Early Scoping and Alternatives Development

In 2015 the Forest Service began the planning process with a notice to start the Forest Assessment, and developed the Forest Assessment from 2015 to 2019. In 2019, the Forest Service’s Regional Office in Albuquerque provided the Lincoln National Forest with a rough outline and details of the preliminary draft LMP with regionally consistent LMP components. The components of the LMP remain regionally consistent, while the Lincoln National Forest tailored the remaining LMP components to the unique circumstance found on the forest. On May 30, 2019, the Lincoln National Forest released a NOI to revise the 1986 Forest Plan and publish an EIS. Public comment on the preliminary draft LMP and the Need for Change took place from May 30 to July 31, 2019. Following this public scoping, the Forest Service began working on the drafts using the comments from the public to inform development of the Draft LMP Revision and Draft EIS.

Vegetation Management

• Ban vegetation management, timber sales, no use of chemicals and or use of wildland fire (planned and unplanned ignitions). The forest should grow “naturally.”

• Promote active vegetation management to provide habitat, timber and use fire for restoration purposes.

Recommended Wilderness

• Some commenters want [substantially more] wilderness. Others requested several alternatives with scaled increases in wilderness from 0 to 100 percent. Those who want more wilderness want no or fewer management activities, increased benefit to wildlife habitat connectivity, and a more natural landscape in general.

• Those opposed to more wilderness are concerned about management restrictions usually imposed in wilderness areas, and the need to maintain cultural, recreational and legacy uses of the land.

Fish and Wildlife Management

• Manage for biological diversity and at-risk species, create habitat connectivity and refuge for fish and wildlife, even at the expense of competing multiple use activities, such as livestock grazing, timber production, dispersed camping and motorized recreation.

• Increase access, increase motorized use.

Riparian and Water Management

• Prioritize landscape scale watershed restoration. Maintain or improve water quality. Prohibit livestock grazing in riparian zones. Prohibit road construction in riparian zones. Limit motorized equipment in riparian areas. Establish riparian management zones and restore channels, vegetation, and floodplain connectivity.

• Recognize grazing economy with forage and water.

Economics

• Transition from a timber and grazing economy to wildlife/recreation economy.

• While others comment that grazing is important to rural community economies and families.

Management Areas—Caves

• Protect significant caves, the Snowy River Cave should have protection from surface disturbance and pollution.

• Don’t limit the ability to treat fuels with special management areas.

Road/Motorized Trail System, Over Snow Travel, and Road Density Requirements

• Comments were received requesting more roads and roads for large RVs, more single-track trails for motorcycles, and more OHV routes.

• Other comments requested obliteration of un-need, unauthorized or level one roads and an annual maintenance or a decommission requirement

• Some comments requested the Forest Service set limits for road density to provide for the protection and management of healthy and sustainable soils, watersheds, and wildlife connectivity, reduce the spread of non-native plant species and the prevention of wildfires.