What Can I Do? A. Familiarize Yourself with the Project Members of the public can read about the project and download the proposal by visiting the Coyote Flat OHV Recreation Enhancement Project Page. (This information is available in English. See highlighted note under C. below.) B. Comment by the June 17 Deadline! Friends of the Inyo is engaging on this project in our working area. We are generally in favor of any project that seeks to realign trails for restoration of habitat as well as public safety. A good, sustainable balance is always a solid goal to strive for. We suggest highlighting some or all of the following issues in your comments: - Both botanical monitors and cultural monitors must be on site while work is under development to ensure proper handling of mitigation measures and protocols for both natural and cultural/historical resources.
- Revegetation must be prioritized for the restoration of unauthorized trails. While it is true that soil and vegetation are likely to recover eventually after motorized use is discontinued, we recommend full decommissioning of closed routes with restoration activities such as re-seeding, mulching, and de-compacting soil for the quickest recovery of these sites and best disguising of past use as well as discouragement of future use. Trails that are not selected for revegetation efforts and instead are left for natural vegetation recovery should have an accompanying timeline for expected natural vegetative recovery, and, if after a reasonable time period these areas are not observed to have been naturally recovered, other revegetation efforts must be applied.
- The OHV areas on the Inyo National Forest are evaluated every 5 years to determine conditions and maintenance needs. Beyond the established every-5-years evaluation schedule for determination of conditions and maintenance needs, a more regular visitation schedule and assessment strategy should be applied during and following the length of this project to assess progress and address potential issues, including, but not limited to, lack of revegetation, unauthorized trail making, spread of invasive plants, soil erosion and soil compaction, etc.
C. Submit Your Comments in One of the Following Ways - Submit your comments online via the USFS Coyote Flat OHV Recreation Enhancement Comment Page. (IMPORTANT: The Comment page has an English/Español toggle link at the top right-hand side of the page, which allows Spanish-speaking readers/commenters to access translated instructions and an online form for submitting their comments in Spanish. Please help spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends or neighbors who might want to submit comments.)
Alternatively, - Email your comments to: alexander.ertaud@usda.gov, with Subject: Coyote Flat OHV Recreation Enhancement Project. If submitting your comments as attachments to an email, attachments in common formats (.doc, .pdf, .rtf, .txt) may be submitted; or
- Mail in your comments to: White Mountain Ranger District, Attn: Alex Ertaud, 798 N Main St, Bishop, CA 93514; or
- Deliver your written comments in person to the address above during business hours (M-F 8:00 am to 4:30 pm).
NOTE: Names of commenters and their comments will be part of the public record subject to the Freedom of Information Act. D. Ask Questions For more specific information about the project or how to provide comments, please contact: | |
