Inyo National Forest plan ready for comments
Board of Supervisors receives update on INF Plan Revision.
Inyo National Forest Supervisor Ed Armenta gave the Inyo County Board of Supervisors an update on the Forest Plan at Tuesday’s regular Board meeting. Inyo County has been working closely with the Forest Service on developing the plan, which is still in its evaluation stage.
Armenta, with the help of Forest Service Planner Lesley Yen, noted that the latest Notice of Intent (NOI) has been published in the Federal Register last Friday, August 29, and is available online along with other documentation on the project’s website.
Yen noted that there is a 30-day scoping period for the public to comment and public meetings are scheduled.
Asked what the most important message is that she would like to get across to those interested in the Plan, Yen said, “Folks should be providing their comments now. Remember that the Plan is very general. It offers guidance on how the Forest Service should assess and implement specific projects that come to us for action, but not the specific actions to be taken.”
INF Supervisor Ed Armenta. Photo courtesy: James.
Yen discussed the Need to Change topics: Benefits to People and Communities, Tribal Relations and Uses, Sustainable Recreation, Fire, Ecological Integrity and Designated Ares identified during the public process earlier in the year that need new or revised plan direction.
The plan direction is made of components which include desired conditions, standards, guidelines, and strategies. Yen stressed again that these are meant to be broad in scope to guide the overall forest management direction and not meant to be project specific but rather offer direction that would guide any project during the lifetime of the Plan, which is 10-15 years.
The new Plan is much shorter. Redundancies found in the old plan that are already contained within other laws, regulations, and policies, including the Forest Service Handbook and Forest Service Manual, have been removed.
One of the most important areas in the plan for the Inyo National Forest is recreational use upon which the local tourist economy is based. Inyo County District 1 Supervisor Linda Arcularius noted that the county is already 65 percent designated Wilderness, leaving only 35 percent for public multi-use areas.
Sustainable recreation is a major consideration of any new plan that takes into consideration recreation facilities, opportunities, and access; as well as improving and protecting scenic character, and proactively managing cultural resources to protect and improve the conditions of these resources and help people connect to the land.
Armenta told the supervisors that his own staff has encouraged him to not add additional Wilderness Areas and he assured the board that he is unlikely to do so, stressing that he would apply a very specific criteria to any such possibility based on his personal, onsite assessment of an area being proposed for any special designation that limits public multiple use.
In response to a question by Arcularius about whether the Endangered Species Act might factor into a Wilderness Area Designation, Armenta said, “No. It is a factor taken into account with many other factors, but it is not a determining factor.”
The Forest Service is seeking public comment to be considered in developing and analyzing alternatives. Comments can be made on the project’s forest plan revision webpage: www.tinyurl.com/r5earlyadopters.
Electronic, emailed, written, facsimile, and hand-delivered comments are also accepted. Emails should have the Subject heading: Forest Plan Revision. Written comments should be mailed to: Maria Ulloa, Forest Plan Revision, 1839 So. Newcomb Street, Porterville, CA 93257.
The Forest Service will host an Open House on the Forest Revision Plan at the Tri-County Fairground on September 18 from 6-8 a.m.
