News Release:
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US Forest Service
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Contact: |
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Eureka, March 28, 2008
District Ranger Mary Kay Vandiver would like to invite the public to participate in a collaborative effort to design the Big Flat Project, a proposed vegetation and fuel management proposal in the Smith River National Recreation Area. The Big Flat Project team will be hosting an evening presentation to interested publics and an optional field trip to the project area.
The evening presentation will be held at the Smith River National Recreation Area Headquarters at 10600 Highway 199, Gasquet, CA from 6:30 – 8:30 pm on Tuesday, April 15. The optional field trip will be held on Thursday, April 17 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Please meet at Smith River Headquarters if you plan to attend this field trip. Be sure to bring a lunch, water, sunscreen or rain gear depending on the weather, and wear boots and long sleeve pants and shirt.
The Big Flat project is intended to improve wildlife habitat and reduce hazardous fuel loadings on National Forest System lands adjoining the Big Flat Community in Del Norte County, California. The project entails commercial and non-commercial treatments of conifer stands that occur in strategic fuelbreak locations within three subdivisions that adjoin the Big Flat Community.
The goal of this collaborative effort is to exchange facts and/or information with stakeholders that could influence the design of the project before it is released to the public at large for environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The collaboration process is a proactive stakeholder involvement process under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA). The HFRA provides expedited NEPA procedures for authorized fuel-reduction projects on National Forest lands in the Wildland Urban Interfaces of at-risk communities as defined in the Federal Register notice of January 4, 2001 (66 FR 753). An important component of HFRA is collaboration with interested stakeholders such as Federal, State, and local governments, Tribes, community-based groups, landowners, and other interested persons.
If you have any questions or would like to receive a synopsis and map of the project, please feel free to contact Ruben Escatell, Team Leader, at (707) 574-6233.
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