by 11989) can no longer be met while allowing unrestricted cross-country motor vehicle use.

E.O. direct Federal agencies to ensure that the use of off-road vehicles on public lands will be controlled and directed so as to protect the resources of those lands, to promote the safety of all users of those lands, and to minimize conflicts among various uses of those lands.

Need for Change


5

Result of Need for ChangeTo address the needs, a new regulation was developed to limit all motorized travel to designated roads and trails.

On July 15, 2004 the proposed travel management regulations was published.

On Nov. 9, 2005 the final rule was published and became effective Dec. 9, 2005


6

Key ComponentsRequires designation of roads, trails, and areas

open to motor vehicle use by vehicle class and, if appropriate, by time of year.

Provides a consistent, national framework for local decisions. (36 CFR 212.1 FR pg 68287-68288)

Requires public involvement and coordination with state and local government agencies.

Prohibits motor vehicle use off the designated system, or inconsistent with the designations, with the publication of the motor vehicle use map.


7

RS 2477 Roads

What if a road is claimed to be a RS-2477 road?

Currently the Forest Service does not have the authority to determine the validity of a RS-2477 claim

Final determinations on 2477 claims must be made by a competent court of jurisdiction

Until such time the Forest Service direction is to continue administration and management of the roads

Some tools available for addressing these concerns are cooperative road maintenance agreements or conveyances


8Gila NF Process – 2006-2007 46 public meetings / open

houses

Presented an overview of the

Travel Management Rule and

the Forest travel management

process

Provided opportunity to view

maps and interact with District

staff

Over 900 people attended


9

2006-2007 (cont)Numerous individual meetings also took placeContact was made with over 380 individuals

which included range permittees, private landowners, and outfitter guides

All 4 county offices were contacted by the Rangers

Met with USFWS, NMGF, various user groups and conservation groups


10

2008 Fall WorkshopsObjectives of the

workshops

Re-engage the public about Travel Management

Opportunity for the public to review the draft proposal

Provide input

Assist in improving the draft proposal


11

2008 Fall Workshops

Prior to the workshops, materials were presented and provided to all 4 county commissioners

Held 18 workshops Over 800 people attendedReceived over 2,000 comments

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Gila National Forest; New Mexico; Gila National Forest

Travel Management Rule Implementation

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact

statement.

Proposed Action - Scoping

Published in Federal Register

Sept. 11, 2009


13Public Outreach of Proposed Action and Open HousesMailed out approximately 3,000 letters with

proposed action

Emailed to approximately another 1,000

Proposed action and maps posted to website

Open House advertisements and posting

Placed paid ads in surrounding area papers

Radio ads

Flyers posted in surrounding communities (69 total locations) and ranger district offices


14

2009 Scoping Open Houses

Las Cruces Glenwood Mimbres Reserve Cliff Silver City T or C Luna Quemado Lordsburg0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

54

20

2630

10

84

46

36

8

19Num

ber

of A

tten

dees


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Scoping on the Proposed Action

Forest held 10 open houses and that was attended by over 300 people

Over 16,000 comments were received


16

Issues & Alternatives Development

The comments were used by the Forest to identify significant issues and to develop alternatives to the proposed action.


17The 4 issues identified were:

Motorized Routes

Motorized Dispersed Recreation

Motorized Big Game Retrieval

Areas


18

Alternatives

A range of alternatives (C, D, E, F & G) were developed to address the issues


19Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 60 day comment period ran from January through March 2011

Over 16,500 individuals, organizations, tribes, and local, county, state, and federal agencies were notified

4 open houses were held around the forest and attended by over 400 people

Received over 2,000 comments


20Where did comments come from?

Arizona3%

Colorado1% Oklahoma

0%

Texas1%

New Mexico73%

Other States12%

Foreign Coun-tries3%

Unknown8%

Distribution of Comments by State & Countries


21Distribution of Comments by New Mexico CountiesCatron

8%

Grant42%

Hidalgo0%

Other34%

Sierra16%


22

How are DEIS comments used?

Helping to correct incomplete or incorrect information.

Reconsider specific routes or areas of concern.

May be used to make minor modifications to one or more alternatives where new information suggests that the alternative could be improved.

Reconsideration of the effects analysis where more accurate information is provided.


23DEIS - Total Miles of Road Open to the Public by Alternative

Alt B Alt C Alt D Alt E Alt F Alt G

Catron 3324.33021654451 3166.29394353576 2280.61383826406 1757.90105041907 2557.21620992882 2533.84690801116

Grant 959.835320411841 842.794057285411 533.023028802023 428.930353624562 574.831339114546 576.662868378925

Sierra 279.732422615427 217.655398347548 136.946641877359 122.890420848597 183.994331369944 183.994331369944

Hidalgo 22.085100370178 22.085100370178 15.8150720658257 15.8150720658257 16.1851083991862 16.1851083991862

250

750

1,250

1,750

2,250

2,750

3,250

3,750

4,250

4,750

Mil

es


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DEIS Alt. G - Forest-wide (blue) & Grant County (orange) distribution of the number of proposed non-motorized roads by length

0.00

-0.2

5

0.26

-0.5

0

0.51

-0.7

5

0.76

-1.0

1.01

-1.2

5

1.26

-1.5

0

1.50

-2.0

0

2.01

-3.0

0

3.01

-4.0

0

4.01

-5.0

0

5.01

-6.0

0

6.01

-7.0

0

7.01

-8.0

00

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

676

415

229

152

107

43 44 338 5 0 0 1279 115 54 37 31 10 10 5 1 1 0 0 0

Miles

Nu

mb

er o

f R

oad

s


25Motorized Dispersed Camping Corridors (MDC)

• The majority of the existing or traditional motorized dispersed camping sites are within proposed corridors.

• On open roads where there are no proposed MDC corridors, a motor vehicle (including trailer) may pull completely off the road and park within a vehicle length.

• Tent & hike-in camping may continue to occur any distance from a road


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Alt C Alt D Alt E Alt F Alt G

Catron 1119.47436350516 829.111739498861 0 1046.28234858385 935.059657641693

Grant 354.284459241293 300.399669777822 0 336.959321863479 328.045367485206

Sierra 47.9358911614815 36.610889267167 0 47.2118312043335 47.2118312043335

Hidalgo 11.9147088810225 11.9147088810225 0 11.9147088810225 11.9147088810225

100

300

500

700

900

1,100

1,300

1,500

1,700

Mil

es

DEIS – Total miles of motorized dispersed camping corridors by alternative


27

Where is the Forest at today?

The Forest is working on:

Responding to the more than 2,000 comments received

Starting to revise reports and edits to the EIS


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What’s next?The Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) is

estimated to be completed this springAfter the Decision, the Motor Vehicle Use Map

(MVUM) will be published later in the year. The MVUM is the map that displays roads, trails and areas

open for motorized vehicle use, including where motorized dispersed camping and motorized big game retrieval is allowed.

Designation is complete with publication of the Motor Vehicle Use Map.

Any required changes in motor vehicle use will not occur until the Motor Vehicle Use Map is published.


29How will revisions be made to the MVUM?The MVUM will be reviewed annually and revised

as needed to meet changing conditions or needs.

How will revisions be made?

Any proposed revisions to the designations will have a public involvement process (36 CFR 212.52). This may be part of another project or a stand alone process.

The public will be provided notice of any proposed revisions and will have an opportunity to comment, consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).


Thank you.30

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