The GMUG Draft Revised Forest Plan is Here!

GMUGPublic LandsPublic Comment
Written By High Country Conservation Advocates

(And if you want to see more lands managed as wilderness, you should be concerned.)

DSC01292-Edit.jpg

At long last, the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest published its draft revised forest plan and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) today. This initiates a 90-day comment period that will conclude on November 11th, 2021. This is a critical opportunity for YOU to submit comments to the Forest Service to help ensure that the revised Forest Plan contains new wilderness recommendations, strong protections for wildlife and endangered species, addresses climate change sources and impacts, emphasizes equitable access to forest lands, and much, much more.

We just started reviewing the forest plan, but we already have some significant concerns. Noticeably, the agency's preferred, or "blended" alternative, recommends just 34,000 acres for new wilderness across the entire 3.16-million acre GMUG. Compare that with the 125,000 acres that the Forest Service recommended during the Bush II administration in their 2007 planning effort.

Visit HCCA’s forest revision webpage to learn about upcoming opportunities to work with HCCA staff to write and submit effective and timely comments to the GMUG. In addition, stay tuned for upcoming emails and social media posts from us containing information about public meetings, site visits, and more. HCCA also will be hosting several comment-writing workshops this fall to help you write and submit substantive comments by the November 11th deadline.In the meantime, the Forest Service has scheduled a series of webinars and virtual open houses beginning next week to provide the public with information on the process. You can find links to those on HCCA’s forest revision webpage as well.

Featured
Looking for common ground on forest: GMUG poring through thousands of draft plan comments
Looking for common ground on forest: GMUG poring through thousands of draft plan comments

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests stretch across nine counties, with uses ranging from recreation, to logging, to livestock grazing, to management of vital wildlife habitat.

Start any conversation about how such a sprawling landscape of multiple uses should be managed in future years, and it's bound to be a spirited discussion. Case in point: The U.S. Forest Service's work to revise its GMUG land management plan.

HCCA Thanks You for Helping the Future GMUG National Forest
HCCA Thanks You for Helping the Future GMUG National Forest

One of the highlights of our public lands advocacy in 2021 was leading local and regional engagement in the GMUG National Forest Plan revision process. After a long wait, the GMUG’s Draft Forest Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were released for public review and comment in August.

Comments Needed on GMUG Draft Forest Plan by November 12
Comments Needed on GMUG Draft Forest Plan by November 12

There’s one month left to submit comments on the Draft GMUG Forest Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) is asking all of our members and supporters to comment today to help shape the future of our incredible National Forest lands.

GMUG draft revision reexamines Wild and Scenic eligibility
GMUG draft revision reexamines Wild and Scenic eligibility

The GMUG forest plan revision process is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to influence how the USFS manages a huge chunk of Colorado’s public lands. The GMUG has in it 36,000 miles of rivers and streams, some of which wind through the Western Slope’s most remote landscapes. Yet the Forest Service is considering less than 4% of those miles as eligible for protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Community Action Needed! Attend Tuesday’s Virtual Gunnison Ranger District Open House
Community Action Needed! Attend Tuesday’s Virtual Gunnison Ranger District Open House

On Tuesday, September 28, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, the Forest Service’s Gunnison Ranger District will host a virtual open house to discuss the GMUG’s draft forest plan and its alternatives. High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) is asking all of our members and supporters who care about the future of the Gunnison National Forest to attend and speak up on behalf of wilderness, wildlife, and sustainable recreation.

Attention Boaters, Anglers, and Water Rats: Wild & Scenic River Comments Needed
Attention Boaters, Anglers, and Water Rats: Wild & Scenic River Comments Needed

During the forest planning process, the public has the opportunity to weigh in on the unique qualities of our local creeks and rivers and to comment on whether certain segments are eligible for inclusion in the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

Sampling Outstanding Waters
Sampling Outstanding Waters

Our work takes us to beautiful places! Fall means that our staff get to sneak outside for stewardship projects and to collect data demonstrating that special protections are warranted for some of our favorite ecosystems.  Protecting our streams requires that we collect data to demonstrate that these streams meet Colorado’s highest designation for water quality protections.

Draft forest plan flops among conservationists
Draft forest plan flops among conservationists

Conservation advocates this week began digesting the more than 1,300 pages of documents that make up the U.S. Forest Service draft plan for much of the Western Slope. The plan includes detailed environmental impact analyses and reams of source materials. But even a cursory look yielded a warning sign for many groups: a dramatic increase in the amount of land designated as “suitable timber” for logging.

Draft forest plan for GMUG soliciting public comment
Draft forest plan for GMUG soliciting public comment

The long awaited draft revision plan for the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest was released last week on August 13 and the public will have 90 days to make comments on the proposal. The plan is the major guiding document on how things like recreation, logging and wildlife are managed on the nearby national forests.

KBUT: Matt Reed says new GMUG Forest plan needs public input.
KBUT: Matt Reed says new GMUG Forest plan needs public input.

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forest totals just short of 3 million acres across Colorado’s Western Slope. Once certified the new Forest Plan, which is open for public comment thru Nov. 12, will guide the GMUG decision for decades. Matt Reed wants the public to know how they can get involved, and talks about areas where he thinks the plan needs improvement.

High Country Conservation Advocates
Previous

GMUG releases draft forest plan for public review
Next

Upcoming GMUG Webinars & Virtual Open Houses