The Rocky Mountain District Ranger is re-initiating a 45-day objection period to allow individuals and organizations to submit objections on a Supplemental Environmental Assessment and draft Decision Notice & Finding of No Significant Impact for the Elk Smith Project. Objections will be accepted from anyone submitting issues, comments and concerns related to the updated material within the Supplemental Environmental Assessment and the associated draft Decision Notice. The purpose of the project is to address fuel accumulation and continuity in the project area. The responsible official, Michael Munoz, withdrew his November 1, 2019, Elk Smith Decision Notice in order to conduct additional analysis.
Important changes to the Elk Smith Supplemental EA include: draft Decision Notice/Finding Of No Significant Impact are available online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58765. These documents are also available for review at the Rocky Mountain Ranger District Office in Choteau, Montana. Additional information can be obtained by contacting Michael Munoz, Rocky Mountain District Ranger at (406) 466-5341.
The Elk Smith Project is subject to the objection process pursuant to 36 CFR 218, subparts A and B.
How to File an Objection and Timeframe
Objections will be accepted from anyone who submits an objection on the significant changes to the Elk Smith environmental documents or related to new information. All previous objections filed on this project do not need to be resubmitted.
Objection Filing Information:
Objections, including attachments, must be filed via mail, express delivery, or messenger service to: Objection Reviewing Officer, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region; 26 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, MT 59804; or FAX to (406) 329-3411; or email to appeals-northern-regional-office@usda.gov; or by hand-delivery (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays at USDA Forest Service, Northern Region; 26 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, MT 59804 ).
Objections must be submitted within 45 calendar days following the publication of this notice in the Helena Independent Record, the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest newspaper of record. The publication date in the Helena Independent Record is the exclusive means for calculating the time to file an objection. Those wishing to object should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.
For specifics on how to file an objection, necessary items to include, and find the official date of publication, please refer to the legal notice posting, on our project webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58765.