August 22, 2022 - The Sierra National Forest welcomes your comments on our proposed Creek Fire Ecological Restoration Project Environmental Assessment!
The purpose of the project is to improve forest health in the footprint of the Creek Fire of 2020. The project would include: (1) hazardous fuels reduction, fuel break maintenance, and hazard tree abatement to reduce risk to public health and safety; (2) reforestation, terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat improvement, non-native invasive species management, and road, trail and facility repair to restore degraded conditions in areas of higher fire severity; (3) thinning and prescribed fire to maintain or enhance conifer forests and wildlife habitats in unburned areas or areas of lower fire severity; and, (4) road repair or maintenance, including limited construction of temporary roads.
We originally shared our proposed action for public input in March 2022. Since that time, the interdisciplinary team and I have reviewed the public comments received, considered the potential environmental effects of the proposed action, and prepared environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The environmental assessment and other project information is available on the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=60422.
HOW TO COMMENT
I would welcome your comments on this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact. Most helpful to my team are your comments regarding the effects of the project and the analysis presented in the environmental assessment, or things I should consider in issuing a decision.
Comments will be accepted for 30 days following publication of the legal notice in the Fresno Bee (the newspaper of record). Please submit comments via the online comment form at: https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public//CommentInput?Project=60422
Attachments to comments must be submitted in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word, rich text format (rtf), or Adobe Portable Document format (pdf). Comments submitted to email addresses or in other formats than those listed or containing viruses will be rejected. If unable to access the online form, comments may also be submitted by regular mail to Sierra National Forest Supervisor’s Office; Attention: Creek Fire Project Comments; 1600 Tollhouse Road, Clovis, CA 93611. The office business hours for submitting hand-delivered comments are: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Comments received in response to this request, including names, addresses, and any other information provided with the comments, will be considered part of the public record, posted to the project website, and may be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and released if requested.
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW ELIGIBILITY
The proposed project is an activity implementing a land management plan and is subject to pre-decisional objection process at 36 CFR 218 Subparts A and B. Only those who submit timely and specific written comments §218.2 regarding the proposed project or activity during a public comment period established by the responsible official are eligible to file an objection §218.24(b)(6). For issues to be raised in objections, they must be based on previously submitted specific written comments regarding the proposed project or activity and attributed to the objector. It is the responsibility of all individuals and organizations to ensure that their comments are received in a timely manner. For objection eligibility, each individual or representative from each entity submitting timely and specific written comments regarding the proposed project or activity must either sign the comments or verify identity upon request §218.24(b)(8).
CONTACT
For additional information, please contact Judi Tapia, Forest Planning Officer at judith.tapia@usda.gov or 559-903-6758.
Thank you for your interest and participation in developing this project.
Source: USDA
