BLM and USFS Schedule Public Scoping Meetings for the
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) have scheduled five public scoping meetings to gather public comment and recommendations regarding the preparation of a management plan for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (National Monument).

The meetings will be held at the following dates, times and locations:

The BLM and USFS will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify the management options that are best suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns. The public scoping process will identify planning issues, develop planning sideboards (called planning criteria), and will include an evaluation of the existing BLM and USFS land and resource management plans in the context of the needs and interests of the public and conservation of natural and cultural resources specified in the legislation.

The public comment period for this scoping period will be open until October 1, 2002. Publication of the draft EIS is anticipated in early 2003. The public may give comment at the public scoping meetings or submit comments by mail, fax, or email to the address listed below.

Written comments may be sent to Danella George, Monument Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 581260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258; or by fax at (760) 251-4899 or by email at cdunning@ca.blm.gov. Documents pertinent to this proposal, including comments with the names and addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office located at 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm Springs, California, during regular business hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of the EIS.

Individual respondents who wish to request confidentiality must state this prominently at the beginning of any written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

Additional information about the National Monument, including a map of the planning area, can be found on the following webpage: http://www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings. For further information and/or to have your name added the National Monument mailing list, contact Connell Dunning at (760) 251-4800.

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