Comment Period for Santa Fe Mountains Project Scoping Extended to July 17

By SFNF

The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) has extended the scoping period for the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency (SFMLR) project until Wednesday, July 17, 2019, because of a technical issue with the comment submission inbox that may have made some comments undeliverable. The 30-day comment period was scheduled to end July 10.

“Comments received during the scoping period literally help us determine the scope of the entire project,” SFNF Supervisor James Melonas said. “On a project of this importance, we want to make sure that every comment is received and becomes part of the project record.”

The SFMLR project is designed to restore forest and watershed health and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire across approximately 50,000 acres of the SFNF in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The project is part of a larger multi-partner collaborative, the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition, that was created to proactively address the risk of high-severity wildfire and post-fire flooding and debris flow in and around Santa Fe.

To submit a scoping comment by email, send an email to comments-southwestern-santafe@fs.fed.us with “Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency Project” in the subject line.  If attaching a document, please use .doc, .txt, .pdf, or .rtf formats only. Written comments can also be submitted by mail or in person at the SFNF headquarters in Santa Fe. Additional information on the project and instructions on submitting comments can be found on the project webpage. 

Specific written comments received by July 17will establish standing to object to the draft decision later in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The SFNF will continue to accept comments after July 17, but comments received outside the extended scoping period may not carry as much weight during the development of issues and alternatives.

After considering comments, the SFNF will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to disclose the environmental impacts of the project. The public will also have an opportunity to review and comment on the preliminary (draft) EA. If the analysis indicates that environmental impacts would be significant, the Forest would prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).