Public Comments Accepted on Resource Management Plan for Northwestern California Public Lands

Public comments are now being accepted on issues regarding the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) development of a Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for public lands managed by the Redding and Arcata field offices.

The Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan (NCIP) will guide the agency in decision making on these public lands for the next 15 to 20 years. It affects about 400,000 acres of public land in Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity, Tehama, and Butte counties.

The NCIP will replace the resource management plans that were put into place in the mid-1990s for both field offices. It will incorporate current information on the status of the lands and resources managed by the BLM.

The agency is looking for your views on current and future OHV opportunities. Feel free to comment on destination OHV areas such as Chappie-Shasta OHV Area and Samoa Dunes Recreation Area. You can also comment on more diverse OHV recreation at places such as the South Spit on Humboldt Bay and other areas.

It is important to identify potential new OHV recreational opportunities on checkerboard BLM lands along Highway 36 or in the Laytonville area, etc.

More information is available online.

Comments must be in writing, and will be accepted until February 3, 2017. Comments may be hand delivered or mailed to the BLM Redding Field Office, 6640 Lockheed Dr., Redding, CA, 96002, or emailed to NCIP_comments@aecom.com

Below is a sample letter that you can use as an example to help you develop your own individual comment letter. Feel free to use any portion of the sample letter using your own letterhead or business logo.

BLM Redding Field Office
6640 Lockheed Dr.
Redding, CA, 96002

RE: Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan

Dear Planning Team:

Please accept this letter as my scoping comments in regards to the Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan (NCIP) for Northwest California.

[INSERT PERSONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE YOU RIDE HERE]

A recent Forest Service report shows that studies specific to federal lands indicate that those recreating on federal recreation resources spend at least $51 billion in the local economies around their federal recreation destination. Both motorized and non-motorized recreation provide an important economic benefit to Northwest California. Please continue to provide recreation in the project area to support the rural economy.

I urge the BLM to develop a strategy to expedite the approval of competitive and other permitted events that are well-known, historic, and reoccurring. This can be accomplished through known "pre-approved" routes from which an event organizer can choose.

I urge the BLM to include a strategy to identify appropriate open play areas and grant itself authority to allow continued open play riding at appropriate areas and to designate open play or large staging areas in subsequent travel plans.

I urge the BLM to include a strategy for designating new camping/staging areas in travel planning.

I urge the BLM to include a strategy to review consolidation opportunities to enhance recreational opportunity.

I appreciate the agency's existing high quality OHV recreation opportunities, and I look forward to working with the BLM to enhance the current program and develop new recreation opportunities.

Sincerely,

John Doe Rider Address