Draft Revised Rio Grande National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Draft Revised Rio Grande National Forest Land and Resource

Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Publication of the Draft Revised Rio Grande National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Proposed Revised Land and Resource Management Plan and

Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rio Grande National Forest

is being released for public review and comment on August 10, 1995.

Interest has been expressed by several interested groups and

individuals for an extended comment period due to the technical

complexity of the documents and the critical nature of the Revision

Topics. For these reasons the Forest has decided to offer the documents

for review and comment for 120 days instead of the normal 90 day

period.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Public Comment period will be 120 calendar days from

August 10, 1995, ending on December 7, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about this policy should be addressed to James B. Webb,

Forest Supervisor, 1803 West Highway 160, Monte Vista, Colorado 81144,

(719) 852-5941.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Revised Land and Resource

Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rio

Grande National Forest is being released for Public review and comment

on August 10, 1995. Interest has been expressed by several interested

groups and individuals for an extended period due to the technical

complexity of the documents and the critical nature of the Revision

Topics. For these reasons the Forest has decided to offer the documents

for review and comment for 120 days instead of the normal 90 day

period. The comment period will last 120 days, beginning on August 10

and ending on December 7, 1995.

The Forest Interdisciplinary Planning Team prepared the DEIS and

Proposed Plan with intensive public involvement prior to the

formulation of the alternatives. Public involvement included persons

throughout Colorado and northern New Mexico, as well as extensive

mailings, to keep people informed and to allow a two-day dialogue with

the public.

This plan is the first in the region to incorporate a biodiversity

assessment based on information at the Province and Ecosection levels

of ecosystems. This Plan is also the first to analyze environmental

consequences based on two levels of budgets, the first being a 3 year

average of experienced funding, and the second being the level

necessary to fully implement the vision of the alternative. The results

of this budget-driven display have been to more realistically show what

we are likely to accomplish on the Forest within the planning period.

One of the notable results is that we do not expect to be able to meet

our ASQ with any of the alternatives which have an ASQ, and the

difference between ASQ and harvest level ranges from 33 to 90 percent

reduction.

The Regional Forester has selected Alternative D as the preferred

alternative. The documents will be revised in response to public

comments prior to the publication of the Final EIS and Forest Plan in

1996.

Interested parties are invited to send comments regarding the Draft

documents to the address cited above.

Dated: July 26, 1995.

William J. Gournay,

Acting Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 95-19773 Filed 8-9-95; 8:45 am]

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