Photo: Aspen stand transitioning to conifer in Jackson Mountain analysis area.
The draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Jackson Mountain Landscape Project is available for 30 days for your comment and review. The Jackson Mountain area is located northeast of Pagosa Springs and north of the San Juan River Village subdivision in Archuleta County. We are inviting your input on proposed fuels reduction and vegetation management activities in the area. The initial proposal that was scoped in January of 2023 also considered the development of a trail system and the development of a gravel pit in the Jackson Mountain area.
The trail system and gravel pit projects have been removed from consideration as part of the current project.
The current project now only includes fuels reduction and vegetation management activities.
The Environmental Assessment (60 pages) is available to download here.
What activities are included as part of the current proposal?
Fuels treatments such as mowing, mastication, chipping, and hand thinning are being proposed on up to 1,600 acres in the Jackson Mountain area. Vegetation treatments such as thinning and tree removal as well as aspen coppice treatments to promote aspen regeneration are being considered on up to 900 acres. The proposed action would help increase opportunities for safe and effective wildland fire management and reintroduction of fire into forest ecosystems, promote diversity in forest structure and composition that provides resilience to disturbances such as wildfire, drought, and forest insects and disease, promote conditions that provide for long-term wildlife habitat sustainability, and provide wood and forest products for both commercial and non-commercial uses.
How to Provide Comments
The Forest Service will be accepting comments on this proposed action for 30 days, beginning on the first day after the date of publication of the legal notice, which was yesterday, June 27. If the comment period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday, comments will be accepted until the end of the next Federal working day. A timely submission will be determined as outlined in 36 CFR 218.25(a)(4). It is the responsibility of the sender to ensure timely receipt of any comments submitted. Comments should be within the scope of the proposed action, have a direct relationship to the proposed action, and must include supporting reasons for the Responsible Official to consider (36 CFR 218.2).
Electronic input is preferred and can be submitted via an on-line comment form at the link below. Look under the “Get Connected” heading on the right-hand side of the page and click on “Comment/Object on Project.”
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61809
Hardcopy input can be mailed via USPS or sent via courier (UPS/FedEx) to:
Pagosa Ranger District
San Juan National Forest
Attn: Jackson Mountain project
P.O. Box 310
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Comments may also be submitted to the Responsible Official, District Ranger Josh Peck, at joshua.p.peck@usda.gov. To fax a comment, please contact Adam Tlachac at 970-264-1513. Please include “Comments on Jackson Mountain Landscape Project” in the subject line of your letter, email, or fax. Office hours, for those who wish to hand deliver their comments, are 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday – Friday (except Federal holidays). Acceptable formats for electronic comments are text or html e-mail, Adobe portable document format, and formats viewable in Microsoft Office applications.
Only individuals or entities (as defined by 36 CFR 218.2) who submit timely, specific written comments (as specified in 36 CFR 218.2) about this proposed action during this or another public comment period established by the Responsible Official will be eligible to file an objection. Other eligibility requirements are specified in 36 CFR 218.25(a)(3) and include, among other requirements, the commenter’s name, postal address, title of the proposed action, and signature or other verification of identity upon request and identification of the individual or entity who authored the comment(s). All written comments received by the Responsible Official, including names and addresses of commenters shall be placed in the project file and shall become a matter of public record for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the Agency with the ability to provide the commenter with subsequent environmental documents.
For more information about this proposal, please contact Adam Tlachac, (970) 264-1513, or adam.tlachac@usda.gov