US Forest Service Encouraging Public Comment on Lolo National Forest Land Management Plan

With February rapidly drawing to a close, the US Forest Service is approaching the midway point of the scoping comment period for the Lolo plan revision proposed action.

In response to some of the inquiries received at public comment sessions, the Forest Service wants to draw attention to a few resources that may be helpful.

• The 2006 Draft Plan is available for reference in the Documents Library, as is a short FAQ on how this information relates to the current plan revision.
• Appendix 1 of the Assessment is also posted on the Web Hub and includes many maps of the existing condition that may be useful, including but not limited to geographic areas, strategic fire management zones, range management units (allotments), 1986 Forest Plan management areas, and existing condition information for a variety of resources. The Geospatial Library within the Documents Library contains the corresponding GIS data for the assessment.
• The Forest Service has received several requests for printed hardcopy documents. The Forest Service has moved away from the publication of hard copy documents and is instead posting on publicly available websites. For those with connection or other issues, they can provide a flash drive with the documents downloaded.  Interested parties may obtain these at the District Offices or send a request to our inbox ([email protected]). In addition, several viewable hardcopies are available at each District Office and the public libraries in Missoula and Superior. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C § 794d requires all electronic documents to be accessible to people with disabilities, but neither Section 508 nor the Americans with Disabilities Act requires the availability of hardcopy printed documents. All of the Forest Service’s electronic documents comply with Section 508. For example–pdf documents can be read with screen readers, and Adobe provides such assistive technologies for free.

The public is invited to attend two more online Office Hour opportunities to chat before the closing of the comment period. As always, event information can also be found on the Lolo Revision Web Hub.

If anyone has additional questions to assist with comments on the proposed action, please contact the Forest Service via email: ([email protected].