The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Look for next draft in early November
By Aimee Eaton
After a summer of meetings and requests for comments, the Gunnison National Forest is on its way to having a new operating plan. When completed, it will act as part handbook, part bible for United States Forest Service regional managers.
The forest plan will detail everything from whether mountain bikers and ATVs can share trails, to grazing regulations and steps the agency may take to mitigate the consequences of global climate change. It will take several months to complete and will stay in place for several years.
The Gunnison portion of the document is part of the larger Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests forest plan. An updated forest plan is a federal requirement for all U.S.-managed forests; the GMUG plan was created in 1983 but has since had five amendments.
According to the Forest Service’s 2012 Planning Rule, all forest plans must be “science based and developed with extensive public involvement.”
To adhere to this mandate the GMUG forests worked with the involved counties to host eight public open houses and two webinars throughout the course of the summer.
According to the plan revision organizers, approximately 350 people attended events, and from those, written comments were received.
“Throughout the summer, we asked for your input on what’s working and what’s not working on the GMUG and you delivered in spades,” wrote the administrators in the second issue of the GMUG Plan Revision newsletter. “We’ve received over one hundred written comments, with many more expressed through conversations at the open houses and webinars.”
Comments received by August 31 were summarized and are being incorporated where applicable into the draft assessments. However, the forest plan revision administration team said they will continue to welcome comments and the potential to have comments used in later versions of the plan remains.
“Although they covered a broad range of subjects, these comments emphasized the common ground we all share: the importance of the GMUG to the people and communities that rely upon it,” the administrators wrote of the comments so far submitted.
A few of the specific topics of interest identified by the public and stakeholders in the GMUG included:
—Recreation activities, particularly mountain biking, hiking, camping, motorized and non-motorized uses, and summer and winter opportunities;
—Infrastructure, road, and trail issues;
—Energy and mineral development;
—Climate change, potential resource and economic impacts, and
the need for adaptive management;
—Wildlife, particularly pollinators, birds, and top predators;
—Riparian, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem health and resilience; and
—The importance of science and research when considering
management direction.
For the complete list of topics go to fs.usda.gov/goto/gmug/forestplan.
In addition, many people expressed concerns where “one use or activity was impacting, straining, or even causing conflict for another resource or user.”
According to the administrators, “The need to find a long-term, sustainable balance that will reduce conflict between uses while still providing for the rich diversity of opportunities, resources and experiences that the GMUG is known for,” is the core of the revision.
The next stage in the plan revision will be the continued compilation of public comments and the drafting of the assessments. The GMUG plans to share the draft assessments, and open them for a 30-day comment period, in early November. The unveiling will be accompanied by two informative webinars with helpful hints on how to read and comment on the assessments.
