Public Meetings Scheduled for GSENM Draft Plan Amendment

Contact:  Larry Crutchfield, 435.644.4310

Kanab, Utah—October 10, 2008—The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument released its Draft Monument Management Plan Amendment (DMMPA)  and Draft Rangeland Health Environmental Impact Statement (DRHEIS) October 10, starting the clock on a 90-day public review of the documents.

“We’re holding open houses around southern Utah and in Salt Lake City to give the public the opportunity to talk with the BLM resource specialists who worked on the draft plan, to review the maps, and to provide their comments,” explained GSENM manager Rene Berkhoudt.

All the meetings take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the following dates at the locations noted:

• November 18, BLM’s Salt Lake City Field Office, 2370 South 2300 West, Salt Lake City
• November 19, Interagency Visitor Center, 775 West Main, Escalante
• November 20, GSENM Visitor Center, 745 Hwy 89 East, Kanab

The DMMPA/DRHEIS is available online at:

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/planning/existing_plans.html.  This website also contains background information about the plan.  Written comments may be mailed to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Headquarters, 190 East Center Street, Kanab, Utah, 84741; hand-delivered to any GSENM visitor center; sent by facsimile to the attention of Paul Chapman at 435-644-4350; or emailed to UT_GSENM_NEPA@blm.gov.  The deadline for submitting comments is January 8, 2009.

Copies of the documents are also available for public review at the Kanab and Salt Lake City public libraries, at the Utah State BLM Office and GSENM Headquarters.

For further information or to obtain a copy of the DMMPA/DRHEIS, please contact GSENM at (435) 644-4300, or at the above address.