Rio Grande National Forest releases revised Land Management Plan

MONTE VISTA – The Rio Grande National Forest’s revised land management plan, supporting final environmental impact statement and draft record of decision are now available.

The forest plan provides management guidance across the 1.8 million-acre Rio Grande National Forest for the next 10 to 15 years.

“The revised land management plan is the culmination of working together with local communities, neighboring forests, special interest groups, and state and federal agencies for the past four years,” said Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas. “Over 100 meetings were held, and several hundred comments received helped shape the revised plan.”

In the first three years of implementation, the revised plan would provide nearly 2,000 new jobs in the recreation, timber and grazing industries worth $65 million in labor income. The plan also supports healthy watersheds that supply clean, abundant water to the San Luis Valley, supplying an agricultural industry worth more than $500 million.

The plan would use active management to improve forest conditions, while providing for clean air, water and forest products. Management direction would be updated for all plant and wildlife species, including spruce-fir ecosystems. The land management plan also recommends 40,052 acres be added to the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area and three miles to the eligible and suitable Wild, Scenic and Recreation river system. Cultural values would be protected, while allowing multiple-use access to the forest and improving recreation opportunities. These values include the availability of and access to firewood and forest botanical products, for use by local communities. Partnerships and citizen science are prioritized in the land management plan, supporting more monitoring necessary to ensure the work done on the ground is meeting current and future needs.

The land management plan also recognizes the role of naturally-ignited fires on the landscape and encourages them to be used as a tool to improve forest conditions and protect communities from catastrophic wildfires.

The final environmental impact statement analyzes the environmental, social and economic effects of the proposed land management plan and lays out several alternatives. The draft record of decision describes the selected alternative, which will become the land management plan.

A 60-day objection period begins with the publication of the legal notice in the Rio Grande National Forest’s newspaper of record, The Valley Courier in Alamosa on Friday, Aug. 2. The objection process provides an opportunity for those who have participated in the process to have their unresolved concerns reviewed prior to the Forest Supervisor issuing a final decision. The reviewing official for the land management plan is Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Brian Ferebee.

The draft record of decision, land management plan, final environmental impact statement and associated documents are available online at www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=46078.